Fighting my adult acne with oil...yep oil

I've written this post and haven't had the balls to hit "post" for over a week.  It's so...so...embarrassing!  What I won't do for you guys...

In Junior high and high school, I had gorgeous porcelain skin.  Nary a blemish in sight.  It was lovely.  Then, I went off to college in Eastern Washington, and my face went batshit crazy.  It wasn't what we were eating, but rather the water I was using.  My skin got better when I came back to this side of the state, and then we moved to California, and once again, I was a total pizza face.  My skin doesn't like hard water apparently!

Getting pregnant made me look like a 15 year old.  Ugh, it was so bad and so humiliating.  I however, didn't care enough to put much make up on since I was spending all my spare time puking in garbage cans and in the shampoo aisle at the West Hollywood Target.  Whoopsie.

Over the years, I've tried everything - the pill, Retin-A, something that I can't remember the name of, but it ends in "myosin", Proactiv (yes, please charge me $30 for my skin to peel off and make it bleed!), and even Accutane.  Accutane is the pill that you have to sign a waiver saying you will abort a baby should you get pregnant.  So yeah...not so gentle for your body.

About a year ago I started the oil cleansing method.  Tried it for a few weeks, liked it.  Then got lazy and stopped doing it.  I started up again about six weeks ago, and am sticking with it this time; I'm loving the results!!!

The details:
-some sort of gentle oil (grapeseed has been recommended, but I've been using jojoba that I get either online or from Trader Joes.
-Castor oil.  I bought mine at the drug store (by the incontinent and diarrhea supplies.  YAY!)
-some sort of squeezy bottle.  You want something that you can use without having to dip your hands in.

The ratio of oils depends on your skin type, and for me, it depends on the weather.  I have combo skin, so I use about 75% jojoba oil, and 25% castor oil.  If your skin is feeling too dry, add more of the "gentle" oil until the ratio works for your skin type.

Gently splash your face with water, and then use a quarter-size squirt of your oil mixture and massage it in your hands until warmed.  Then massage it all over your face and keep massaging it for about a minute or so.

Wet a washcloth with pretty hot water and apply it to your face for about 30 seconds.  Rinse the rag, and do it a few more times.  Then splash your face with cool water, dry off, and call it done.  Well of course after you've blown your nose and all.  I've already established that I'm a snotty person when water gets on my face! Whole process is done under 5 minutes.

I know my skin care routine is now the exact opposite of everything that beauty companies tell us.  I doubt you'll find too many products that say "oil added"!  But, hey, this works for me and it's cheap and super gentle.

And just because I love love love you guys, I'm showing you awful before and after pictures.  Just a warning - if you don't like the face of middle school kids, you'll probably want to just click the little "x" right now and close the screen.

Please keep in mind that the maroon spots on my face are scars.  I'm super lucky in that I'm VERY pale and my skin scars easily.  Yay for me!

Forehead, week 1
Chin, week 1
That is a towel bar behind me.  Not weird military should pad things.
Forehead, week 2
Chin, week 2 (like George Constanza would say, "the sea was angry that day my friend")
Forehead, week 3
Chin, week 3
Forehead, week 4 (photo by Jack) (Also, for full disclosure, he took this photo at the end of the day.  I was wearing a bit of make up, I had applied it 13 hours before the photo, and I sweated most of it off playing superheroes).
Chin, week 4 (another photo by Jack) Oh sweet...a first thing in the morning photo with no make up, dirty hair, and stank breath?  You're welcome readers!!!
You'll notice per the photos, that the second week of this method made my skin rebel like people of Alederaan (what Star Wars joke and acne?  NERD!), but it eventually relaxed a bit and started correcting itself.

One thing I noticed after about two weeks of this is that my make up went on super smoothly.  People started asking if I got a new brand of make up, or if I was tanning (HA!!!!!) because my skin had a "glow".  My scars take forever to fade, but I'm pretty happy with my skin right now, and don't mind this routine at all.  I think of it as my mini spa session each night.

I'm a sweaty sleeper (seriously, could I make myself sound LESS attractive during post?), so I have to wash my face in the shower each morning.  I'm currently using Neutrogena's new Naturals brand and it's decent.  I just use a tiny bit.  After showering, I use either a bit of coconut oil, or jojoba oil as a moisturizer.

I still get breakouts.  They're just not as often as they used to be, and they don't last nearly as long.

So the next time you think "geez, Sarah doesn't seem to "get real" with us often", please refer yourself back to the post where I showed you my grease ball face. 

PS, the first person who comments "if you give up wheat and dairy your skin will clear up" gets a kick right in the clam.  I gave up both while breastfeeding, and my skin didn't clear up a bit.  It was just as grumpy as I was!

I've shared this over at: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Real Food Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursdays, It's a Keeper Thursdays, and Seasonal Celebration Sundays.
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