Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)

At first I liked my results, then I noticed I had a new cystic pimple. I continued this for about 5 days and I broke out horribly, I used a ratio of 50/50 CO and EVOO. NEVER AGAIN WILL I USE THE OCM. Since then I just wash my face with water and use a cotton ball with diluted tea tree oil to remove any residue of make up and use a honey mask every day until it's time for bed then use a diluted ACV toner and my skin looks way better.... I'm glad for anyone who has had good results with this OCM method, but I will never do this again...

DO NOT USE THIS METHOD!!!!! I used this out of desperation and regret everything!!! I began breaking out about a year or two ago randomly after never having pimples. I figured the science behind it made sense, like dissolves like, it's natural, etc., etc. But boy was I wrong!!!! Almost every pore in my face had some sort of bump. NIGHTMARE!! Even though my whole face was blowing up its hard to detect the little changes in a face you look at everyday. I knew I had acne, but never had it gotten this horrible. Then I began to realize a bump under my chin. Eventually I went to the doctor and was informed that it was a inflamed gland due to all the acne draining on my face. I was prescribed a oral medication as well as a gel & and just now beginning to clear up 3 months later. I also use Aztec healing clay once a week. Hopefully the worst is behind me. Goodluck to all of you because I know how you feel!!

So when I started OCM, I sort of blindly walked into it after watching about three youtube videos from people with already perfect faces and articles raving the "like dissolves like" ability and whatever. I purchased some organic, unrefined, unfiltered, etc. coconut oil while I was on a trip to trader joe's, and when I got home proceeded to slather it on my face dry and steam it off with a warm wash cloth. Let me tell you, my skin looked and felt amazing afterwards; my blemishes had already retreated a bit and my discoloration was significantly lessened, and my skin felt baby soft. I thought it was great that this one step method, along with an apple cider vinegar toner, was all I needed to keep my face clear, and after my acne had completely disappeared about three days later, I was sure I discovered the secret to curing my seemingly immortal skin condition. Then I came across this review page for OCM on acne.org. The reviews were of course largely negative, and I was so shocked that anybody could possibly have had a bad experience with this god sent elixir of a cleanser! I was soooo not buying that I could ever react that way, but as I kept reading (I ended up reading every review), I started to notice that a majority of the positive reviews were from people like me, who had just started using OCM and reaping the magnificent short-term benefits, while everyone in the negative reviews had stuck around long enough to see just how bad this wrecks your skin. I was effectively scared away from OCM after about the 40th negative review, and with phrases like "cystic acne" and "the worst breakout of my life" thrown in the mix, I felt so betrayed by my $8 jar of coconut oil and stopped using it immediately. And of course, my skin did not only return to its dismal condition prior to OCM, but it now featured the all-too-talked-about "closed comedones" typical of OCM after-effects studded across my jaw. And then what proceeded really was the worst breakout of my life. I haven't really had too terrible of acne prior to this, so I'm not saying that I had horrible cystic acne covering my entire face, but I did breakout in about 10 painful pustules on each cheek, accompanied with tonsss of redness surrounding it (this was about 2 weeks after stopping OCM). As I type this, I'm struggling through the brunt of this OCM-induced breakout, and really wish that I never tried the darn thing in the first place. I know some people have definitely had success with this, and apparently there's some sort of "purge period" that people go through (? sounds made up to me), but it just isn't worth sticking around for some sort of positive outcome when the getting there is so painful and horrible; plus, people see my face every day, and high school people suck. All in all, this isn't worth the risk. Go see your derm, don't trust something you read about online just because a few testimonials and some logical-enough presentation of "facts" makes it out to be great. If you don't understand the science behind it, don't use it unless a doctor tells you to.

Okay, so my story might be similar to those who constantly searched and googled the internet on "how to clear up acne". First I tried Proactiv+...noticed nothing after the 60day window so I returned it for a refund. I had hopes for the OCM method and it was the worst decision for me: CLOSED COMEDONES EVERYWHERE once I used the OCM for about a month. I thought this was because of the "purge" stage, but I didn't know that meant that these comedones would actually work their way above my skin, making clumps of red comedones all over my cheeks. oils I used: Castor oil Jojoba oil grape seed oil I started with a 50:50:10 ratio with the above and adjusted based on the feel on my skin. I added more jojoba if needs since it made the castor oil easier to smooth around on my face. I combined the above oils in a bottle. I used a nickel sized amount and put it all over my face and then used hot water to soak my washcloth and put over my face for a few minutes, wiped, wa-lah. I then used bragg's ACV with water and sprayed as a toner. I did this for maybe 2 months until I was mortified enough. OCM all depends on your skin type "oh it's natural....oil dissolves oil...no harm there" no. This did not work for me, at all. It's February now and my hyper pigmentation marks are just starting to fade. The whole process was started in JUNE. that means it has taken me 8 months to get my skin back to what it was. if you want to help your acne do yourself a favor and check out Paula's Choice products. THEY ARE AMAZING. I used her sample size ($9) 2% BHA liquid on the damage OCM did to my cheeks.

Please do not try this if you have acne-prone skin. I understand what it is like to feel desperate and hopeful about a new treatment, but this is probably the worst thing I have ever done for my skin. I have had hormonal/cystic acne for about 8 years (since age 20) and have tried multiple prescriptions and OTC options to no avail. I was very hopeful about the OCM. Used olive oil and castor oil, about 75/25 at first because my skin tends to dry out. It leaves you with a very nice, dewy moisturized feeling that seems healthier than the tight, dry feeling conventional products leave. After about two weeks, I noticed clogged pore forming, so I started doing 50/50 (more castor oil). Yes, with every wash I could feel gritty clogs coming out, but over time it seemed more were forming than were coming out. About two months into the method, I had the worst break out I've ever had, and it has lasted about six months (including during my wedding (what a bummer)! I have been desperate to clear this and it's only now starting to subside with Lerosett (but that's only been a couple of weeks, so we'll see longer term before I write any review on that). The breakout I've been fighting after OCM has caused substantial scarring on my temples and cheeks, both pigmentation and atrophic (icepicks). This is of course very upsetting. So please, be careful with this. I think I clogged so many pores and now I just have to wait until they all erupt and clear themselves out, leaving behind scars...

I read positive things about the OCM and since I always tend to break up a bit during the summer (looking back this is nothing), I decided to try it. After 10 days into it (I used jojoba & castor oil) I noticed that I started to break out. I immediately stopped the OCM. Now, 6 weeks later I have cystic acne all over my chin that keeps getting worse by the day and is slowly expanding to my cheeks and neck. I have never had acne like this before; never more than maybe 2-3 pimples at a time, mostly none at all. I already went to see a derm and she told me that it's not a good idea to put oil on your face when you're acne prone. She prescribed some topicals I have now been using for 2 weeks, but cannot see an improvement. I cannot believe I did this to myself and am afraid my skin will never fully recover. I wish I had never come across it. Don't try it, it's not worth it. I'm desperate and all out of ideas...

I'm writing this as a warning. Please don't do the OCM, I was so close to clearing my hormonal acne and it's now SO MUCH worse, like many of the other reviewers... I've been suffering from hormonal acne for 3-4 years now and had been trying EVERYTHING. I'd managed to get it to go down a lot in the last year but still had about 3-5 big red bumps on my skin at any given time, on my cheeks, forehead, or jaw, not to mention ALL the scarring. I really wanted to get it completely cleared up and felt I was so close, and I've always liked more natural remedies in anything so after reading so many rave blog posts and articles etc. about OCM I thought it would be great and would help me finally get rid of the acne!! WORST. MISTAKE. I have combination normal/oily skin and used a combination of castor oil, grapeseed oil, vitamin e oil and jojoba. I tweaked it around at first and changed the proportions to what I thought would better suit my skin, according to all the proportion recommendations. I would steam my face, massage the oil in, steam again, and wipe the oil off, occasionally steaming/massaging oil 2-3 times. I did this mornings and evenings or as I felt was needed. For about a month my skin was nice and glowy, super soft and supple. I didn't notice my hormonal acne going away but the overall texture of my skin was lovely, so I kept it up. Then, almost like overnight, like over a week maybe, my skin completely exploded. I got teeny little bumps ALL OVER my face like I've never had before...cheeks, jaw, around the mouth, forehead, EVERYWHERE. They're not blackheads, they're closed little bumps, you can't even really pop them but they just make the overall texture of my skin look AWFUL. I've been struggling with this now for about 6 months...never any change, the same awful bumpy texture IN ADDITION to the occasional whitehead or hormonal acne bump that pops up. It's horrible. From far away you can't tell so much bc the bumps are so tiny but up close my skin just looks like gravel. Putting makeup on makes it look worse bc the bumps are exaggerated. If I could go back in time and swat that oil out of my hands I would...I went from being SO CLOSE to being clear, to completely, 100% ruining my skin. Worst thing I have ever done. Still trying to fix it...please please don't even try this, apparently it works for some but it's not worth the risk!!

I tried the OCM on half of my face, and at first it got a bunch of oil plugs out of my pores. But it also got tons of oil into my pores! About a month in I started breaking out, and now six months later the OCM side of my face is still lousy with zits, while the other side is relatively zit-free. UGH! DO NOT RECOMMEND.

I tried the ocm for 2 weeks. I used castor with some jojoba oil. First it was no problem, and my skin did not feel greasy. But after about a week I started to see a breakout of whiteheads on my forehead. I thought my skin was purging so I continued. After another week my skin is horrible! Those whiteheads turned into huge zits all over my face. My skin has never been this bad EVER! I always used clean cloths and hot water. I guess this method does not work for me.

Trying this was one of the worst mistakes I have ever made.