I have no words. I have very acne prone skin, and I get bumps and imperfections from all cleansers I've used. After trying proactiv, neutrogena, vichy normaderm line and many, many more I accidentally stumbled upon the oil cleansing method while i was reading beauty articles online. I was very hesitant to put oil on my skin. I did my research well. I read every single review on the OCM here on MUA, and from various other websites, because I wanted to be sure I'm not exacerbating my skin. I'm 16 years old with moderate acne (atleast I had before

This review is based on a use of 5 months
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CONS
time consuming

PROS
I dont have to do it everyday, I can do it every two days and still have good skin
Has cleared me from all my blemishes
Leaves my skin so soft
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I use about 30% of castor oil and 70% sunflower seed oil. This works well for me, the sunflower oil dilutes the castor oil and makes it easier to remove. I recently switched from OCM to Vichy normaderm but gosh i regret it. After 2 weeks i switched back to OCM and now my former breakouts are almost gone and swelling has reduced. The OCM is the best thing that has happened to my skin and I will continue using it and modify the formula as my teenage acne goes away.

This review may be a bit premature as I've only been doing this for a week, but I will update as I go along.

Background: I've had very clog and acne-prone skin for the past 3 years. My skin easily scars, and I have plenty of hyperpigmentation and redness on my cheeks and some on my chin, primarily from hormonal acne. At the same time, my skin is very easily dried out and requires very gentle cleansing. Lately my skin has been more sensitive than usual, and products I typically use turn my skin into a dry, red mess. With acne. Yay!

OCM transformed my skin overnight. It's not that my skin goes from scarred to glowing and perfect, but it's FAR less red and irritated. I massage a couple of drops of jojoba oil onto my wet face and neck in the shower, massage for a few minutes, then massage in cetaphil and rinse off. Sometimes I'll VERY lightly scrub with my salux to get off any excess oil.

I'm still perfecting this. My skin isn't SUPER smooth in the morning like it is when I use my Olay spinbrush (which I've eased off of to give my skin a break) but it's far less flaky, itchy, and overall calmer.

Update 12/7/12: This is just okay for my skin. This doesn't break me out like crazy, nor does it cure everything. My skin has been pretty terrible for the past few months (stress is pretty darn terrible for the body!) and have had to get on a course of oral antibiotics to bring my skin back under control.

I read a few negative reviews from people with my skin type but I tried anyway and I had fantastic results but realized there is TRICK TO MAKE THIS WORK. I am fanatic about my skin and therefore did LOTS of research before diving in. I have been using OCM for 5 months and my skin has a nice glow, soft, my skin tone has improved drastically. I get couple pimples monthly which is hormonal and easily treated by a dab of pure essential tea tree oil (yes, it's safe in full dilution despite what some say)
The trick to the OCM is MAKING SURE YOU PURCHASE THE RIGHT OIL FOR YOUR SKIN TYPE. Olive oil is listed as 2 under non-comedogenic oils which isnt bad but a 1 is better. The best oil to use for oily/acne prone skin is jojoba or grapeseed. I also recommend using USDA Organic oils to make sure you know what you are buying. I buy mine from Aura Cacia, I use Vitacost.com but they sell at lots of places.
I have had most success with using 2 tbsp jojoba, 1 tbsp grapeseed and 1 tbsp castor oil with 5 drops patchouli essential oil to tighten pores. Make sure you put oil in dark glass jar and store in cabinet or dark place. Never leave in sun, it will change the formula. I make a fresh batch every 4 weeks.

I tried 50/50 mix of jojoba & castor oil but didnt like that formula as much and reduced the castor oil. I have also used Argan Oil for it's anti-aging properties but noticed that did result in small breakout. The next batch I plan to try a few drops of tea tree or lemon essential oil to add antiseptic quality.I add a little something to each formula every few weeks just to change it up and see if there is better formula for my skin.
I also use a hydrosal after cleansing and a green clay mask (green clay from Queen Helene or GOW) 3 times a week. I also use the Juice Beauty Apple Peel twice a week a couple days after the green clay. I may exfoliate more than most but my skin is thick, oily with med-large pores and benefits from being extra clean. continued >>

This saved my skin. I have dry skin with patches of eczema on my cheek, it is extremely sensitive and break out prone. I use a few drops of pure cold pressed castor oil and 3 times as much extra virgin olive oil. I still need to invest in a pump bottle, as it is a pain having to unscrew bottles of oil. I do it every single night to remove my make up and cleanse my skin. If my skin is breaking out I use some clinique clarifying lotion to remove the oil, but on a normal evening I just add celestial moisturiser from Lush. The overall appearance of my skin has improved, it looks much brighter and smooth. My breakouts are much less frequent, but when I get the odd hormonal breakout, it clears up much quicker. I cannot recommend this enough!

I'm giving this a 5 Star because of my ultimate outcome...

I think the key is finding the right Oil or Oil Mixture for your skin.

My skin is super sensitive and I break out with EVERYTHING!!! After reading about the OCM and what to use I tried it. I had no issues when using jojoba oil alone. In fact, my skin was great! But, then I read that you should be using Castor Oil. So, I bought some...cold pressed hexane free Castor Oil. After one use, my face is breaking out. I used a 1/3 Castor Oil, 1/3 Sweet Almond and 1/3 Jojoba.

After using it at night and waking the next morning...my skin was fine. In fact, great! But it's now (9:32pm EST), as I sit here and type (angrily I might add), I can feel 3 large pimples forming. SO I AM NOT HAPPY.

When using just the jojoba oil..no zits, pimples, blackheads...nothing!!! After reading a few reveiws...it seems the Castor Oil (no matter what kind) is the culprit. So, I'm going to stop and go back to my Jojoba Oil, Rose Water Toner and Raw Honey wash (am only for the Honey) routine to clear things up.

***UPDATE*** 6/15/12
Castor Oil is the culprit. I repeat...Castor Oil is the culprit.

Once I stopped using it, my skin cleared up and did fine. But...because I'm stupid and had to make sure it was that, I thought I would give it another try. Maybe my breakout was caused by a "monthly PMS" thing? Again, I did a different mixture of 98% jojoba & 2% castor oil mix. I really liked the idea of the castor oil because its suppose to help clean. Plus, I bought a HUGE bottle of it and it seems like a waste not to use it.

I used this mixture once...just once. I made really sure I got all the oil off. I even followed up with my rose water toner to be sure I got it all off...and wham! Woke up with zits on my chin.

The best thing, for me, is to use only the Jojoba Oil.

So, it's 5 Stars for the Jojoba Oil. 0 stars for the Castor Oil...

UPDATE 2/14/13...I have totally given up on this!!! Everything was wonderful and seemed to be working nicely. I had clean, clear skin for a month...then WHAM!!! Breakout central. It literally took months for my skin to clear. I will never try this method again...

continued >>

I've been OCM'ing for 7 years now and I love it. Gets off dirt, grime, mmu, mascara... all of it. It's so trial and error though, I'll admit. took me a year to get just the right ratio of castor to almond and grapeseed oil. Plus it's a little more time consuming than using a store bought cleanser. I have to massage it in for a minute or so then leave it on while I'm in a hot shower to let my pores open up and let that oil do it's magic... and then massage again... then wipe off w/ a washcloth. and make sure you get all of it off! when i first tried it, i left a bunch of oil to collect at my jawline and it broke me out. It's tricky but once you get the hang of it, it'll be HG.

I had run out of my usual Liz Earle C & P I don't like ordering just one product, its a waste of pp, I digress. I needed something that would remove makeup, cleanse n exfoliate my confused combination oily/dry sensitive skin. I like 1 step processes. OCM checks all those boxes. Except the water issue. I live in London, England & we have some wmessed up water, it's not just hard, it is full of stuff that sensitive skins don't like.
As the OCM doesn't have any emulsifiers u have 2 use hot water 2 take the oil off with, otherwise ur left with an oily film that my skin would translate in acne of epic proportions. That's the rub, the water is so harsh 2 use this method twice a day. But this cleans everything off like nothin else, sebum plugs n all. It's like car crash tv, it is gross but u just want 2 keep going 2 c what else u can get. So I am down to 2 - 3 times a week and I use cool water and a neutrogena dry skin facial bar (only a small amount) 2 emulsify. Rest of week use micellar cleansing water which I love. my oil combo I finally settled on was 40% castor oil & 60% melon seed oil with a few drops of EO 2 take away the castor smell. continued >>

I've been using this method for cleansing for about 2 years. I have mature skin so I'm guessing that they may be why it works so well for me. My skin (since menopause) is sensitive and I've had rosacea for about 5 years (which thanks to this method of cleansing has disappeared except for occassional rosy cheeks).

I adjust my mixture according to the weather/change of season but basically I've found that a combo of Rose Hips Oil (30%), Tamanu Oil (20%), Apricot Kernal Oil (30%) and Sunflower Seed Oil (20%) works well except in the hottest months and then I add a bit of Castor Oil. I also add a bit (a few drops of each) of bergamot and lavendar essential oil for the aroma therepy benefits. Once you invest in these oils they last for about 1 year if stored properly. I purchase them from Mountain Rose Herbs for their organic purity.

I store my mixture in cobalt blue glass bottles in small supplies (2oz.) so I make new batches often to keep it fresh. I use a fresh washcloth nightly. I steam my face with a hot wet washcloth and then I apply ample amounts of the oil mixture and massage for about 2 minutes. I then remove the oil from my face with three or four rounds wiping it off with the rinsed hot wet washcloth. Afterwards I rub a bit of Vitamin E and Rosehip Oil mixture in and that's it.

My face does not have a single blemish or blackhead. It is smooth, rosy and glows. I get compliments weekly and have shared my regime with all my girlfriends.

I hope this gives you some help in your researching this amazing secret cleansing. I try and share the method with everyone I know. We all want amazing skin and this has worked for me for a couple of years running and I think its helped kept the clock standing still.

Best thing I have done for my mostly non-inflammatory acne and oily skin. It took me a number of tries (over a number of years) to get this right, and the aftermath of those failed attempts was not pretty, but it was worth it! My face is practically flawless with almost blackheads and flesh colored bumps, and no redness or irritation that I had when I was using "gentle" cleansers (i.e., Cerave, Fresh soy cleanser, etc.). I've been using the following method every night for the past 6 months.

My version of OCM is sunflower oil only with a few drops of manuka and/or regular tea tree oil. I don't usually steam my face first, but if I do it helps unseat even more comedones than usual. I massage the oil into my face for a good 15+ minutes while I'm watching TV at night. Then, I jump into a steamy shower and massage my face with water. Finally, I wet a muslin cloth and wipe down my face thoroughly. After I get out, I squeeze out a tiny drop of the same oil mixture (which I keep in a nalgene brand travel bottle made for oils), spread it over my hands and gently pat it onto my face. That completes my entire facial regimen. In the morning, I just rinse my face with water.

Things to note:

I make sure to soak my used muslin cloths in boiling water before washing them on the hottest setting my washing machine has to kill bacteria.

I use a lot of oil to make sure my face is slippery, so I am not pulling my skin as I massage.

Thoughts on other oils:

Olive oil clogged my pores, which shouldn't be surprising since it is listed as a comedogenic oil and I am clog prone.

Jojoba oil also clogged my pores and didn't provide good slip for massage.

Castor oil dried out my skin, even at a 10% concentration with various base oils.

Castor oil also exacerbated my acne, even though it is not listed as comedogenic. My guess is because it is so thick that even at low concentrations it makes the cleansing oil very difficult to remove. The thin layer of oil inevitably left on my face acted occlusively and sealed off my naturally oily skin, causing the sebum and bacteria to fester and cause acne. I have seen castor oil listed as an occlusive oil on some websites, but I can't verify their accuracy.

I've decided to use this method for my dry skin as I am always on the look out for the natural alternative. It's great I use 30% castor oil about 50% sweet almond oil and 10% each of avocado oil and vitamin e oil. All this cost under a rennet and it will last ages!! I rub the oil on my face at the end of the day put on my hot flannel and steam, wipe the oil off with the flannel dry and tone with rose water. If I feel a bit dry I will lightly moisturise. My skin looks hydrated, my expression lines r plumped out. Fab!!