If you don’t yet know the secret benefits of oil cleansing for your skin, this article is just for you!
Let’s be honest. We have all heard those warnings about avoiding oil on the face, especially if you have oily, acne-prone skin. Thus, oil cleansing itself sounds quite like a misstep when we are talking about effective skin care and stuff that actually works. Now, what if we tell you with the right oils and the right compositions, oil cleansing can work on all skin types? Intrigued? Let’s explore some of the surprising secret benefits of oil cleansing that you must know!
What is Oil Cleansing?
Before we discuss the hidden benefits of oil cleansing, you must first understand what oil cleansing is. Then, we will explore the benefits researchers have highlighted.
Firstly, people have been using oils as healing ingredients for various skin problems and health issues, even just as an added ingredient to their skincare routine, for centuries. Now, even practices like oil cleansing for the face have started to go mainstream, with brands including oil cleansers in their product lineups and people using oil cleansing for removing makeup!
While “cleansing” may bring to mind a foamy lather, oil cleansing instead involves massaging pure oils on your face and then rinsing them off with a damp washcloth or a gentle water-based cleanser to remove any residue. Believe it or not, massaging oils onto your face can have multiple benefits besides nourishing and hydrating your skin, and now we will explore all of those hidden benefits in detail.
Secret Benefits of Oil Cleansing You Must Know
1) Oil Cleansing Can Prevent TEWL
Have you ever experienced your skin feeling so tight and dry that even lotion doesn’t seem to help? This could be due to various drying products, which are so full of chemicals that they strip off the natural oils on your skin.
Consequently, your skin produces more oil (or sebum) to compensate for the natural oils that it loses, thus creating an even oilier palette. Plus, it is also true that you cannot just cleanse your skin with only water, as that would do nothing against excessive oil in your skin.
This is where oil cleansing comes in. It can prevent TEWL, translating to Trans-Epidermal Water Loss or dry, flaky skin. If you have ever experienced red, flaky skin that is over-dried and too tight, nourishing oil cleansing would be your holy grail for the moisturized, soft, supple skin of your dreams!
2) Oil Dissolves Oil
We have all had those teenage years when tackling one acne outbreak would cause ten more to break out of nowhere! Sometimes, these pesky acne outbreaks follow us into adulthood, and that’s where the problem starts, as you not only have to deal with these painful breakouts but also the scars that come after.
We also know that acne is caused by excessive oil in our skin. So, it would probably make no sense to you if we suggest getting rid of acne with oil cleansing. But hear us out when we say “like dissolves like,” just as two negatives make a positive!
When you cleanse your face with oil, it attracts all the impurities on your skin, such as “bad oils,” makeup, dirt, and even other environmental impurities when rinsed off, leaving behind cleansed, glowing skin.
3) Creates a Balance For Oily Skin
Moving on to the next benefit of oil cleansing, which is that it helps balance out your skin, or more specifically, helps balance out your skin’s natural oils. You might start ridiculing the idea of using oil on your already oily skin, but there’s science behind this, too.
As you know, our skin produces some natural oils, which is, of course, necessary. But sometimes, that oil production goes into overdrive, giving you an oily complexion. Combined with dirt and clogged pores, you start seeing acne breakness.
In such a case, instead of going for cleansing products loaded with harsh chemicals that can not only strip off the natural, “good” oils but also cause more redness, sensitivity, and irritation, you should say hello to oil cleansing.
Oil cleansing basically communicates to your skin that there is already enough oil, so there’s no need to produce extra. Thus, this regulates your skin’s oil production and keeps it balanced.
4) Oil Really Isn’t The Culprit
You have often heard that oil can cause blemishes, blackheads, and a whole range of imperfections on the face. However, sometimes, this oil is misdirected, as acne and other imperfections are caused by several factors, such as dirt build-up, makeup, bacteria, hormones, and even dehydration.
Since oil is already a naturally occurring phenomenon on your skin, you must also understand how it can keep your skin healthy and provide the necessary hydration and protection for your largest organ.
Plus, with oil cleansing, you can get deep into your pores and clean them out, removing the excess sebum that might be stuck in there, along with dirt or other impurities.
5) Balances The Skin’s Barrier and Provides Deep Hydration
Imagine that your skin is a protective fortress with many walls. One of those walls is the skin barrier, which keeps out “invaders” like dirt, dust, and other impurities and keeps in moisture.
Now, if you use too many harsh chemical-rich products or cleansers on your skin, you will weaken these walls, which will ultimately lead to unwanted skin issues like sensitivity, dryness, and even acne breakouts.
In such a case, oil cleansing acts like a skilled mason repairing and strengthening these walls, which are your skin barriers. For this process, you will want to use an oil composition that is very similar to our natural oils, such that they don’t just sit on the surface.
When applied, they don’t just sit on the surface of your skin but penetrate deeper layers, too, thus providing intense hydration. This ultimately ensures that your skin’s natural barrier is intact and strong against any external aggressors, properly locking in essential moisture.
6) Oils Are Filled with Antioxidants
Do you know what causes aging symptoms like fine lines, wrinkles, sagging, and dull skin? Besides age, it is the action of free radicals in our skin that prevents the regeneration of healthy cells, thus stealing the glow from your skin and exacerbating ageing signs.
To counter the action of these free radicals, you should try oil cleansing with oils containing vitamins A, D, and E, such as extra virgin olive oil. Oils like these also contain potent anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties, making them the holy grail for healthy skin. Moreover, oils such as avocado oil also help increase collagen production, which, in turn, helps your skin look more youthful.
You could also consider using oils like sea buckthorn, watermelon seed oil, and black cumin seed oil to counter aging signs like reducing the appearance of wrinkles, moisturizing the skin, and preserving that youthful glow.
7) It’s DIY-Friendly
Oil cleansing is not a matter of rules and specific instructions, which is the best part of this method. So, you can DIY and experiment with your favorite mixtures and oil blends for maximum benefits. The most common DIY oil blend for oil cleansing is generally a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and castor oil. You could also try out oil cleansing with other blends using oils such as jojoba, grape seed, and sunflower.
If you are just starting out with oil cleansing for one of your first times, go for a 50/50 blend of extra virgin olive oil or castor oil. You can later tweak this ratio as you start to discover what works best for you. Generally, a 1:3 ratio of extra virgin olive oil to castor oil would work best for acne-prone skin, and the reverse ratio would be ideal for dry skin. If you are unsure about using castor oil, you could substitute it with jojoba or hazelnut oil as well.
To apply, moisten your face a little just to lubricate it before massaging a dime-to-quarter-sized amount of your lukewarm oil mixture into your face. Then, place a damp washcloth over your face, letting your face soak up all the goodness of the oils. Repeat this process once or twice every week for best results.
8) Removes Dead Skin, Pollutants, and Even Makeup!
Our skin is like an empty canvas on which various environmental and physical elements have an effect. Over the course of our day, our skin accumulates not only microscopic pollutants from the environment but also dirt and makeup build-up. This can ultimately lead to dark, dull skin and premature signs of aging.
While many traditional cleansers break down our skin’s barriers because of their chemical composition, oil cleansing shines through your skin, literally. Like a magnet attracting iron chips, oil works pretty similarly, attracting and lifting away all the dirt, grime, excess sebum, and other impurities that have settled in your skin. At the end of it, you get soft and smooth, cleansed skin.
Another noteworthy benefit of oil cleansing is that it removes even the hardest waterproof makeup products like eyeliners and mascara, even better than your usual store-bought makeup remover. This property can be attributed to the “like dissolves like” principle behind oil cleansing, essentially meaning that the oils in your makeup bond with the oils, making it easier to remove them from your skin.
Pro Tip: If you are wearing sunscreen and makeup, do a double cleanse to ensure a thorough, deep cleaning that will leave your skin soft and nourished.
9) Your Key To Glowing, Youthful Skin
Ever noticed how some people have skin that just seems to glow from within? You know, those “people” can be you too! All you need to do is add oil cleansing to your skincare routine to give your skin that radiant glow that will turn heads!
Oil cleansing aids in the exfoliation process, thus helping remove dead skin cells. This is especially beneficial for those with dry skin, as with dry skin, the skin doesn’t shed dead skin cells as it should.
Through oil cleansing, you add moisture to your skin, thus protecting its “natural lipid layer,” which contains fatty acids and replenishes the essential nutrients in your skin. This gives your skin a boost of vitality and brings back its glow.
10) A Gentle Option for Sensitive Skin
While we have talked about oily and acne-prone skin types and how oil cleansing can help people with these skin types and concerns, let’s shift our focus to quite a common concern, which is sensitive skin. If you have skin that turns red at the slightest hint of a new skincare product, then oil cleansing might just turn out to be your best friend.
This is more so because, unlike harsh cleansing or even general skincare products that strip your skin of natural oils, oil cleansing works in harmony with your skin type.
For sensitive skin types, you could try oil cleansing with oils like hemp seed oils, jojoba oils, or Kukui Nut Oil. These oils are gentle yet effective and great at lifting off dirt and excess sebum without causing dryness or, ultimately, irritation or redness.