Combustible Friends: Olive Oil

Friday, April 5, 2013

Washing Away Your Dirt with Oil?

I know the idea seems strange at first. Even gross. My skin breaks out like a 13 year old’s already, won’t washing it with oil just make it worse?!? I’ve tried hundreds of dollars’ worth of creams, lotions, washes, soaps, and ointments to try and get my skin cleared up. Some would work okay while some made things much worse. Did I mention I also have extremely sensitive skin? Being me is such a joy! :)

I figured going all natural had to have some benefit. Boy was I in for a surprise! After the first time doing this my skin was glowing and oh-my-goodness soft. Within a week my face had started to clear up and my skin got even softer. This week I started using it on my chest and arms. It’s amazing how great my skin feels and looks. I always follow up with my new all natural moisturizer, Coconut Oil.

Now before we talk about the specifics of all this, I have to give a huge thank you to the woman who changed my life with her blog and her stories of going natural – Tsh at Simple Mom! Her blog got me started and I consider her my hero.

So here we go, the super simple method I started using about two weeks ago.

Oil Cleanser for Normal Skin

- 1 parts EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

- 1 part Castor Oil

Oil Cleanser for Dry Skin

- 3 parts EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

- 1 part Castor Oil

Oil Cleanser for Acne Prone/Oily Skin

- 1 parts EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

- 3 part Castor Oil

Right now I’m only using olive oil because I haven’t been able to find any castor oil in the stores I’ve looked in. I ordered some off of Amazon and it’s on its way. I’ll most likely try the dry skin recipe first as I think my dry skin is a big cause for my skin issues. I keep mine in a travel bottle with a flip top.

So now you have your cleanser and you need to know what to do with it! Pour a small amount in your hands and rub. This warms it up nicely. Gently rub the lotion in to your skin. I’ve read that you should apply it to dry skin but I use it in the shower while wet and I think it still works great. The goal is one minute of gentle massaging.

Then take a warm wet wash cloth and apply it the skin. This helps get skin extra clean so don’t skip it! Again the goal is one minute. All that’s left is to rinse. Take your wash cloth and gently wipe off the oil. That’s it! Your skin will look and feel amazing. I like to follow up with coconut oil as a moisturizer after I’m out of the shower and dried off (more on coconut oil later!).

Click here to read Tsh’s blog post on this subject.

Up Coming Topics:

Homemade Bread

Crocheted Baby Booties from Hell

Homemade Lip Balm

Benefits of Coconut Oil

Recipe\Instructions for baking soda and ACV hair cleaner

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

A Little Late to the Race

Sometimes I feel like that’s the story of my life! I’m a 37 year old single mom of a now grown child who’s in college. I have three cats and am the step mom to a big dumb dog and a huge skittish rabbit. I work as a computer programmer and love what I do and the people I get to do it with. At home it’s all about crafts and making things. I knit, crochet, paint, and various other crafty things.

My latest kick is all natural beauty products made at home. I’ve started washing my face with olive oil and using coconut oil as a moisturizer. In the week and a half I’ve been using this system my face has cleared up and my dry skin is almost gone. I’ve also stopped using shampoo and conditioner instead opting for baking soda and apple cider vinegar mixes. I’m still not sure on this one. The first time I used it my hair was soft and manageable. This morning I think it’s on the dryer side. I do need a haircut, time for another 2 inches to go away.

Last September I dyed the bottom half of my hair purple and it destroyed about eight inches. I’ve already lost four inches of nastiness, four more to go! I’ve also stopped using permanent hair dye. I tired Henna once but it requires five to seven hours of down time on the weekend and I don’t normally have that. I use a semi-permanent dye about every 8 weeks. I have a lot of grey hair that seems to have all congregated to the center middle part of my head. When I don’t do something I end up with a huge white stripe down the middle. Not attractive at all!

So that’s the purpose of this blog, another craft and DIY beauty products blog indeed. I plan to post things I’m working on, recipes, and whatever the else I feel might be helpful or entertaining. Besides, I need to place to keep me accountable.