Hey everyone,
Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. I just started oil pulling last week using organic cold-pressed coconut oil. I've been doing it 2-3 times a day for exactly 20 minutes each time. I've been reading a lot about oil pulling over the last several weeks and I finally decided that I wanted to give it a try because of the many health benefits that apparently come with it. I even got my husband to do it too. I am 32 years old and have suffered from facial acne ever since I was in high school. I only get acne on my forehead and chin area and nowhere else. My acne amazingly got so much better when I switched to a sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner about 2 years ago; however, it never completely went away. I also have some scarring as a result of many years of battling acne. Since starting the oil pulling a few days ago, my face is an absolute mess! I've started getting huge, red breakouts on my forehead and temple areas and I've even gotten a few on my cheeks, and I've NEVER had acne on my cheeks before. My face also feels extremely oily since starting the oil pulling, even right after washing it. From what I've been reading on several different sites, I'm assuming that what I'm experiencing right now is a healing crisis from the oil pulling. Has anyone ever experienced this before? About how long should I expect this to last before it starts getting better? Has anyone had their acne totally cured by oil pulling? My face looks like a pepperoni pizza right now! I don't even remember the last time it's was ever this bad. I'm so grateful that I work from home because I do NOT want to go out in public looking like this! I really hope that this is just the temporary result of my body getting rid of the toxins through my skin and that I will have amazing skin once this "detox" process is over. I definitely don't want to stop the oil pulling, especially if it will clear up my acne and make my skin look better than it ever has before. Plus, my teeth are already so much whiter than they were before I started oil pulling. They literally are bright white now. Even my gums look and feel healthier. I just wish my face would cooperate!
OIL PULLING is really great. It is from the concept that the tongue is actually connected to all parts of the body. So your aim is to really clean the tongue so in return body goes with the cleansing. I use SESAME OIL. I am not sure why you are breaking out coz I have not experienced the same thing. Make sure you OIL PULL first thing when you wake up in the morning before you eat or drink. Make sure you gargle the oil until it achieves a thick and WHITE consistency. Please be sure it goes all white. Then is the go signal that it is has started filtering the toxin. Along with that I drink juice a lot. Cucumber, apple, carrot, all sorts of fruit and vegetable juice. My teeth literally went all white and my breathe got fresher. I also got clearer complexion :>
Coconut oil is comedogenic in some people. It's plausible that fat-soluble coconut antigens are causing an immune reaction in your skin. I would not see this as a 'cleansing' phase, but rather as a reaction to the coconut oil.
If you really must continue oil pulling, I would suggest a different oil. Sesame oil as mentioned above is probably a good bet - make sure it's not toasted, as this can actually stain the teeth.
But I would very much recommend that you discontinue your use of the coconut oil. There are people who have, interestingly (and tragically), created some sort of sustained immune reaction in their skin after cleansing with certain oils, including coconut and castor, which led to massive breakouts that were very difficult to get rid of. I hope your situation isn't one such case. Best of luck.
Are you using unrefined coconut oil? Also, 3 times a day for 20 minutes seems like a lot to start with. I think less is more when when it comes to adding something to your regimen. I would suggest trying to build up if you want to do it that often.
If you are killing something in your body there is going to be a reaction while our immune systems deal with the "bodies". I think if it persists more than 2 weeks you should stop. But for now I would recommend reducing how often you OP. I pull coconut once a day for 15 minutes.
Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to cut back to just once a day for 20 minutes instead of the 2-3 times a day that I've been doing for the past week. I initially thought the more I oil pulled, the faster I would detox and cleanse my body, but my face is obviously not having it. Hopefully, only oil pulling once a day will help clear my face up.