Did you know that Oil dissolves oil? It’s the basic principal behind the oil cleansing method or OCM. It’s simplest way to clear up acne, blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, blemishes, rashes or outbreaks! So, stop using soap and other caustic synthetic toxic chemical cleansers, scrubs and moisturizers, and turn instead to a natural, time-honored facial trick of cleaning your skin with oils!
All that’s required to try the oil cleansing method is a blend of oils, a soft washcloth, and hot running water.
- Mix up a blend of castor oil with any other natural, unprocessed oils that you prefer – I use coconut oil, however olive oil, jojoba oil and sunflower oil are also very popular. Castor Oil is what cleans and draws out the impurities from your skin, although using only castor oil on your skin can be drying. By blending the cleansing properties of castor oil with a moisturizing oil, you have the perfect combination for healthy skin. If your skin is dry use less castor oil, if your skin is oily use more castor oil.
- Massage a small amount of the oil mixture gently into your face. Spend a few minutes rubbing the oils into your cheeks, nose, forehead, neck, and chin, allowing the oils to penetrate into the skin and pull out wastes, bacteria, dead cells and other dirt – I apply the oil before I get in the shower.
- Soak a wash cloth in hot water and ring out, hold it over your face to steam (but please don’t burn yourself, use common sense) it’s just like giving yourself a mini facial. (The steam in the shower is an extra benefit)
- After a minute or so wipe away the oil, along with any dirt, using the washcloth, repeat the steaming/wiping process a few times. Your skin should feel clean, soft, and moist with just a little of the OCM oil remaining on your face. If skin feels dry or tight, you can moisturize it by applying a little of your oil blend.
This morning I “Whipped” up a batch of Coconut Oil Facial Cleanser…. Here’s what I did:
1/2c Organic Coconut Oil
1/2c Castor Oil (use less if your skin is dry)
Since applying the liquid oil to my face to be a little messy and coconut oil whips up beautifully… I whipped them together with awesome results! In a small bowl, whip your (solid) coconut oil with a hand or stand mixer. After your coconut oil is whipped and fluffy, gently stream in your castor oil… you’ll be amazed at how beautifully it whips together! Your final cleanser will be whipped similar to egg whites beaten to stiff peaks, which is super easy to scoop up with your fingers and apply to your skin! I fill up a small canning jar with my Whipped Coconut Oil Facial Cleanser.
I do the OCM nightly and I love the idea of whipping the coconut oil. I’m wondering what you use to do the whipping. I’m having a hard time imagining how one can whip a solid, especially as little as only 1/2 cup. More info please! And thank you!
I have used both my kitchen aid stand mixer and an electric hand mixer – both work beautifully. I “whip” solid coconut oil very ofter for different cooking and beauty reasons – you’ve gotta try it and you’ll see that although a solid it will whip up beautifully 🙂 Trust me!
How do you store it, room temperature or refrigerator? How long does it last?
It depends on the temp in your house. If your house is warm then it will be soft/melt so you’ll want to keep it in the fridge. It will last for several months.
I use my Nutrition bullet to make all kinds of body butters, facial cleansers and foot cream with coconut oil, other oil and essential oils. I make my husbands after shower cream with coconut oil, shea butter, orange, cinnamon and clove. It’s a natural “Old Spice” fragrance that is just yummy!
That should be nutri bullet
Hi – love your blog! I’ve recently started looking into OCM and a lot of websites say Coconut Oil is comodgenic (sp?) and will clog pores – wondering your response to this? I went ahead and tried it anyway since I had already whipped up a batch (and yes, coconut oil whips very nicely – thanks for that tip!) so we’ll see what happens. 🙂
It’s like any other product.. every one’s skin will react differently! For me and lots of other people, coconut oil is AH-MAZ-ING! My skin has never been clearer or more radiant!
I use straight coconut oil around my eyes a couple times a week at bed time to prevent wrinkles.. so far so good.. I’m still wrinkle free at 35!
Coconut oil is one of only two moisturizers I’m able to use – all others break out my skin (at age 55!). Seems so counterintuitive, but the coconut oil actually clears up any acne bumps I may get – I apply the CO directly if I get any bumps and use coconut oil straight as my moisturizer on dry zones.
Is this regular food grade organic coconut you’re talking about?
I use a high quality, organic, raw coconut oil for topical applications, CLICK HERE to purchase.
I can’t wait to try it. One question tho….what and how do you remove it in the shower?? Do you still use the steamed washcloth or do you just leave it on and “rinse” with the water? Thank you!! I really enjoy your posts and blogs.
I still use a the same wash cloth technique 🙂
I am wanting to try this, but living in Texas, it gets hot in the house! Will the whipped coconut oil stay whipped or will it melt again when it sits in a warm house. Thanks!
It will still melt at 76 degrees 🙁
Will it stay whipped and fluffy if I keep it in the fridge? Sorry for all the questions, I’m new to all of the all natural and homemade!!
It will stay whipped in the fridge, but will get a little hard
I’ve been using straight coconut oil as my cleanser for about a week, but I don’t think it’s getting my makeup off at night. After slathering it on and using my handheld sonic cleanser brush thing (I can’t remember the name of it) to clean it off, there was still makeup residue coming off on the washcloth. So, my question is, do you use it to take off makeup too, or just on makeup-free skin?
I just received my castor oil in the mail today, so I’m getting ready to whip up some of this recipe 🙂 Thanks so much for all the great ideas! I’m excited about the all-natural sunscreen too.
I’ve never had a problem getting my make up off with my coconut oil cleanser.. and in fact used straight coconut oil to remove waterproof mascara for years before oil cleansing. However, I have never worn heavy makeup and hardly wear any now.. Also you won’t need to use your brush, the castor oil is exfoliator/cleanser..
how do you use CO to remove eye makeup?
just wipe coconut oil on your eye area, you’ll see it dissolve mascara/eyeliner.. then wipe off 🙂
A lot of people love the oil cleansing method for makeup removal! (I’m an amateur Middle Eastern dancer, and I use it after performances–and we layer on the makeup for the stage lights!) But really, the method works best if your face is a little damp when you apply the oils. Also, try the washcloth once or twice before using the brush; the slight steaming from the damp washcloth makes it far more effective. (I think it has something to do with “melting” the skin oils and cleansing oils together, if you get what I’m saying.)
There’s an in-depth article on the oil cleansing method at the Crunchy Betty website. Lots of info for troubleshooting.
I suffer from acne and breakouts and I’ve always been weary of slathering anything containing oil on my face! Has anyone with these concerns tried this recipe and if so, did they have any issues? Thanks!
I’m 35 and have been using my coconut oil cleanser for a couple years now.. before I had occasional breakouts, large pores, very oily skin.. now I rarely have a pimple, my pores are clean and hardly any oil!!
I’ve been using oil cleansing for 6 years. At 50 years old my skin was breaking out, sometimes cyst. I thought what do I have to lose. At 56 I have clear skin, also less wrinkles than other women my age. If you don’t succeed with your first oil combo try a different one. I use 1/3 castor to 2/3 alomond . Also I have super sensitive skin. I can’t recommend it enough!
Where can I find these products in a Walmart super center? I’m excited to try this out:)
I do not shop at Walmart so I’m sorry that I cannot help 🙁
Castor oil can be found at Walmart, but you should buy the coconut oil somewhere else as Walmart only sells refined coconut oil. You want to use unrefined coconut oil.
I am late on this but I wanted to let you all know that CO has anti bacterials in it and that helps acne irritation. Also, castor oil has drawing properties meaning it will draw out the infection. This is how I came across this recipe because I was looking for recipes to use them together.
I was thinking of also adding grapeseed oil to it as well, what do you think of that? Also, would this be good as a body wash as well?
I’m personally not a fan of grapeseed oil…. and as for a body wash it would be challenging to steam it off your entire body 🙂
Ha, yeah didn’t think about the steaming part. Ok, I just made the stuff…it didn’t come out “whipped” were we supposed fold the castor oil into the whipped coconut? I’m sure either way it’ll work just fine…just not as pretty as it would be whipped lol.
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I buy my virgin coconut oil from Tropical Traditions, the gold label 16 oz. jar. They offer larger jars and even gallons and run specials quite often. It is unrefined coconut oil. Used it for a year for cleaning my face and making salves.
Just curious about your thoughts on adding essential oils to this recipe…..
Sure! I no longer use this facial cleanser, I use my Whipped Tallow Facial Cleanser and ad essential oils to it.
I have a concern. My skin is dry. If oil breaks down oil, what can be used to moisturize?
Use plain coconut oil (no castor oil) as a moisturizer or olive oil.
Coconut oil is still very moisturizing, just don’t use too much castor oil 🙂
How long does the cleanser last when stored in the jar? I’m thinking of creating to use on massage clients.
I made a very large batch over 6 months ago – although it’s perfectly fine to use it does seem to lose volume after a few months so I think for the best results I’d recommend WHIPPING up a new batch every 30-60 days 🙂
I tried this recipe and it came out runny. Not sure what I did wrong. 🙁
Did you start out with SOLID coconut oil??
Yes, I did. I opened the cleanser and noticed that the coconut oil separated from the castor oil once the cleanser sat in the jar for a while.
Ok – I’ve never had or heard of this issue, so I’m super confused… First of all what ratio of castor oil to coconut oil did you use?
Ie 1 cup coconut oil to 2 tablespoons castor oil… are you saying that the coconut oil stayed whipped (fluffy solid) and the castor oil was kinda floating on top? Can you send me a photo [email protected]
What kind/brand of coconut oil did you use?
Did you really WHIP it well with an electric mixer like the video – depending on the temperature of our house it can take 5 minutes of whipping to get it all mixed and fluffy.
Hi there,
I can’t wait to try this recipe, but I’ve been whipping with a hand blender for 10 minutes now and I can’t get it to whip – HELP! Any suggestions as to where I’m going wrong
Did you watch the video where I show how it whips with my stand mixer? are you starting out with solid coconut oil? are you using a hand held electric mixer?
Hi Hayley,
I have an oily face, is coconut oil effective when I apply it? I did not try doing this facial cleanser yet because I’m afraid it might just increase oiliness on my face. Thank you for sharing.
No using oils on your skin will not increase your skin’s production of oil! It actually helps to decrease oil production. When you strip your skin using harsh cleansers your skin will produce more oil in response. when you use oil, your skin doesn’t need to produce as much oil.
Hi,
After placed in a small can jar, how to store after? Is it okay to place in the fridged? Or just in a cool dry place?This facial cleanser is good for how many weeks? I want to give a try. Thanks!
I keep mine in the bathroom in a glass jar. in the fridge is fine too. I’d say that it will keep fine for several months.