DIY Cleansing Oil
Did you know that you can easily create your own cleansing oil with just a few ingredients?
Sunflower oil
Castor oil
Essential oils (optional)
Growing up you were probably told to stay away from oil on your skin, when in fact your skin produces a natural oil called sebum to moisturize and protect itself from natural elements. For the most part, our skin does a pretty good job of balancing itself out. But because of our diets, hormonal imbalances, environmental factors, and the array of skin care products we are all tempted to try - sometimes our skin needs a little bit of help.
Why sunflower and castor oil?
Sunflower oil is personally one of my favorite all-purpose oils. It’s inexpensive, easy to find, and is great for all skin types. It doesn’t clog pores and contains vitamins and antioxidants that are beneficial for many uses like cleansing, moisturizing, and even as a hair oil.
Castor oil’s antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties make it a powerful addition to this cleansing oil. The unique composition of castor oil makes it very astringent, minimizing the appearance of pores.
Essential oils are optional, but if you’d like to add a natural scent I recommend using lavender, geranium, tea tree, lemon, and/or grapefruit.
The Oil Cleansing Method
Oil dissolves oil - so when you use an oil to wash your face, your natural sebum mixes with these carrier oils, allowing you to wipe away dirt and makeup very easily, while leaving behind the vitamins and essential fatty acids your skin needs to stay moisturized and healthy.
Our facial skin’s optimal pH is around 5.5. Slightly acidic to ward off bacteria. Many traditional face washes and even natural soaps have a higher pH of 9+, so when we disrupt our skin’s pH our skin can become dry, irritated, or overly sensitive after stripping our skin of it’s natural oil. Because only aqueous solutions have pH levels, oils cannot affect the pH of our skin, so using the oil cleansing method is one of the most natural ways to cleanse your skin.
How to use a cleansing oil
Massage about a quarter size of cleansing oil into dry skin in circular motions for about a minute. You should use enough oil so that it glides across skin very easily, no tugging or pulling.
Then take a warm, damp washcloth and wipe away oils, rinsing and wringing out the cloth as needed.
Follow with face oil or usual moisturizer.
How to make your cleansing oil
Supplies:
A bottle or jar to fit 2 fl oz, reuse an old (cleaned out) container!
Optional:
Essential Oils - make sure to only use essential oils that are safe for your skin, and keep it at 1% (12 drops) or less
Recipe:
To make 2 fl oz or 60 grams, you want to use the following amount of castor oil for your skin type:
Normal: 1 tsp or 5 grams of castor oil
Dry: 1/2 tsp or 2.5 grams of castor oil
Oily: 1 1/2 tsp or 7.5 grams of castor oil
Fill the remaining space up with sunflower oil, then 6-12 drops (0.5%-1%) of essential oils of your choice. Skylar used 8 drops of lavender and 4 drops of tea tree.
Write the recipe and date on the label to keep track of when and how you made it. You may want to make it again in the future.
And now you have a cleansing oil! I recommend using your cleansing oil once daily, at night to remove dirt/makeup or in the morning, depending on your current skin care routine.