OCM and whiteheads!
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free skin care · Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:57 am

what is happening to my skin again?

i made a mixture of 50ml castor oil and 50ml jojoba oil (100ml) and in it i put 50 drops each of lemon and bergamont essential oils.

my skin flared up like never before. it is red and inflamed looking. is it because of the essential oil? i've been using castor oil and olive oil OCM at night for a week or so and noticed great results.

can someone recommend treatments/products for when this happens. my skin was all lovely and perfect before! arghhh i've never had this much of a breakout - so not had to have breakout products or treatments and what to do!

free skin care · Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:07 am

Hi yusufosman,

Now, I don't know for sure, but 100 drops of essential oil seems very high in 100 ml of oil mixture. If I remember correctly from my various aromatherapy books, 20 drops of essential oil was about the highest concentration recommended for 8 ounces/250 ml of oil ... so your 100 drops is 5 times the usual for an amount of oil 2.5 times than you've got.

With some essential oils, more isn't necessarily better ... and too much of certain EO's can prove irritating.

Also ... was this 50/50 castor/jojoba oil the same ratio that you were using before?

Just my thoughts ...

Mary

free skin care · Mon Nov 14, 2005 7:57 am

hi mary,

i was using a 50/50 of castor oil/olive oil before. so the two things that i have changed are the jojoba oil and the essential oils that i have added.

i had no idea. on my thing is said add 5 drops per 10ml so that is what i did. but i guess i forgot that i should have halved as i was using two different ones?

i don't want to throw this mixture away. is there any way to dilute the oils more? i guess i could pour some out and add more castor oil and jojoba? can jojoba be irritating? i didn't realise!

free skin care · Mon Nov 14, 2005 9:37 am

Hi again yusufosman,

I don't know if jojoba is "irritating". I use it as a moisturizer ... one drop for my whole face.

Also, jojoba isn't really an "oil" ... it's considered a wax ... but just how that changes it in terms of OCM I don't know.

I don't know for sure, but I thought bergamot can be slightly irritating. I could certainly be wrong on that score ... but something about bergamot is niggling at my memory.

I think what I would do for the moment is to store the mixture you have now ... and return to a 50/50 castor/olive oil mix for a few days. You could then add a little of your castor/jojoba oil into your castor/olive oil mix as it decreases. This would add a little at a time ...

It could be that your skin is simply reacting to the new mixture ... rather like you're beginning all over again ...

Also ... didn't you find the jojoba oil a little expensive to use for cleansing? That's one of the reasons I reserve it for moisturizing. With OCM the oils you're using for cleansing are, for the most part, being wiped off ... only a small percentage actually gets absorbed by the skin. That's just my frugal nature coming to the fore here ... Laughing

However I wouldn't discard your current mix altogether. I'd just add it a little at the a time to your former mix.

Good luck

Mary

free skin care · Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:43 pm

I'm new to OCM, been trying it for a few days now. I found too much castor oil irritates my skin. I got itchy skin when I was on 50:50 castor + EVOO. I now use 25:75 castor + sweet almond oil. Seems to work for now Smile

free skin care · Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:11 pm

You can dilute your solution now by adding more of the olive or jojoba oil, or whatever doesn't irritate your skin.

free skin care · Tue Nov 15, 2005 2:04 am

yusofman,
I think it is definitly the essential oils that inflamed your skin. Lemon essential oil is a very powerful oil and I think that it should almost never be used in skincare preparations especially facial. It is just too strong and the 25 drops of it sounds like murder. My skin hurts just even reading this. Laughing

I would suggest for your future oil combinations that you use ylang-ylang or lavender. Both have excellent properties for oily skin and fighting bacteria. I hope your skin gets better soon!

free skin care · Tue Nov 15, 2005 3:35 am

oh thanks guys. So what I can do is add a little of my scary oil to the new jojoba and castor oil mix i made yesterday.

i wish i could be frugal like you Mary. but for me i pay £9.99 for the jojoba oil and i try and save, but where i live just can't be cheap so i tend not to bother.

i'll try ylang yland and lavender. how many drops should i add to a 100ml mixture? can i mix the two oils?

Tue Nov 15, 2005 4:15 am

hi to you all! Razz

i've been very disturb with this problem of mine for quite a few years already. i've tried different kinds of facial cleansers and facial wash/scrubs but still too many whiteheads present in my face especially on my nose. i've tried having a facial but my face turned red for a couple of days and yet whiteheads appeared again after say 2 days. i badly needed your help and advice. thank you! Razz

-lorrick

free skin care · Tue Nov 15, 2005 5:54 pm

yusufosman,
I would add only 15 drops of each to 100ml. Theoretically, you can add 10 drops of mild oils like these to every 1 oz of carrier oil for a facial blend. Since 100ml is roughly 3.4 oz; 30 total drops will be just fine. A word of advice: the ylang-ylang oil is very fragrant so I would recommend making the mixture 20 drops lavender and 10 ylang-ylang.
HTH!

free skin care · Tue Nov 15, 2005 6:16 pm

yehey, what sort of facial treatment did you have?

botanical facial helps when my skin is congested and breaking out

free skin care · Tue Nov 15, 2005 7:51 pm

svunt1 wrote:

I'm new to OCM, been trying it for a few days now. I found too much castor oil irritates my skin. I got itchy skin when I was on 50:50 castor + EVOO. I now use 25:75 castor + sweet almond oil. Seems to work for now Smile

I agree with svunt, too much CO can irritate your skin - I certainly can't handle too much CO. But since you've been doing fine with that 50:50 ratio, I'll bet the culprit really is the lemon EO. Even a drop is potent, and you have put in 50! Shock

I don't use lemon EO on my face because a) it's irritating to my skin and b) I read somewhere it increases your skin's photosensitivity so you'll have to avoid the sun at least 3 hours afterwards - which I find troublesome to do.

HTH some!

free skin care · Wed Nov 16, 2005 12:34 pm

i have decided to cut right back on my skincare. i am stripping it right down to OCM (50/50) my Avene sunscreen and jojoba oil for moisture.

i don't know what the problem is but something is causing irritation on my fingers and my ear. It is like excema but I have no idea and I am going to the doctor for it tomorrow.

I thought it is best to try and monitor my products my usual method of using everything is probably not the best!

free skin care · Thu Nov 17, 2005 3:29 am

Quote:

I don't use lemon EO on my face because a) it's irritating to my skin and b) I read somewhere it increases your skin's photosensitivity so you'll have to avoid the sun at least 3 hours afterwards - which I find troublesome to do.

Yeah, I've read on several sites that all citrus EO's increase photosensitivity and that you should watch out with sun exposure up to 12 hours after using it on your skin. So ie citrus oils are better to use in your PM regime.

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