Having two children means that I did maternity leave twice. For some of you, you may have one coming or have had one or several yourself. I discovered that this was a great time to experiment with home made beauty products. It's a time when you become a hermit and can get through the "transition" of the no-poo method without anyone seeing you haven't washed your hair in two months. Which I just have to add, that no poo is definitely not for me. I tried all kinds of great ideas. And two stuck and I use them still to this day. Today I will focus on one product I officially cannot live with out... ready?
Grapeseed oil.
My youngest is now just one year old. My pregnancy gave me the worst skin I have had in my adult life. As a disclaimer, I do have to admit that even as a teen I was fairly blessed. I never had the major breakouts that some are burdened with. I would get the random honker in the most obvious and annoying places, but I certainly wasn't plagued with acne or black heads.
Though, while pregnant, my combo skin was fairly sever. My T-Zone was oily and I had patches of dry and scaling, flaking skin. I felt like my face was molting. No amount of washing reduced the oiliness and it only made my dryness worse. I tried scrubs, but they irritated my sensitive pregnant skin.
I did loads of research and experimentation. Then I found my cure, and have never gone back. I completely stopped using any kind of soap on my face. None whatsoever. NO SOAP. Soap is chemically designed to break away dirt and oils from the surface of your skin. It does not discriminate between oils that have been placed there from the oils that are naturally produced to keep your skin healthy. When all your environmental and natural oils are washed away your skin will immediately send signals to produce more oil.
So washing your face causes dryness producing flakes and also causes the oiliness from over production then the excess oil combined with dead skin cells create acne. A marvelously awful cycle. Because like most people I washed more, and scrubbed more, and used scrubs and made scrubs. Creating this perfect place for red, irritated, acne ridden skin.
Okay, so back to the cure. I started to research washing with oil. You can use just about any oil. From coconut, to olive, to my favorite... grape seed. Each is similar in their effect and also different enough to customize to your skin type. Coconut oil, for example could be used for younger skin, olive oil is nice and heavy so use it on drier skin, grape seed is great for anti-aging benefits. So I use it on my thirty something skin.
There is a simple explanation for why oil cleansing instead of washing is perfect for skin. Oil repels water, oil attracts oil. When you rub oil into your skin it pulls dirt and environmental oils from your face. It is also a multi-step process. I massage grape seed oil into my face to remove makeup, step into the shower and leave rinsing it off for last. The combination of steam from the shower and the oil is like using a mini mask every day. It pulls a day of environmental exposure and makeup and face touching excess oil from my face, while it penetrates deep for a great hydrating and cleansing effect. A good rinse cannot take it all off (because oil and water repel) so when I towel dry after a nice thin layer is left behind as a nightly moisturizer. In the morning, and even before going to bed, I am not oily at all. Just nice hydrated skin is left behind.
I have not washed my face in almost two years! I have the best skin I have ever had in my whole life. I do not break out, I do not have black heads, I do not have dry flakes, I do not need to use scrubs. And as an extra bonus, the fine lines that were coming in have vanished.
So you may experiment with different types of oils, but I am going to go into why you should use grape seed oil in particular.
The not so medical answers: It is very light, borders on watery. It doesn't feel thick and does not heavily coat the skin. It absorbs very quickly, from night time shower to bed there is no oiliness. It is multi usable. Throw out your face wash, cleanser, astringent, masks, scrubs, your make up remover. This is an all in one product. If you really must scrub.. add a little sugar to it and scrub away.
Now my fave, the science behind it:
Grape seed oil contains 69% Linoleic acid. That is much more than most other oils. Linoleic oil is an omega 6 fatty oil. Linoleic acid is an anti-inflammatory, acne reductive, and moisture retentive. Linoleic acid fights free radicals. Lack of it can cause... drum roll... scaly skin. It contains a variety of other oils, beta-carotene and vitamin E.
An amazing combination of nutrients it will prevent acne, balance skin, restore collagen, reduce wrinkles, and even reduce scarring.
Grape seed oil can be used not only on your face, but also can be used in hair, to shave, to massage into skin anywhere on the body. I've even poured it straight into my bath.
Mostly I use it straight out of the bottle, all by itself. But it is also a great carrier oil, due to its lightness and near lack of fragrance. When I do mix it with another oil it is with rose oil. (another blog awaits rose oil) Rose oil is great for pairing with any natural beauty product, due to the fact that it amplifies the effect of what it is paired with.
I hope that this has been insightful. I encourage to take a leap, throw out your chemical ridden products, go to the grocery store and grab a big bottle of grape seed oil. Trust me... you will thank me for saving your face.
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