A Beginner’s Guide to the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)
My friends, we are entering a new era of face care: the oil cleansing method.
The concept is simple: cleansing your skin with oil. And despite the “counter-intuitive” feeling it may evoke in you, it actually makes a lot of sense. So for a moment let’s set aside any preconceptions and look at the oil cleansing method from a practical point of view.
First, some things that we’ve learned about our skin:
Our skin doesn’t want to be “oil free”
Despite the satisfaction that you might get from removing all traces of oil from your face after a thorough scrubbing, your skin might not be thanking you. Our bodies naturally produce oil to protect and moisturize skin (and hair, too!). If our skin didn’t want oil we wouldn’t be equipped with sebaceous glands. So why do we reach for cleansers that promise to strip away natural oils? Why would we feel that a cleanser marketed as “oil-free” would be compatible with our own natural system? Here at Badger, we believe in the healing and restorative power of oils, and the power of natural compatibility. So the oil cleansing method actually makes a lot of sense to us. It's a way to cleanse while honoring the way the body naturally cares for itself.
Oil is not clogging your pores – everything else is
There is no single culprit when it comes to skin blemishes. Breakouts can be caused by a number of factors including genetics, hormones, and pollution. And despite what you may have heard, oil alone is not what causes clogged pores. When dirt, pollution, and other icky stuff gets trapped within the oil on your face, pores can become clogged and skin can become irritated. This can lead to pimples, sebaceous filaments, and other bumps. So if we can remove the icky oil we can remove the rest of the stuff in it.
And just to be 100% sure we’ve had our Oil Face Care lines tested and approved non-comedogenic, which means they do not clog pores.
Like dissolves like
Using oil to dissolve, lift, and replace the icky oil on your face is a very effective cleansing method. Here's why it works so well: like dissolves like, which means oil dissolves oil. Your face is producing oil as you read this, and it mixes with everything else you apply to your face, including sunscreen and makeup. So from a very basic and practical standpoint, the oil cleansing method provides a deep cleanse.
It is also a gentler way to cleanse your delicate face. A lot of water-based cleansers must use a detergent (surfactant) to dissolve oil, leaving dry and depleted skin in its wake.
The Badger Oil Cleansing Method
Balance isn’t just for yoga
Oily T-zone and dry chin? Dry cheeks and greasy nose? Like many of us you probably have combination skin. For most people this can be addressed by balancing your skin’s oil production.
The first step: stop stripping the oil from your skin. When you remove all of the oil through a detergent/surfectant cleansing process, your skin notices that there is not enough oil and produces more. In other words: you remove oil, your skin puts it back twofold leading to some oily spots and some dry spots.
The oil cleansing method is a good way to balance oil production, because it doesn't strip all of our own sebum. Jojoba is incredibly balancing because it's made up of the same natural building blocks as the oil produced by your skin. And it provides nourishing fatty acids to the dry parts while balancing oil production in the oily parts.
Hopefully, at this point, you’re feeling like you have a better understanding of how your skin works. So now, let’s dig into “The Why” of the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM).
Long term benefit
Think about it this way: there are a number of emollient ingredients to choose from. So why not choose the best oils that deliver soothing results immediately, and benefit the skin over time?
All of the ingredients we use are 100% natural and certified organic and made from fresh whole botanicals, brimming with life force. That’s why you’ll see vitamin E-rich Sunflower Oil rather than mineral oil, and organic essential oils rather than synthetic fragrance oils in our ingredients.
Simplicity, efficacy, and health
Pure, minimally processed oils are simple, effective, and good for you and your skin. Just as eating food that is whole grain, minimally processed, natural and organic is best for your body, using whole botanicals that are certified organic and minimally processed is best for your skin.
Ritual versus chore
It’s not just the oils themselves that turn the OCM into such a pleasurable experience, it’s also the ritual. Taking an extra 15 minutes to treat your skin kindly and appreciate your body supports self-love. Oil cleansing gives you an opportunity to spend an extra few minutes giving yourself a well-deserved face massage. Or, at the very least, a little quiet “you” time.
If you’re feeling like you don’t have the extra 15 minutes to do the full routine, here’s a tip from Badger Emily: “I like to turn on the shower, then while the water heats up I apply the Cleansing Oil to my face. I hop in the shower and with my face washcloth remove the oil. This way I get the benefits of OCM without spending any extra time.”
Makes me feel like royalty
There’s something about massaging these pure oils into my skin that makes me feel so special. I’m especially partial to the Damascus Rose face care line. Organic rose essential oil is so precious that I find myself radiating with gratitude. Did you know it takes 2.5 tons of fresh petals to make about a pint of essential oil? Seriously, this is stuff that Cleopatra herself would covet.
…and it works!
The oil cleansing method purifies skin and balances oil production. And proof that we don’t need to strip all of the oil from our skin in order to cleanse it.