"This is the way we wash our face..."

So this one is for my sister Joy who was asking about body care products that are healthy. I also include cheap. I’m cheap or frugal however you want to say it. I’m also lazy. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on products I buy for myself, neither do I want to spend a lot of time on cleansing, rinsing, moisturizing, etc.

Let’s start with our face since that’s generally what people see first when they see us. What if I told you that there was one product that could do it all?! And do it for less! Well, to be clear it’s one product after you put it together. You do have to start with a minimum of two products, but I think we can all handle that.

This is called the ”Oil Cleansing Method”. Yes, you read that right – oil to clean your face. As counterintuitive as this may sound oil can clean oil from your face. The problem with commercial cleansers is that they strip the oil from our face. Then our skin works overtime to make more. So not only do we have to pay more for another product after cleaning – moisturizer – because our skin feels dry, but we also are doing our skin a disservice. You can read more about all the nitty-gritty details here, but in a nutshell here’s how it works.

You start by pouring about a quarter size of oil in the palm of your hand and then fulling massaging that into your whole face. The next step can be done in a couple of ways. For both methods you need to saturate a wash cloth with water that is very warm but still comfortable for you to touch. You can then gently wash away the oil after it has been on your face for a couple of minutes or if you really want to relax do this. Get comfortable, put the cloth on your face and let it sit there until it cools. Then repeat the process until the oil is gone. It takes about 3-4 times. That’s it! This will remove make-up as well. One product that cleans, refreshes and moisturizes.

Most people do this at night, and it’s a nice way to end the day. I also use my blend in the morning after a shower. I probably only use about a penny-sized amount to moisturize my face. My skin feels a little oily for a few minutes as it absorbs the oil, but then it’s great for the rest of the day.

So what are the oils that you use? The oil that cleanses is castor oil. It can usually be found in pharmacies in the laxative section. This oil is quite strong and you don’t need a lot. Also, it’s very drying so we need another oil with it to nourish our skin. I use sunflower oil, but if you look here you can find a list of other oils you could use.

Find a small bottle. I used an empty hand lotion bottle that I cleaned out. Fill it 20-30% with the castor oil and the rest with the oil(s) of your choice. Cap it and shake to mix. That’s it! You now have something to clean and moisturize your skin that has been made to suit your needs. If your skin is a dry type use a little less castor oil; if it is oily use a little more.

The castor oil cost me $4.50 and I used about half of it. The sunflower oil cost me $4 and I maybe used 50 cents worth (probably less – this is a very rough estimate). So for less than $3 I now have something to clean and moisturize my face that will last me four to six months depending on how often I use it.

Your skin may need a couple of weeks to adjust to this new way of doing things. Be patient and ride it out because it WILL be worth it. Your skin will be happy and so will your wallet.

The ingredients - all two of them!

Castor oil added

Sunflower oil added and ready to go