The Frog Prince- Castor Oil

Castor oil may have a bad rep- horror stories of small children of yester-year being force fed this thick sticky oil, child birthing uses and well the name, Castor, just doesn't sound appealing. 

But, Castor oil has a high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids, namely ricinoleic acid! This is responsible for Castor oil's effectiveness: anti-inflammatory, effective at killing bacteria and the oil has the ability to penetrate more deeply than any other essential plant oil making it a great cleanser that keeps skin youthful and fresh.

Because of Castor Oil's amazing skin properties and cleansing abilities it is the base oil in my Oil Cleansing Method skin care line. Now straight Castor Oil can be a bit drying to most skin types, that is why I have used this base oil to build on. 

First lets talk about oily/acne skin. For most people with this skin type the first thing they use to combat the problem is standard soap or cleansers. But, these cleansers can strip the precious oils from your skin causing your skin to produce more sebum, which will leave you with clogged pores, oily skin and more acne. 

What I have come up with is a mixture of Castor oil, Jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, olive oil and hazelnut oil. These oils will remove any excess oil, dirt, unclog pores and makeup from oil skin without drying it out.

Added to this mixture I have a blend of essential oils that are wonderful for oily/acne skin types- 

• Geranium Essential oil (for hormonal breakouts)
• Tea Tree Essential Oil (for general breakouts)
• German Chamomile Essential Oil (for skin sensitivity)
• Clary Sage Essential Oil (astringent) 
• Lemongrass Essential Oil (black heads and clogged pores)

Now that you know a little about the Oil/Acne formula, lets talk a little about the pros and cons of this cleansing method. You can decide if this method will be right for you, but I guarantee after you try this you will never want to clean your skin with anything else.

Pros and Cons of Oil Cleansing

Pros:

• It’s fantastic for your skin, and works for many people to clear up acne, combat dryness, and maintain a radiant glow.
• It’s a natural cleansing method.
• You can use this method every day/night or just a few times a week and still reap the benefits.
• Removes makeup easily (it's the best way I have found to remove my makeup)
• It doesn't strip the skin of its natural oils.
• If used regularly, your frequency to moisturize will decrease drastically. 

Cons:

• It may take a week or two for your skin to adjust to this new regimen.
• It’s more time-consuming than just washing your face with a cleanser.
• It may mean more laundry, due to the numerous washcloths you’ll go through if you do this every night. (I use a microfiber cloth and have found I just need to soap it up and rinse to get ready for the next use)

So, that is the basics of my Oil Cleansing Method Oily/Acne blend. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the ingredients or the method itself. Next post I will talk a little about the actual steps in the Oil Cleansing Method daily/nightly regimen. 

Have you tried the oil cleansing method? Speak up in the comments! Let everyone know what you thought and what your favorite part about it was!

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D.I.Y- Super Simple Facial Toner

This is a great facial toner for all skin types, it's super easy to make AND cheap! We will be using a common ingredient that almost everybody has in their kitchen- Parsley! 

Parsley is well known as a mouth freshen-upper. But, it also makes a wonderful skin toner for pretty much every skin type! This toner has anti-inflammatory properties, rich in vitamin C and will help remove dirt and excess oils without drying your skin out. 

So, first you want to gather your ingredients. If you have an herb garden, great (maybe now is the time to start one), if not just pop down to your local store or farmers market and pick up a bunch. 

Ingredients:

• Fresh bunch of parsley
• 1 cup of distilled or tap water (tap water will work just as well too)
• 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of organic lemon juice (optional)
• 3-4 drops of Tea Tree essential oil (optional)
• Bottle

OK, so first you want to chop your parsley- stems and and leaves, just a rough chop to release the oils. While you are chopping (don't forget to wash your parsley if store bought), bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Once the water is at a rolling boil, reduce heat to skimmer and drop in your parsley. 

Let the parsley and water mixture steep for about 10 minutes, then cool (I usually let it cool to about room temperature).

*** while you are waiting, why not make a parsley pesto with the rest of your parsley??? Mmm, parsley-walnut pesto  http://coolcolumbus.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html ***

After your mixture is cool, strain the parsley out (it's OK if you can't get all the parsley out), add your apple cider vinegar. *optional- add your lemon juice and Tea Tree oil if you have it *

Pour your mixture in a clean (sterilized) bottle, cap it and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks! I usually leave mine in the refrigerator for about 24 hours before using.

Apply with a cotton ball (or fingers), always in a upward motion on skin.

If you have any questions, let me know. If anyone tries this toner let me know how it worked!

Have a great day

Jody

Why Natural Skin Care Is The Best

The trouble most people have with mainstream skin care products are too numerous to name. But, I believe I can sum it up with one general word- CHEMICALS. To start off with the chemicals in most commercial products strip the oil from our skin, which our skin frantically tries to replace by producing and over abundance of oil, leaving us with oil/dry/acne prone skin. Add in the synthetic fragrances and voila- you have irritated skin. Chemistry- "Like dissolves like" a statement that indicates, in this case oil (sebum) will dissolve best in a solvent (oil) that has a chemical structure to itself. Simplistic- but true.

After researching, formulating and testing (thanks to all my guinea pig friends) I have come up with 3 oil blends, one for each major skin type. Oily/Acne Prone Skin Normal/Combination Skin Dry/Mature Skin Along with my base carrier oils I have incorporated essential oils, blended specifically for each skin type. The complete system follows up with an exfoliating scrub, blended with specific herbal and fruit extracts to polish the skin, not cause micro tears and more damage. Followed by a toner based on the same herbal and fruit extracts as the exfoliating scrub.

In later post I will talk about each formulation, just to explain the ingredients and why they are beneficial. I also will give a walk-through of the Oil Cleansing Method with some informational links. Have a great day! xoxoxo Jody