Oil Cleansing Method
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Sat Dec 24, 2011 8:44 am

I just gave oil cleansing a go for the first time. I used almond oil with a few drops of tea tree (I don't have much else to hand) and massaged for 6 minutes.
I could feel slightly gritty little bits under my fingers as I went, which I'm guessing was sebum plugs coming out. Gross as that is, I'm gonna keep it up for a week and see how it goes before I decide if it's something I want to make a permanent part of my routine.

free skin care · Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:56 am

So I cleaned with 50/50 castor/grapeseed oil. I had this grainy stuff on my fingers, think sugar crystals. Is that dead skin?

By the way, anyone else notice skin peeling when you use a high percentage of castor oil? I wonder if you could do a "peel" by letting it sit on your face for 20 minutes? Or would the peeling be uneven?

Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:00 pm

Hi everyone! This is my first post!

I just started the OCM this week. I got a sample kit from Garden of Wisdom that included EVOO, Rice Bran Oil, and Argan Oil, and I got castor oil also.

So far, I love it! The only thing that I am concerned about is the argan oil - I just read here that it can cause breakouts, so I am thinking of leaving it out from now on.

I am using probably 5 drops of EVOO, 2 of argan, 3 of Rice Bran, and 5 of Castor. So far, I haven't noticed any "plugs" coming out, but am thinking I haven't been doing it long enough. I have only done it for 5 minutes at a time.

I am thinking of changing up the oils, maybe using jojoba and/or avocado next time in addition to the EVOO and castor.

This thread is great! I have pretty much read the whole thing and it inspired me to try the OCM.

I have struggled with acne my entire life (I am 35 and still break out). I had horrible, cystic acne as a teenager and took Accutane when it was still relatively new on the market. It did help a lot, but I still get breakouts, my forehead has lots of little "bumps" - not whiteheads or blackheads, just flesh colored bumps.

I have tried everything, from Proactive, to chemical peels, to microdermabrasion. How ironic would it be if cheap, natural oils are the answer to my skin problems? I figured I have nothing to lose, and I'm at the point where I'm not even embarrassed by my acne any more, I've just come to accept it.

But, I am hopeful that this will work for me, even if it is just somewhat.

Thank you for all the informaiton in this thread!

Thu Jan 26, 2012 9:36 am

Hey everyone, this is my first post. Sorry if this has been answered/discussed already, but this thread is pretty long!

Anyway, I started using the OCM 10 days ago. For the first week (almost exactly) it was amazing! I have had horribly oily and acne prone skin for as long as I can remember, and NOTHING fixed it. The OCM was helping my face to not over-produce oil, it was killing my existing acne, and for a week I didn't get any new breakouts (it is rare that I go more than a day or two between new zits). I was washing once daily (evenings) with a mixture of ~30% Castor & 70% Grapeseed. It seemed to work well for me, my skin was neither dry nor as awfully greasy as usual, and it was clearing up. For a couple days I got a ton of the "plugs" out of my skin, then I got less and less, and now I don't get many at all. The only other product I used on my face at all was a drugstore brand pimple cream, which I would apply tiny dabs of directly on the few pimples that were being stubborn.

Then, literally overnight, it changed. I used the OCM as usual (massage 10 min, warm towel over my face for 2-3, then clear the oil away) and went to bed... woke up in the morning looking worse than I have in a long time. There is an area from the right corner of my mouth down to my jawline that looks like razor burn bumps because there are so many pimples there. Sad

When I started OCM, I had a few big red pimples, but I wasn't getting very many small ones. So I didn't have a LOT of acne, but they were the large gross zits. Now I'm getting tons of small red ones, in groups, as well as whiteheads.

Since day 7, I had been using OCM twice per day in an attempt to speed through this phase (hoping that it is a phase). But maybe I should stop the OCM until the pimples heal, so that the rubbing doesn't aggravate them? I've read that OCM can make your skin worse until your skin adjusts, but I don't understand why it helped so much for a week and then all of a sudden it got so awful. I want to power through this, but I also want to make sure that continuing the OCM isn't just going to keep making it worse.

I think that for today, I am going to just rinse with water and apply my drugstore bought zit cream, and otherwise leave my face alone.

(FYI: I am 27 years old, and I don't think this is hormonal acne... I started my period right around the same time I started the OCM, so my period got done a few days ago.)

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:06 am

From everything I've heard, I don't think its a good idea to stop ocm, maybe ease up a bit though. Its all about congestion coming to the surface, from deep inside, which is actually what you want. Its never a good idea to risk irritating visible acne so I'd maybe take it down to every other day or 2 for a while, until this sorts itself out. It can take a while, so try and be patient.

Maybe even reduce the amount of castor oil, which is what does the more aggressive work of bringing stuff up. Now that you know its working, you can probably ease up on it, and take it to a gentler level. Good luck!

(Btw, you still need to cleanse, esp. with oily skin, so if you don't want to use another cleanser, just use the oils, but don't massage in for long - just a few seconds & then remove on the days you're not doing ocm).

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2012 3:25 pm

Jenniferocious I love your name BTW. Very Happy

The only think I could think of is maybe you developed an intolerance to one of the oils? Or it could be an unrelated reaction?

I alternate OCM with plain water washes whereby I just stand under the showerhead and use a clean white face cloth to gently massage my face as water runs over it. I got this idea from a lady with oily skin who had no flaw on it. Looked like a baby's face and her regimen was "no products". She didn't even use any moisturizer after the wash. Once a month she used some physical exfoliant like microdermabrasion, but that was it.

But if I were you, I'd ask a dermatologist. I am one of those people who has seen food sensitivities wreck havoc on a body when the foods are healthy themselves. I mean why would I develop a rash on my hand and only one hand. I didn't touch anything I could've been allergic to nor do anything different to one hand and not the other. Come to find I had systemic candidiasis. Now systemic means through the body, right, so why wasn't I covered in a rash? It's weird the things that happen with our bodies.

I'm not saying that may be your problem but just wanted to give an idea how a problem could be unrelated to what you're doing topically. What I would do in the meantime while waiting to see your doc is focus on an anti-inflammatory diet. It won't hurt to eat clean and to eat foods that heal, yanno?

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2012 4:41 pm

Its actually really common for people to break out after a while with ocm. This whole board is full of such stories.

I just wanted to agree (and I guess change what I last wrote) that plain water with a microfibre cloth should be just fine. Its what I do on days I don't ocm actually!
I don't know what I was thinking... maybe because when I see the word "rinse" I think of water just being splashed on, instead of rubbing which would be needed to remove dirt & oils.

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2012 9:14 pm

LoriA wrote:

Its actually really common for people to break out after a while with ocm. This whole board is full of such stories.

I just wanted to agree (and I guess change what I last wrote) that plain water with a microfibre cloth should be just fine. Its what I do on days I don't ocm actually!
I don't know what I was thinking... maybe because when I see the word "rinse" I think of water just being splashed on, instead of rubbing which would be needed to remove dirt & oils.

LoriA I am aware of people breaking out after starting OCM but I didn't know that this purging can happen after a period of no issues. I'm used to reading about it happening right at the beginning of OCM but I could've missed other cases where it happens later as in the OP's case.

Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:19 am

Thanks for the advice, everyone. You all are awesome!

I did a brief wash with the oils yesterday, I didn't massage any longer than I would have with a regular face wash. I feel like it made things worse, though, so I am going to switch back to my regular face wash for a little while, until this clears up some. It is a really gentle cleanser from Burt's Bees, so hopefully it won't aggravate things.

I have no insurance, so sadly going to a derm is not an option for me. Rolling Eyes

I think that after this, I will switch to doing the oil maybe once or twice a week, to keep my pores clear.

free skin care · Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:20 pm

Hey Jenniferocious, its different for everyone, so do whatever you feel comfortable with. The bb's cleanser sounds like a good idea. People describe their purging as horrific and tough to handle, but worth it in the end. I don't think there's any magic solution to ridding yourself of the mess that needs to come to the surface, sadly, so do what you gotta do. Someone had suggested zinc as an effective way to calm acne and I've had great success using it on chapped lips and irritated skin. I'd be a little concerned about what its mixed with if used on acne though, so be careful if you go this route.

Hey Nonie, from what I've seen in this thread, its more common for people to enjoy the results for the first few days before any trouble appears. She'd only been at it for a week, so that seems to fit. It was the same for me (though only a couple of big zits, which was odd for me). I'd also seen someone say that if it were a reaction to the oils, it would have shown up right away. But of course, there are a zillion different stories when it comes to skin, and deciphering it is what we're all trying to do here...

free skin care · Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:58 pm

LoriA wrote:

Hey Nonie, from what I've seen in this thread, its more common for people to enjoy the results for the first few days before any trouble appears. She'd only been at it for a week, so that seems to fit. It was the same for me (though only a couple of big zits, which was odd for me). I'd also seen someone say that if it were a reaction to the oils, it would have shown up right away. But of course, there are a zillion different stories when it comes to skin, and deciphering it is what we're all trying to do here...

Ahh...OK. I didn't realize that some people have good results then it's downhill shortly after. Thanks, LoriA.

As for reaction being right away, this is not necessarily true. Sensitivities can be developed out of nowhere. For a while something can work really well for you and then all of a sudden it doesn't work anymore. I've had that happen with food, whereby something as healthy (innocent) as lettuce suddenly causes me hair loss and my bald spots itch horribly whenever I ate it. A bloodprint showed this sensitivity to lettuce and I cut them out and all was well. For years I had never had any problem with lettuce. After that break from eating lettuce, now I can eat it again w/o any issues. Go figure.

Then I do OCM with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and have no problems. I've tried it with other oils (coconut, almond, grapeseed)...and at first I seem to do OK but then I start to have itchy tiny pimples on the side of my face. I can't remember which one in particular gave me tiny bumps that itched like crazy because I was trying a combination of oils that I had read about being good for skin. I don't get that problem with EVOO and never even had a skin purging with EVOO alone...so I do think that my face doesn't like those other oils. Strangely enough, I have used those oils on my body and all's been well but I seem unable to indiscriminately use just any oil on my face.

free skin care · Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:05 pm

I think the idea is that the plugs are hardened oils mixed with dead cells in the pores. Because the pores are clogged, maybe they are producing more oils still, and when the plugs are initially removed, they continue to do for a while (hence the new acne), until things normalize. Not sure if that's what's happening, but that's one idea. Another idea people toss around is that the skin is detoxing since the pores are now cleared out, and once it's done, your skin will look great again. Regardless, this seems to be normal for most people who go through OCM. I had it myself--really not fun!

free skin care · Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:06 pm

P.S. The one thing is to always make sure to clean ALL the oil off your face...maybe use soap for a while after the OCM just to make sure it's not excess OCM oil being left on your face? Then you can go back to standard OCM after you rule out that possibility.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:36 pm

Hey all, I want to thank you again for the great advice! I have really appreciated your input. Smile

Here's an update (it has been 3 weeks since I woke up with the horrible breakouts), as well as my observations through the process, for anyone who might be interested.

The good news is that it never really got any worse past the first day or so. Initially I continued with the OCM for a few days, but ended up stopping 3 dys in because the rubbing of the oils combined with having to wipe my face so thoroughly with a cloth after was really hurting my breakouts. When I stopped OCM, I started washing my face with Burt's Bees Radiance Face Cleanser. I already had this, and it is nice and gentle.

Meanwhile, my face was painful and horribly itchy, to the point that it was keeping me up at night. We had some Neosporin with pain relieving stuff in it, which helped a little, but not much. Mostly I was treading this fine line between trying to dry out the acne, but not TOO much, because that made the itching and pain worse. I was using an acne cream with Benzoyl Peroxide, and moisturizing with a Neutrogena lotion for oily skin.

By day 6 the itching had subsided quite a bit, but the pain persisted. I switched from my Benzoyl cream to one that contained Salicylic Acid, which is less harsh on my skin. The Benzoyl dried me out a LOT. I think this switch helped get the itching under control.

Day 6 I also started doing an aspirin & honey mask a couple times a week. Can't say for sure if it helped with the acne or not, but it is the perfect exfoliant for me.

Day 7 I resumed OCM, but I cut back on the Castor oil and added more Grapeseed. I also cut back on the time, and have set a rigid time limit of 7 minutes to massage. I got quite a bit of crap out of my face the first couple days, but that tapered off pretty fast. I noticed a big improvement after, things were more pink than alarmingly red, and had reduced to individual pimples instead of being one huge inflamed mass.

I have continued oil cleansing daily since day 7 (2 weeks, now). So far I have had no more major breakouts, and what I have had has been very minor/small, and have passed in a day or a couple days.

Currently my face is still improving, though more slowly/gradually the past few days. The right side (which broke out first) is a couple days ahead of the left in the healing process. The right side is mostly toward the end of the healing process, with just a couple decently sized pimples left. The left side has more like 3-4 pimples remaining.

This is my general routine, if anyone is interested:

AM: I wash with a face wash, it varies depending how dry or oily I am feeling that day. I have two different Burt's washes, the Radiance one I mentioned earlier and one for acne. If my skin is feeling more sensitive/dry I'll use the Radiance one, if it is feeling greasy I'll use the acne wash. I use the Radiance more often than not. Then I apply my zit cream, which is a Salicylic Acid one. My skin is less sensitive to that than it is to Benzoyl, which dries me out like the sahara.

Afternoon: I've been applying the Proactiv sulfur mask as a spot treatment in the afternoons a few days a week on the worst zits. Seriously, Proactiv did NOTHING for me... but the mask is wonderful. It smells terrible, but it does a great job on my zits. You can get it on Amazon for like $8 or something. I usually leave it on for about an hour, then use a warm damp cloth to steam it & soften it up, then gently wipe it away. Some days I reapply the zit cream after, but I usually just let my face "rest". If I feel super dry I'll moisturize.

PM: Oil cleanse, 7 minutes. After I clear the oil away, I use a toner to make sure none is left behind. About twice or three times a week I do the aspirin mask after the OCM, on the more pimply areas. I never do the sulfur mask and the aspirin mask in the same day. Then zit cream.

At any time during the day I will moisturize if I start to feel too dry.

So yeah, I'm hoping that in another week it'll be mostly better for me. Once the huge breakout is gone, I'll be cutting a lot of these steps/products out of my routine.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:59 am

Just a thought on my part with regards to my experience with oils, maybe it will help others who are currently exploring oil cleansing. I have found that certain oils just clog me…and make my skin worse. For example, both avocado and olive oil are a big no-no (clog and breakout city), as well as any kind of essential oil (they irritate the heck out of my skin!)

It took a lot of experimentation with different oils to find which ones work best for me, I can use EVCO with no issues, though I know many who’s skin breaks out at the mere mention of it lulz. My skin absolutely adores jojoba oil. Right now I’m using a 50-50 mix of castor and jojoba oils for my OCM and my skin has never looked better.

Moral of the story? Don’t give up on OCM if you seem to react badly, it could just mean the carrier oil you chose just isn’t working for you. A little patience and experimenting go a long way Smile

HTH!

free skin care · Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:39 am

Great point, Delaylah.

Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:27 am

@ Dark Moon, thank you for your offer to ask some questions in the OCM thread. Smile

As I cannot allow myself major purging right now, which may occur at the beginning, I need to wait at least two months before starting. But I definitive will. Just a short question: Do you use OCM every evening??

free skin care · Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:53 am

Latina_Peru wrote:

@ Dark Moon, thank you for your offer to ask some questions in the OCM thread. Smile

As I cannot allow myself major purging right now, which may occur at the beginning, I need to wait at least two months before starting. But I definitive will. Just a short question: Do you use OCM every evening??

Yes Latina I do and have since the beginning, I am one of the rare cases that just never broke out from OCM....or anything really. My son on the other hand did in a major way but he is acne prone. He stuck it out and ended up clearing his acne beautifully.

I actually do it twice a day most of the time and love it.

Some reasons for the breakouts, most regular cleansers can be stripping your skin of natural oils which your skin reacts to with more oil production to compensate for so initially adding oils and massage brings the breakouts up.
Massage (even from an esty) will often cause those plugs to come to the surface and breakouts occur.

One thing I did with my son was to add a few drops of Tea Tree oil to his mix (it is anti bacterial, viral and fungal) we also dotted it straight on spots as they appeared. It is one of the few EO's that can be used straight.

As many have mentioned, get ALL the (dirty) oil off once done massaging.

HTH Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:12 pm

I thought that since OLEIC ACID has been getting a bit slammed here lately I would post this re. these oils for OCM remember they are used in conjunction with Castor Oil which is deep cleansing.

OLEIC ACID

Oleic Acid and Skin
Posted on September 21, 2011 by julie
What is Oleic Acid?

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid with a lipid number of C18:1. That means that there is only one double bond and therefore it lasts longer than other acids such as Gamma-linoleic acid or Linolenic acid which both have three double bonds (C18:3). Oleic acid is an Omega-9 fatty acid along with erucic acid and mead acid to name a few. Omega-9 fatty acids are not considered essential fatty acids like Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are. This is because the human body can produce omega-9 fatty acids and in fact oleic acid is found in our sebum. Sebum is the waxy, oily substance produced by our sebaceous glands. Oleic acid is helpful to the cardiovascular system and can help to lower cholesterol.

An interesting point about oleic acid is that many insects emit it as their bodies decay after death. This is true for both ants and bees and in fact if a live ant or bee is doused with a drop of oleic acid, its hive mates will drag it out of the hive and discard it as if it were a dead body! This makes oleic acid an effective ingredient in bug repellents. The pheromones may signal danger to other insects warning them that others have died before them and that something hazardous may exist.

How does Oleic Acid Help Our Skin?

Oleic acid is actually found in the sebum of human skin. It has a wide range of positive effects on the skin including adding moisture to the skin and making it supple and soft. Oleic acid helps to regenerate the skin and also offers anti-inflammatory help. Because it so closely mimics sebum, it is easily absorbed into and utilized by the skin and can help the skin absorb other nutrients as well. It may be surprising that some studies have shown that oleic acid can actually exacerbate acne, so for those with acne prone skin it may be a good idea to avoid using these oils on certain areas.

What Oils are High in Oleic Acid?

Luckily there are a plethora of foods that are rich in oleic acid, including oils and butters. And it’s not just nut oils that are high in oleic acid. Two of the sources of oil highest in oleic acid include avocado and olive.

Some of the oils high in Oleic acid include:

Avocado oil (75%) Has a shelf life of about 12 months
Olive oil (75%) Has a shelf life of about 12 months
Camellia oil (75%) Has a shelf life of about 1 to 2 years
Hazelnut oil (70%) Has a shelf life of about 12 months
Sweet almond oil (70%) Has a shelf life of about 12 months
Apricot kernel oil (60%) Has a shelf life of about 12 months
Macadamia nut oil (58%) Has a shelf life of about 12 months
Shea butter (55%) Has a shelf life of about 2 years
Mango butter (46%) Has a shelf life of about 2 to 3 years
Sesame oil (45%) Has a shelf life of about 9 to 12 months
Rice bran oil (42%) Has a shelf life of about 12 months

Posted in Healthy living, Natural remedies, Skin care | Tagged essential fatty acids, fatty acids, oleic acid, olive oil, omega-9 fatty acid, sebum, skin, skin health
How our skin uses fatty acids
Posted on September 17, 2011 by julie
Earlier we took a look at what fatty acids are and how little about how the skin functions and what its main purpose is. Today we’ll take a look at how fatty acids are used in the skin. Let’s just refresh our memories about the most wonderful of organs: skin. Skin has a lot of things it needs to do and some of them seem contradictory. It needs to keep things out, it needs to keep things in, and it needs to let things pass. That’s a lot of functions! The only way our skin can get all of these competing tasks done is to be flexible, literally. Skin needs to retain moisture, and be soft and flexible. You don’t need to be a doctor to be able to decipher what is healthy skin and what is not. We’re hard wired to appreciate beautiful skin because beautiful skin is healthy skin. You know that if you’re looking at hard, cracked, dry skin, that it’s not healthy.

So how can fatty acids help our skin?

We produce many fatty acids internally that are used throughout our system. In fact there are only two that we don’t and they are known as the essential fatty acids (EFA). The EFAs are Omega 3 alpha-linolenic acid and Omega 6 linoleic acid. We need to nourish our skin from the inside and the outside. So depending on what we are eating and how well we are taking care of ourselves, hopefully we are producing fatty acids internally. But we can (and should) also apply them topically to help our skin.
I’ve taken a look at the basic functions that skin needs to perform and tried to classify some of the most common acids by how they can help the skin. This is just my classification, so take that bit of information and do with it what you will. In order for skin to be healthy and to function properly it needs to do three basic things: (1) create an effective barrier; (2) prevent damage to the skin; and (3) repair damage to the skin. In truth each acid performs a broad range of functions in helping our skin, so this is not to say that just because an acid isn’t listed under a certain category that it doesn’t perform that function. Based on these three parameters, I’ve classified several of the fatty acids as follows:

Assists barrier function- keep bad stuff out, keeps moisture and good stuff in and allows appropriate things to pass through the skin
Palmitic acid (forms occlusive layer)
Palmitoleic acid (antimicrobial)
CLA (antimicrobial, improve epidermal differentiation)
Stearic acid (flexibility and moisture retention)
Linoleic acid (provides moisture, lack of it leads to dry skin, scaling and acne)
Oleic acid (moisturizing, softening, anti-inflammatory)
Gamma Linoleic acid (anti-inflammatory)
Lauric acid (antifungal and antibacterial)
Myristic acid (provides moisture, links proteins that form outer layer of skin)
Prevents damage
Palmitoleic acid (prevents burns, wounds and scratches)
Repairs damage
Stearic acid (flexibility)
Linoleic acid (lack of it leads to poor wound healing)
Oleic acid (regenerating- aids with collagen and elastin)
Gamma Linoleic acid (repairs skin barrier, helps reverse epidermal hyperproliferation)
CLA (elasticity, reduce inflammation, lighten skin)
Myristic acid (regulates skin cell regeneration)
Tomorrow we’ll start to look at each individual fatty acid a little closer and learn about what types of oils contain which types of acids.

Posted in Natural remedies, Organic products, Skin care | Tagged essential fatty acids, fatty acids, lauric acid, linoleic acid, linolinec acid, oleic acid, Omega 3 fatty acids, palmitoleic acid, skin, skin health, stearic acid
Fatty Acids and How They Help Our Skin
Posted on September 16, 2011 by julie
This will be the first in a series of blogs on fatty acids and how they are fundamental to healthy skin. Lucky for us, we can get fatty acids two ways: we can eat them in our foods and we can apply them directly on our skin. First let’s look at fatty acids.

What are fatty acids?

Fatty acids are considered to be “good” fats and are used by mitochondria in our cells for energy. We need them in our diets for several reasons including cell membrane development and healthy functioning of our organs and tissue. They are therefore essential in keeping our skin healthy. There are many different categorizations of fatty acids including: saturated vs. unsaturated, the length of the chain of fatty acids; and if they are essential (meaning that we cannot produce them). We can produce all of the fatty acids we need within our own bodies except for two fatty acids (the essential fatty acids).

Essential Fatty Acids Overview

The two essential fatty acids which we cannot adequately manufacture within the human body because we lack the enzymes are alpha-linolenic acid (Omega 3 fatty acids) and linoleic acid (Omega 6 fatty acids). Oils rich in Omega 6 fatty acids include grapeseed oil, palm kernel oil, evening primrose oil, pumpkin seed oil and sesame oil. Generally we think of foods rich in Omega 3 being fish or seafood, but there are some plants, such as hempseed or flax, that are also sources of it.

Classifications of fatty acids

Fatty acids are classified according to the length of their chains into one of the following four categories: short chain, medium chain, long chain and very long chain fatty acids. The determining factor is how long the aliphatic tails are in the acid.

Fatty acids are also broken down into whether they are saturated or unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids have more than one double bond between carbon atoms whereas saturated fatty acids have no double bonds. These double bonds make unsaturated fatty acids more prone to rancidity.

Saturated Fatty Acids:

Behenic acid
Lauric aid
Myristic acid
Palmitic acid
Stearic acid
Unsaturated Fatty Acids:

Alpha Linolenic acid
Erucic acid
Linoleic acid
Oleic acid
Palmitoleic acid
The Skin

And now let’s turn our attention to the skin, the most wonderful of organs. The skin is not only our largest organ, it also has a very complex job. It must both provide a barrier (keeping bad stuff out and good stuff in) and behave as a passage (allowing bad stuff out and good stuff in). What do I mean by this?

Barrier function of skin

Keep good stuff in: skin must hold in all of our blood, organs, fat, moisture, and basically anything that should be contained in the human body. It helps reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
Keep bad stuff out: skin in our first line of defense in keeping out harmful bacteria, viruses, fungus, chemicals, and pathogens. If they can break the skin barrier, then our systems need to work hard to fight them off or we get sick. It’s much easier to keep them out in the first place.
Passage function of skin:

Let in the good stuff: skin must allow things like moisture, oxygen, nutrients, and sunlight (to make vitamin D) in through our skin in order for us to function properly.
Let out the bad stuff: skin must allow things like our sweat, toxins, and other waste product to be expelled out of the skin. It’s the body’s way of cooling and cleansing and necessary to our health.
Human skin is comprised of fatty acids in varying amounts. Here’s one table I found breaking them down (but I can’t vouche for the veracity of this table):

Oleic acid- 30.8%
Palmitic acid- 20.2%
Linoleic acid- 15.1%
Stearic acid- 11.2%
Palmitoleic acid- 3.8%
Myristic acid- 2.1%
Linolenic acid- 0.3%
So we can see that skin has a very complicated job indeed! How does it both create a barrier and a passage way letting things in and out and keeping things in and out? In order to do this, skin must be flexible, soft, supple and healthy. It does this by utilizing fatty acids to create a flexible barrier that can also prevent and repair any damage to the skin. Tomorrow we’ll take a look at how fatty acids help the skin

free skin care · Mon Apr 23, 2012 5:56 pm

More on the Oleic Acid and skin:

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid found naturally in many plant sources and in animal products. It is an omega-nine fatty acid, and considered one of the healthier sources of fat in the diet. It’s commonly used as a replacement for animal fat sources that are high in saturated fat. You may find various butter and egg substitutes made with high levels of oleic acid.

As a fat, oleic acid is one of the better ones to consume. As a replacement for other saturated fats, it can lower total cholesterol level and raise levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) while lowering low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), also known as the “bad” cholesterol. Usually switching to an oil high in oleic acid is not difficult since there are numerous sources available.

From a health standpoint, oleic acid exhibits further benefits. It has been shown to slow the development of heart disease, and promotes the production of antioxidants. One very interesting use of oleic acid is its use as an ingredient in Lorenzo’s oil, a medication developed to prevent onset of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a condition effecting only young boys that attacks the myelin sheaths of the body, causing symptoms similar to those in multiple sclerosis. Though Lorenzo’s oil does not cure the condition, it can delay onset or progression of the disease in those who are not yet symptomatic.

One of the chief sources of oleic acid in foods is olive oil, perhaps one of the tastiest cooking oils. Canola and grapeseed oil are also excellent choices when you are looking to supplement the diet with oleic acid, since they are naturally high in this fat. In addition to being used as cooking oil, oleic acid is part of a number of products. It is often used to make soap and is present in a number of cosmetics.

As a cosmetic ingredient, oleic oil seems to be a great moisturizer . In fact most cosmetic companies owe their inspiration to men and women who used oleic acid in natural forms to moisturize the skin — using olive oil on the skin has been a common practice in Italy and Greece for centuries.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-oleic-acid.htm

free skin care · Mon May 28, 2012 11:34 am

DarkMoon, thanks for the info about OCM from the Ultrasound thread. I picked up some CO from the drug store yesterday (I know cold-pressed is best, but I will have to order that online) and did OCM last night-30% CO, 70% EVOO and I did Tanaka massage. If felt really nice, especially the steamy washcloth.

However, I was reading on castor oil last night and one thing that kept coming up was that it was good for hair growth. Ugh, it seems everything I want to do for my face can cause hair growth. (LED, HF, now this). I know it probably won't cause growth on places you've never had hair, but I have purposely had my beard thinned out(electrolysis) and don't want it to get any thicker or darker. Do you-or anyone else-think OCM in any way can stimulate hair growth? I am thinking hopefully not since you are steaming the oil off and removing it only as a cleansing method. What do you think?

free skin care · Mon May 28, 2012 11:41 am

RyanA wrote:

DarkMoon, thanks for the info about OCM from the Ultrasound thread. I picked up some CO from the drug store yesterday (I know cold-pressed is best, but I will have to order that online) and did OCM last night-30% CO, 70% EVOO and I did Tanaka massage. If felt really nice, especially the steamy washcloth.

However, I was reading on castor oil last night and one thing that kept coming up was that it was good for hair growth. Ugh, it seems everything I want to do for my face can cause hair growth. (LED, HF, now this). I know it probably won't cause growth on places you've never had hair, but I have purposely had my beard thinned out(electrolysis) and don't want it to get any thicker or darker. Do you-or anyone else-think OCM in any way can stimulate hair growth? I am thinking hopefully not since you are steaming the oil off and removing it only as a cleansing method. What do you think?

LOL. Hope it is not TMI, but being female and post meno, it (and all the things you mentioned) Have not caused any hair to sprout up on my face!

I honestly would not worry! The worst is if you go through the dreaded purge and break out for a while! Very Happy

free skin care · Mon May 28, 2012 1:04 pm

LOL, no not TMI. I was reading more and the people using it for hair growth on their head leave it on overnight. So hopefully it won't be a problem, since I'll be removing it after a few minutes, plus it's diluted with the 2nd oil.

I do like the idea of not using a detergent (soap) to clean my face, and the OCM goes perfect with the Tanaka massage. Thanks again.

free skin care · Mon May 28, 2012 1:11 pm

RyanA wrote:

LOL, no not TMI. I was reading more and the people using it for hair growth on their head leave it on overnight. So hopefully it won't be a problem, since I'll be removing it after a few minutes, plus it's diluted with the 2nd oil.

I do like the idea of not using a detergent (soap) to clean my face, and the OCM goes perfect with the Tanaka massage. Thanks again.

LOL. Just making sure we girls on here do talk! Laughing

I know some people also use the CO for lash growth, but you are right we remove it when doing OCM!

You are welcome, we are all here to share and learn! Very Happy

free skin care · Wed May 30, 2012 11:35 am

The website with instructions says to only do OCM once a day. I wonder is it okay to do it twice a day initially to get through the process of getting the gunk to come out? I've gotten a couple of pimples, not sure if it's related or not.

Also, I've been reading through the thread and some people massage for like 30 minutes and longer-wow. I think I've only been doing like 5-7 minutes. Maybe I should try to do it longer initially. I don't know if I've "felt" anything coming up. I've felt a few grainy dots-is that it?

Oh and I also like the idea of adding the Polysorbate 80 to emulsify the oils. Any suggestions on the best/most affordable place to order that from? Gosh, I'm learning so much on this board. Very Happy

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