Upgrade Your Skin Care with the Oil-Cleansing Method

Revealing a beautiful complexion at home has never been more affordable, non-toxic, gentle, or effective.

Plus, it smells nice too!

Why you should make the change:

Traditional facial cleansing/moisturizing products almost always contain toxic ingredients which slowly poison you from the inside out. I.e. Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Petrochemicals etc. Check out this article and more to brush yourself up on these unhealthy, cancer-causing additives.

The good news is:

You don’t need to spend your money on these poisonous products OR pricey “all-natural” facial cleansers or lotions. Ever. 

You can cultivate glowing, healthy, happy skin with ONE (edible) tool AT HOME.

Coconut Oil. The Oil Cleansing Method. I was introduced to this efficient method a year ago, and have been a convert ever since.

If using oil on your skin freaks you out, remember that Oil Dissolves Oil. When you wash your face with oil, it dissolves the dirty oils on your skin and replaces them with good, clean, healthy oils.

Take a look at the ingredients in Dr. Bronner’s soaps, or any of the new paraben-free, all-natural skin-care products. They’re all comprised of oil. Just a simple combination of oils–that’s it! And they’re almost always based, if not exclusively made, with coconut oil.

That‘s because oil is the most effective and healthy way of cleansing the oils on our skin. Period. 

Coconut Oil also has Anti-bacterial, Anti-viral, and Anti-fungal properties which help with healing and preventing blemishes and keeping your skin clean.

The oil-cleansing method is easy, it feels great, and it’s super healthy for all skin types.

Here is what I believe to be the most simple and effective cleansing method for any skin type:

Oil-Cleansing Method:

1. Wet your face with water.
2. Using a quarter-teaspoon of Virgin Coconut Oil (from a trusted source), gently rub the oil into the skin on face and neck using small circles, working your way up to the forehead. You can do this for up to one minute. This part is fun! It should feel enjoyable and gentle, like a mini-facial.
3. Get a washcloth wet with hot water (Not too hot! You want it to be just creating steam, but not so hot that it irritates your skin).
4. Place the warm washcloth over your face and feel the steam melting the oil and working into your pores. Gently wipe away the oil in a patting-motion.
5. You’re done! Your skin should look glowing-clean and feel fresh! If you have dry skin, you can even put a teensy bit of oil back on your face, and violà! You have a perfectly washed and moisturized face, from ingredients safe and good enough to eat!

A Few Tips:

• Work in a little Baking Soda with the oil while you wash for an exfoliating facial-scrub!
• This method works great especially for makeup-removal. The oil dissolves anything, including the hardest-to-remove waterproof and long-lasting makeups. Check out the Detoxinista’s great article and forum on healthy makeup options to complete your skin-care upgrade.
• Coconut oil is great all over the body. So good, it has even been used traditionally in cultures near the equator for sunscreen! (Being a Ginger, I am careful with this one, but have found nothing better than coconut oil and a hint of raw aloe vera juice for after-sun skin care.)

Hope you enjoy this simple and healthy new way to cleanse and moisturize!

Cheap, Toxic Ingredients in American Beer

Three years ago, after a dose of antibiotics (which I avoid unless absolutely desperate–mostly because of this), I became mysteriously allergic to specific brands of (cheap) beer. Now I can see exactly why. Check out this article on the GMO corn, corn syrup, rice, and propylene glycol (a solvent found in antifreeze and plastics) in popular beers like Pabst, Miller, Coors, Budweiser, Corona, Guinness and more:

Cheap, Toxic Ingredients in American Beer

Daily Oil Pulling

A long-debated and alarmingly simple Ayurvedic health ritual–and my new favorite habit.

Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic method of removing toxins from the body, and claims to pull toxins out of the bloodstream through contact with the gums, as well as whiten teeth, assist in dental hygiene, reduce mouth and body aches, reduce menstrual symptoms, and aid in total-body health.

Science has neither proved, nor disproved these claims over hundreds of years, EXCEPT, in a relatively recent study, which found that

“Coconut oil exhibited antimicrobial activity against S. mutans and C. albicans. Sesame oil had antibacterial activity against S. mutans whereas sunflower oil had antifungal activity against C. albicans” –Source

S. Mutans is a bacteria, commonly found in the mouth, which contributes to tooth decay. C. Albicans (mutated) is responsible for Candida outbreaks and overgrowth. While sesame oil is traditional, coconut oil is gaining more and more popularity for this ritual. Coconut oil, by working effectively against overgrowth of these organisms in the mouth, actively contributes to oral, and therefore overall-body health.

I, personally, like the taste of coconut oil, and after some adjustment, am loving this ritual.

So, here’s what you do:

• First thing in the morning, drink a glass of water to stimulate the saliva production and the circulation in your gums.
• Place one Tablespoon of clean oil from a trusted source (I’m using this right now ) in your mouth, and slowly pull it through your teeth and gently swish it around your mouth for 20 minutes.
• That’s right, 20 minutes. Don’t worry if you have trouble with this at first; it’s a little unusual to keep something in your mouth for so long, but you’ll get used to it, I promise! I recommend beginning with 5 minutes, and working your way up to 20.
• After 20 minutes, the oil will have mixed with your saliva and will be a whitish color–spit it into the trash! This is important, you don’t want to let all that hard work go to waste by swallowing it, and you don’t want it to clog up your pipes either. So, into the trash it goes.
• Now give your mouth a rinse, and brush your teeth, knowing you’ve done something great for your body for the day!

I enjoy the ritual of the oil-pull, and notice my mouth feels cleaner and my breath is fresher since I’ve begun the practice–I highly recommend it.

Here’s an interesting article on the Oil-Pull.

Giving the oil-pull a try? Let me know what you think!