OCM ...castor oil disaster
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Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:11 am

Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and I thank you all for great skincare tips. I was very excited to try OCM since I was having some problems with whiteheads on my forehead lately. I used EVOO/CO 50:50 on my first day and had two big cystic pimples on my cheek next day. I though I was having some purging going on. But I realized that something was very wrong. After using OCM for three days, my skin gone mad..I mean really mad..now I have 5 very painful cystic pimples and skin texture is worse than ever. I tried to play with mix ratio and even added some grapeseed oil in it .. but nothing worked.
SO..I went to see my derm and he told me not to use castor oil because

1) Even if it says 100% organic castor oil on the label, it can have some preservatives and these are really bad for people with sensitive skin like me.

2) He also said castor oil can cause some biotoxin to skin called ricin!!!!!! which can cause serious skin reactions.

I decided to stop OCM and let my skin calm down lil bit. I still like OCM and probably will go back to it but without castor oil. After doing some researches on the web, I realized what he told me was totally true. These days, manufacturers no longer use old/traditional ways (cold pressed or unrefined) to produce oils making difficult to find good ones.

I found this during my researches and this company explains why they are not using some of popular oils:

"Natural" Oils

Apricot Kernel Oil
We couldn't find a certified organic version of this oil, and our research indicated that too often there are too many chemical solvents used to extract the oil.

Castor Oil
Not used because castor beans yield the biotoxin ricin.

Grapeseed Oil
Not used because conventionally grown grapes have extremely high rates of pesticide residue, and grapeseed oil is usually extracted with a petrochemical solvent.

Lanolin
Lanolin, derived from the sebaceous glands of sheep, has a number of excellent emollient properties. We don't use it because it is an allergen for many, and we are very concerned about the insecticides used on the sheep, which may leach into the lanolin.

Petroleum Derived Oils (Mineral, petroleum jelly, etc.)

Yes, technically, these oils are derived from decomposed plant and animal matter, so they are "natural". And they are very moisturizing and generally don't cause allergic reactions, but we really aren't comfortable using them because we don't know exactly how they were extracted, and we don't want to mix "petroleum" with "skin care".

Thank you for reading my long post =)
I hope this info is helpful to someone~

free skin care · Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:33 am

Yikes! This is distressing news. I just bought a big bottle of castor oil. I guess I'll have to research ricin. What was the company that you quoted?

Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:00 am

It was Bare Organics. You can check their ingredient section.

free skin care · Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:03 am

yes, i've tried omc with a castor oil combo...i just found it to be too thick from the castor oil & my skin always ended up really not liking me for it...

i really do prefer just some organic olive oil or jojoba.

free skin care · Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:00 pm

Ricin this sounds serious.
Isn't cold pressed caster oil used in Lash Serums.???

free skin care · Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:43 pm

It's true, my derm told me the same thing. Apparently dodecyl gallate (the preservative usually used in castor oil) is a very common allergen. I was tested and it turns out I am allergic to it, so that means I will have a reaction to anything that has castor oil in it, if the castor oil contains that preservative. Unfortunately, the dodecyl gallate is added to the castor oil BEFORE it is sold to manufacturers, so the manufacturers don't know it's in there and it doesn't show up on the product's ingredients list. If you have sensitive skin, avoid castor oil is a safe bet, IMO.

free skin care · Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:25 pm

Thanks for bringing this to my awareness, as after using jojoba oil with success, I wanted to try 50:50 castor oil. Thanks very much, hope your skin is ok now!

YY

free skin care · Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:03 am

604boo wrote:

I decided to stop OCM and let my skin calm down lil bit. I still like OCM and probably will go back to it but without castor oil. After doing some researches on the web, I realized what he told me was totally true. These days, manufacturers no longer use old/traditional ways (cold pressed or unrefined) to produce oils making difficult to find good ones.

604boo,

I sympathise with your issues from cystic acne. When your skin recovers, the true test about BAD BAD castor oil, would be resuming OCM e-x-c-l-u-d-ing castor oil to see if you have any issues.

My dermatologist doesn't have any issues with castor oil at all. But because I have a pre-disposition to pore-clogging and acne, I always use a salicyclic face wash after OCM.

free skin care · Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:58 pm

I love grapeseed oil
I mean... I used to love grapeseed oil.. Sad

Sun Aug 19, 2007 10:47 am

Thank you guys.
Yesterday I went to see a another derm to get second opinion(cost me another 80 bucks!)because my acne weren't getting any better.
She told me that I have BOILS !!!!!!!OMG!!!!!!!
I never ever had boils in my life or any other infection on skin before. So it was horrifying to hear that. She told me that boil is caused by bacterias living on the surface of skin. They usually don't cause anything but when they get under the skin---> painful BOILS~!!!
She told me I probably overdid OCM since I massaged my face for over an hour. I remembered my skin was extremely dry and red. Also using too much castor oil can be harmful to skin because it can be really drying and when skin gets really dry, micro scars can be formed and this will provide passages to those bacterias.
I wanted to cry....
Sad

She prescribed some cream and told me to come back in two weeks if there is no progress.
I hope that these suckers will be gone soon...........

Confused

free skin care · Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:51 pm

I am so sorry to hear that 604boo! But thank you for sharing all your information, going to be alot careful now about how often and how long I use OCM.

Would OCM work though without the use of castor oil? Or is the principle to basically soften the oil plugs, so any oil will do?

free skin care · Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:06 pm

Cuppre, that's an interesting question.

Castor oil is supposed to have astringent qualities. So I suppose other oils that are regarded as "astringent" may substitute eg. grapeseed oil, hazelnut seed oil, sunflower seed oil, safflower oil.

When I make my own OCM mix, I usually add about 15% of a mild emulsifier so that it all rinses off easily when I am done.

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:22 am

604boo - I am so sorry this has happened to you. Thank you for taking the time to warn us about the potential dangers of caster oil use -I was completely unaware of this.

Hope your skins heals quickly

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:27 pm

nyonyakay wrote:

When I make my own OCM mix, I usually add about 15% of a mild emulsifier so that it all rinses off easily when I am done.

Hi,
May I ask which emulsifier did you use? I'm a beginner DIY and I've tried a few times with Peg-7 Olivate from GoW and it worked nicely. Is this mild enough?

I am just wondering what are the other options out there. Thanks!

After seeing the above posts, I will have to replace the Castor Oil with Hazelnut oil and see how it works. Thanks for info!

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:11 pm

I use Glyceryl cocoate - by its name you can tell it's derived from glycerin and coconut. May or may not be "natural" depending on how you personally define "natural". Most ingredients are chemically derived and it is really debatable whether the end-product of all that processing may still be called "natural". PEG-7 olivate sounds fine to me. No reason to change from one to the other really, except that they may have a slightly different skin feel.

A word about all the oils I mentioned earlier - other than grapeseed oil, they tend to be fast-penetrating (into the skin) and on the "dry" side, compared to castor oil - especially so for hazelnut oil. So if you don't mix them with more emollient oils that stay "on top" of the skin eg. olive oil or jojoba oil, you will probably have to use more or the OCM may get a little uncomfortable.

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 5:59 am

nyonyakay wrote:

I use Glyceryl cocoate - by its name you can tell it's derived from glycerin and coconut. May or may not be "natural" depending on how you personally define "natural". Most ingredients are chemically derived and it is really debatable whether the end-product of all that processing may still be called "natural". PEG-7 olivate sounds fine to me. No reason to change from one to the other really, except that they may have a slightly different skin feel.

A word about all the oils I mentioned earlier - other than grapeseed oil, they tend to be fast-penetrating (into the skin) and on the "dry" side, compared to castor oil - especially so for hazelnut oil. So if you don't mix them with more emollient oils that stay "on top" of the skin eg. olive oil or jojoba oil, you will probably have to use more or the OCM may get a little uncomfortable.

Thanks for all the info nyonyakay

I am just wondering, with the emulsifier added, is the cleansing power still good. My skin is all flaky at the moment and using OCM can make it dryer because of the astringent properties of the oils (as you rightly pointed out).

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:04 am

Thanks nyonyakay !

My old batch (before seeing this thread) was an estimated mix of 40% Castor Oil, 30% Jojoba Oil, 15% Grapeseed oil & 15% Peg-7 Olivate. I will be replacing the Castor oil with Hazelnut oil and see how it works. If it's still on the "drier" side, I will swipe out Grapeseed oil with Olive oil. Thanks for the heads up!

Wed Aug 29, 2007 8:33 pm

from Wikipedia
"The castor seed contains ricin, a toxic protein removed by cold pressing and filtering. [5]. "
so just get cold-pressed

free skin care · Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:53 pm

oh you poor thing boo..... this is so like my story i have posted in skin and makeup....i wish i had read yours first.

now i am worried that maybe the persistant huge cysts i am getting are boils. they are bigger and more inflamed than any acne i have ever had so it is concerning.

here is the other thread by the way, it has a lot of others terrible experiences with OCM and DHCC.

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=25538

free skin care · Fri Aug 31, 2007 1:34 am

OCM is great and all for removing oil plugs but:

1) you shouldn't go overboard with the massaging and rub the oil in for too long (5 minutes is plenty, really);

2) it needs to be washed off after you're done.

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