Written by contributor Tiffany Larson.

One of my goals for 2012 was to try the Oil-Cleansing Method (OCM), explained in depth by Tsh over at Simple Mom.  My skin has been parched for far too long while I continued to use  conventional facial cleanser.

1.  If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.

After reading several online reviews of (OCM), I decided to try using grapeseed oil as my carrier oil.  After my first use, my face was a little oily to the touch.  I left greasy fingerprints all over the kitchen – clearly, I touch my face too much.   After giving it another chance on night two, I found those greasy fingerprints again and decided to try another oil.

I had EVOO in the cupboard so I gave that a go and immediately liked the post cleansing feel.  Lightly moisturized and not greasy, perfect in my book.

If I hadn’t had EVOO on hand, I also could have tried altering the ratio of carrier oil to castor oil.  I used 3 teaspoons of carrier oil to 1 teaspoon of castor oil.  As Tsh explains, you may want to change the ratio for your skin type.

2.  A little bit goes a long way.

When you try out OCM, mix a small amount of your carrier oil and castor oil until you find a combination that works or you risk throwing away a lot of product.  I made 2-3 days worth and kept it in a small bowl until I found the EVOO and castor oil mixture that worked for me.    A nickel to quarter size of your mixture is plenty for covering your entire face.  Use a little more if you want to do your neck as well.

3.  It’s ridiculously frugal.

I recently jumped on the chance to get $10 off my first purchase at Vitacost (you can too, here)  and bought grapeseed and castor oil for just over $5, including shipping.  If I continued to use grapeseed oil, the cost (excluding the $10 discount) using my 3:1 ratio would be just 2 cents per facial wash.  The EVOO comes in around 1 cent per use.

Photo by LizMarie_AK

4.  Do it downstairs.

If you’re annoyed by wasting water while it gets ultra hot, try washing your face in a ground floor bathroom.  It doesn’t take as long to heat up, saving resources and money.

5.  It’s not a magic elixir, but I’m hopeful.

No, I don’t look 5 years younger and all those fine lines under my eyes from years of sleep deprivation and lack of moisture are still there.  But those little bumps on my forehead?  Gone in a couple days.  Normally, I would have dug out my prescription cream to make them disappear.  I’ve read in other forums about people experiencing greater transformation (fine lines, be gone!) but if it never happens, maybe I’ve slowed down any new ones.

Have you tried OCM?  What are your thoughts, love it or hate it?  If you haven’t tried it, what’s stopping you?