Girly Stuff

Ha.Ha.Ha.

Seriously terrified everyone is going to come back and be like "Well, my face is now a pimple and then it fell off. Thanks. Where do I adress my package full of flesh eating bacteria to?"

^Fixed it for ya

Really? Not much. Except if you like it better you like it better. Some find sulfates dry their hair out, others don't. Sodium Cocoyl Isthionate has been proven to be the most mild of the surfactant spectrum in hair/skim products (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate usually the most common) SCI and SLS are surfactants, and SCI doesn't strip as much oil or attach to the protein in your hair as strongly.

There is a lot of emphasis on sulfate/salt free hair products when it largely comes down to what you're sensitive too, and marketing. The hair industry is all about marketing.

What happens if I just use coconut oil for my OCM? Do I have to mix it with castor oil or another oil?

I didn't mix it at first and it worked well...it's also pretty common for people to JUST use coconut oil.
Honestly I think it's just about finding the right combo.

Castor oil is what people use because it has anti-inflammatory properties and apparently kills bacteria as well (dunno if I believe that.)
Coconut oil can be comedogenic... works great for some people, clogs pores for other people! Honestly I don't think I would try it for OCM unless I wasn't acne prone to begin with, and especially not on it's own. A very thin layer is what people use when they moisturize with it, and for OCM you use a pretty good handful of oil.

I wouldn't do it, but if you Google there certainly are people who have.

Coconut oil on its own can be a bit drying actually....thats why I picked it (plus I have gallons of it lol). I mixed just a bit of sunflower to help moisturize but before that I often would use just straight coconut (but never full time as a method, just random times or as make up remover, moisturizer, etc)

Do you guys have Kroger in your area? I've seen coconut oil in the organic section and the baking section at our Kroger.

There is also some on the baking aisle with the other oils coming from a Kroger employee just saying

Ok, You guys convinced me to try the OCM. I just did it for the first time, scared to death. I can't believe how my skin feel right now, I don't think it's ever felt so calm, clean, and smooth. And no, it's not oily. Wondering what the next few days/weeks will bring.

My first night doing OCM and my skin feels great! So clean. So smooth. So refreshed. The lavender essential oil was so calming which was exactly what I needed.

I thought of adding this to mine also. I think I will tomorrow. I keep waiting for the oil slick, but it hasn't happened. I CAN say my skin feels a bit tight, I can't believe. Of course I keep touching my face, I will pay for that. :yikes:

No worries! I figured maybe for those of us just starting it, it would be a cool idea. I need to get a good before picture still, but after one day my face feels so much better. And looks better. I am an idiot for quitting this and using soap and stuff on my face.

Olive oil is one of the heaviest. I personally find Jojoba a mid-range to heavy oil. I'm using vitamin e now, which is mid-range and kind of sticky, if that makes sense.

Argan oil is the best, IMO. It's so, so light. I can use it once every two days on my hands and they are still wonderfully smooth.

Pretty much the only reason I use sulfate free shampoo is because if I use shampoo with sulfate is that I end up breaking out on my forehead/face. Yes, my hair is softer and healthier without it, but my hair really wasn't the problem before. So if anyone's hair is fine but they're having skin issues, that might be something to try.

Well my face is still attached. Breakouts no better or worse than they were so far -- mostly just little whiteheads around my nose that aren't terribly obvious but still annoy me.

My skin felt a little dry after the cleanse so I put an extremely small bit of EVOO as a leaveon moisturizer. I don't mind the EVOO's weight for the cleanse but I can see how a lighter oil would be nice for the leave-on. Still, I'd rather keep it very simple and barebones for a bit to see if it works before I start fiddling around with it. Hard to say something is a success/failure if I'm constantly changing it or putting in additives.

So yeah, no catastrophes. First hurdle passed

In unrelated girly stuff, I need a haircut. Badly. And my hairdresser lives a full day's drive away because I still haven't found a new one post-move. I've gone back to where I used to live just barely often enough to make do by scheduling an appointment when I am there, but it's been many months and there are no trips on the horizon.

I hate having to find new places to trust with my hair! Finding new hairdressers, doctors, etc. is one of the worst parts of moving.

So after the first try, my skin does feel clean and not like a big grease ball. Yes, this pleases me.

Yup, just been using coconut oil and it feels ok. I think my skin looks better. I've been doing it two days now. The coconut oil is the best makeup remover I've ever used.

No new breakouts. I think my skin is on the dry side, but definitely gets really oily when I break out, but I'll still have dry patches. So far I'm loving this method. I'm going to try it for a month before I throw out my clearasil and neutrogena concoctions.

It takes about two weeks for your skin to adjust/react to any new products, BTW, guys - so if you suddenly break out in a few days after doing OCM, don't immediately jump to it being the OCM causing the problem. It is more than likely existing stuff making it's way to the surface and would have done so one way or another. My dermatologist always wanted me to try something for 30 days before I tried to make a judgment call on if it was working or not. Give it a fair shake before throwing in the towel!

Yeah I'm treating it like dog lol. Some dogs get a stomach upset with a sudden switch, and others don't, regardless whether the new food is "better" or not. Some are upset immediately and some take a day...others like Kim who react to the food itself take a week or two before suddenly it's a problem...

That said I really hope I'm not one whose skin is going to go haywire before it resolves ...but we'll see.