Is the oil-cleansing method right for you?

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I know lots of people have tried it and loved it. I tried it and it did absolutely nothing for me. My skin didn't get worse, but it didn't get better either, and it was a lot more work than my usual routine of washing my face in the shower. I do use facial oils (particularly rosehip oil), and I like them, but this routine just didn't give me results. And now I'm stuck with this big bottle of nearly-expired castor oil that I don't know what to do with.

If you follow this link (from Paula's Choice), you can find a detailed critique of the claims made by proponents of this skincare routine, and you can also find a link to the routine itself, in case you want to give it a try (it is pretty cheap). I'm linking to the critique first, because the fans of this method can have a weird, almost religious, way of trying to spread the word, so I think it's better to start with the negatives before you get sucked in completely. There are people who like it, but the same thing won't work for everyone, even people who seem to have the same skin type.

Have you tried the oil-cleansing method? What did you think?

The cheapest and easiest DIY dry shampoo (PLUS a review of Aveeno Pure Renewal Dry Shampoo with photos)

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You may have realized I've been on a quest to find the best (cheap) dry shampoo out there. I've found some good ones, but I always feel like they could be a little bit better. The most recent contestant is Aveeno Pure Renewal Dry Shampoo. It seems to get decent reviews, and sells for around $8, which is not mega-cheap, but affordable enough.

When I was looking at the ingredients list (after I'd already bought it - which is usually the wrong order to do things), I saw that one of its main ingredients is corn starch. That reminded me that before dry shampoo was readily available and affordable, I used to use corn starch regularly, mainly on my bangs. So I figured that a comparison was in order - if the corn starch works just as well, it's a hell of a lot cheaper.

You guys know about coconut oil, right? Cheap, natural, effective hair conditioning treatment

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Hair oils have been around since . . . like, probably forever, I'm pretty sure. When people figured out how to extract oils, they started rubbing them on themselves. Maybe even before they ate them. But lately they've been getting a bunch of mainstream attention. Here's the thing - you don't have to spend much money to get probably the best oil treatment possible. Coconut oil. It's one of the only oils that will actually penetrate the hair shaft and condition and moisturize that way. I've tried it - it does work.

Here's what you do. Buy a tub of coconut oil. It really doesn't matter which brand. Get a cheap one from the grocery store. Or here's one.

Cheap and Natural: Tea Tree Oil for Acne

I know that benzoyl peroxide spots treatment are the industry standard for acne (things like Persagel, etc.), but for some reason they do nothing for me except bleach my pillowcases. Not only do they not get rid of zits, they don't even stop them from getting worse. I've tried a bunch of different brands.

If you have the same problem, you might want to give tea tree oil a try. It works wonders for me. Sometimes I can feel one of those great big subsurface pimples brewing, and if I get to it fast enough with the tea tree oil, it'll halt it in its tracks (mixed metaphors? whatever). And in the meantime it doesn't get any worse. It just gives up and fades away. So you can imagine that it also does well with more run of the mill crap. It also sort of dries up and heals the surface of gross oozing ones, so that I can put on my makeup or whatever without it being nasty.

Tea tree oil has anti-bacterial properties, so in principle it should work the same as benzoyl peroxide. But skin is weird, and everyone's responds differently to different things. I use this 100% tea tree oil, and just dip a Q-tip in it and dab it on the spots that need it once or twice a day. It has a strong medicinal smell, kind of like menthol or eucalyptus, but I don't mind it too much. Be careful if you have a zit too near your mouth and you use this, because it tends to migrate and tastes kind of nasty. Minor unpleasantness if you find it works for you, though. I've been using my bottle for about 4 months now, and I haven't even got through a 6th of it, so it's definitely cost effective at around $9 a bottle. I'd suggest making sure what you're buying is 100% tea tree oil, though, because otherwise it might not have enough potency to get the job done (for instance, this one from The Body Shop lists water and alcohol as the first ingredients. No.).

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Thank you so much for posting about rose hip oil! I live in a part of Texas that is horribly dry, awful and windy. I've been using coconut oil on my skin for about two years now. I didn't realize how short it was falling until I started using rose hip oil instead. My face has gone from flaky and gross to soft and happy!

 barbryallen

You’re welcome! I was surprised how happy I was with it. I use it every single day. It’s great to hear from you about this, because I have combination/oily skin, and it sounds like it also works on dry skin. MAGIC.

Cheap and Natural: Rosehip Oil

When I bought this stuff about a month ago, I actually forgot why. I mean, it was on my Amazon wishlist, so I knew I wanted it, but I couldn't remember what it was supposed to do. I just knew that I had read something once on some blog that convinced me I should try it.

Now, I don't give a shit about things being natural (or organic). Really, I'm not convinced that the things my skin really needs are likely to drop right off of trees. But rosehip oil has been clinically/scientifically tested, and it's a great emollient, antioxidant oil. It's supposed to boost moisture and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.