Yes, it’s true, I’ve decided to give up my OCM routine. I’ve definitely overloaded my face too much and need to give it a rest and time to calm down. It’s been about 5 days since I stopped using it and already the pimples that wouldn’t go away are drying up and healing.

My period started two days ago, but I’ve only got a couple of the usual hormonal bumps. After the explosion of pimples from the OCM, this is actually heaven – I never thought I’d be saying that! I guess it just goes to show how everything is relative and while I might view my PMT acne as bad sometimes, it could certainly be a lot worse.

Anyway, I’m really sorry to report such a negative outcome. I’m not saying the OCM doesn’t work, I just think I went about it wrong. I still stand by my earlier advice that the right oils can make all the difference – perhaps one day I’ll try again and use the sunflower oil that Kloggers and Helen suggested in a previous post.

Interestingly, I think the Camellia & Copaiba oil I’m using as moisturiser may be doing a bit of OCM on it’s own and perhaps the combination of this and the other oils was simply too much. This is one product I will be sticking with, as I still don’t need to exfoliate, my skin is rarely greasy and it doesn’t aggravate my acne.

Well this is very weird. For the last couple of days, my face has been much oilier than usual. I don’t know if it’s the OCM doing some kind of rebalancing, but I’m going to have to quit using my Camellia & Copaiba oil for a few days to see if it dies down. I’ll be gutted if I have to stop using it permanantly, especially as I forked out £20 for a full-size bottle only three weeks ago.

Not only am I oilier, but my skin feels a bit rough too, like I need to exfoliate. My acne isn’t giving up either, although at least the whiteheads are small and I’m not getting the nasty boil-like bumps I tend to suffer from. I’m going to try using my facial cleanser after the OCM just to make sure the oils are definitely being removed – it’s very gentle (and all-natural of course) so it shouldn’t do any harm. I also tried using the Angel Face Scrub yesterday with apple cider vinegar instead of water, but I applied the Camellia & Copaiba oil straight after so I may have negated any positive effect. Will try that again tomorrow I think.

I also bought some Agnus Castus (chasteberry) capsules from Holland & Barratt today. Not sure I should be starting these in the midst of a skin crisis, but they’re supposed to help with hormonal problems and I’d like to get them well into my system before my period starts.  As my acne does seem to be primarily hormonal, I’m hoping they’ll help. I’m trying to increase my water intake too – so far that’s just resulted in lots of trips to the loo!

Apologies for the lack of recent updates BTW. I’ve had speed issues with my ISP all week and dared not use the computer lest I throw the cable modem at the wall in annoyance.

About three weeks ago, I decided to start the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM). I haven’t posted my progress until now as I wasn’t entirely happy with the products I was using. Firstly I had trouble sourcing castor oil, then I didn’t feel particularly happy with my choice of secondary oils. I tried walnut and extra virgin olive oil and both felt too thick and greasy for my liking. I wasn’t experiencing the after-cleansing “glow” that many people report and my skin just didn’t seem any different at all, if anything it made it a tad oilier and I had a small breakout around the edge of my face.

I must admit, I started wondering if the OCM simply wasn’t suited to me. As I was deciding what to order from Anita Grant this month, I came across her Carrot & Wheat Germ Cleansing Oil which she markets specifically as an OCM routine and is labelled as being suitable for combination skin. Doing some research online didn’t really reveal anything about using these particular oils as part of the OCM, but being the curious shopaholic that I am, I decided to take a risk and try it. I plumped for the full-size bottle as I knew the sampler wouldn’t last me if I liked it.

I’m happy to say that I get on much better with this combination of oils. For a start, they are much lighter than the ones I had been using and generally feel nicer to apply. My face feels lovely and clean afterwards and my complexion is very even. I have had a couple of spots appear here and there, but they aren’t too big and seem to clear up reasonably quickly. I’m not going to let this deter me as I understand that any change to my routine can cause a few problems while my skin rebalances itself. I also bought a sample of watermelon oil (supposedly good for oily skin) and I add a few drops of that in as well – not sure if that plays an important part, guess I’ll find out when I’ve used it all up.

One interesting thing I’ve found is that I no longer need to exfoliate – the OCM does a great job of removing build-up which is much kinder to my skin. I don’t need to scrub my face at all and I’ve even quit using my regular facial cleanser. The OCM does the lot!

I used to moisturise up to three times a day, but now I only do so after the OCM. The other two times (morning and evening) I just tone and nothing else. So althought the cleansing oil wasn’t exactly cheap, it looks like it will definitely save me money in the long run.

Overall, I’m very happy with the OCM so far. I can’t stress enough how important it is to find the right oils for your skin – please don’t give up if it doesn’t work the first time, just try a different product. Also, I do want to point out that although castor oil is considered to be the definitive ingredient in the OCM, it may not suit everyone and you can still achieve wonderful results without using it.

I’ll continue to update on my progress as I settle further into my routine over the coming weeks and months.

Update: I’m afraid things haven’t worked out too well – see the post I’m Quitting The OCM for more info.

I’ve suffered from depression and panic disorder for many years and I spent most of my early twenties stuck on a nasty anti-depressant which didn’t really help. After switching to natural skincare products last year, I decided to learn more about essential oils and how they could help my mental state.

I’ve come across many websites discussing the benefits of aromatherapy and discovered that there is an ongoing debate over how helpful it really is. Now I can’t speak for physical ailments, but I do believe that they can have a strong effect on us mentally. How a product smells is very important to me and if I don’t like a certain aroma, no matter how good something might be for me I won’t use it. Conversely, I’ll often buy a product that smells great even if it doesn’t suit me at all. The multi-billion pound perfume industry relies on this, enticing us with fragrances that we probably don’t need but cant resist when they’re wafted in front of our noses. Imagine how dull the world would be if we couldn’t smell!

I’ve always enjoyed using incense sticks and scented candles and will always add something smelly to my bath. Up until recently, it’s been pre-mixed oils in carriers, but now I’m trying essential oils directly. I love how I can mix and match my favourite ones and vary them depending on my mood. I also bought myself an oil burner a couple of weeks ago and am experimenting with that too. This afternoon I was feeling particularly teary and snappy, so I added a couple of drops of bergamot and neroli to the burner, then sat back and relaxed for half an hour. I’m now feeling a lot better, no longer panicky or agitated.

This, to me, is a far better solution to my anxiety issues. Rather than affect my brain chemistry with potentially dangerous medications, I can do it safely the way Mother Nature intended. Sometimes the simplest of solutions really is the best.

I’m so happy, my package from Anita Grant arrived this morning! I was a little worried as the status of my order still says Confirmed instead of Shipped, so it was a lovely surprise to hear the postman knocking on my door.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I bought a full-size bottle of the Camellia Copaiba Bath & Body Oil which is one of the large pump bottles you can see in the picture. The other is a Wheat Germ & Carrot Cleansing Oil which I’m intending to use for my oil cleansing regimen. The two smaller bottles are samples of the Camellia with Ylang-Ylang and Lavender (for my stretchmarks) and Watermelon Oil which I may also use as part of the oil cleansing process.

The block of what looks like marble is actually a shampoo bar – Kelp and Ylang-Ylang Babassu to be precise. Can you see a bit of a ylang-ylang theme here? :D It wasn’t intentional, but it is a favourite oil of mine. Finally, I have a Lemon Lippy Pucker, and delicious it is too.

I’ll no doubt be telling you all how I get on with them at some point in the future, so if you’re interested in these products then please check back over the next few weeks. Alternatively, if you have any direct questions, I’ll be happy to answer, just pop them in the comments area. :)

Sunday was Mother’s Day here in the UK and I had planned to visit my mum and my nan. The day before, I had an acne breakout, so that evening I used my First Aid Lotion from Essential Care instead of my usual Camellia & Copaiba oil. This does a good job of drying out the spots thanks to the tea tree and although it doesn’t make them disappear overnight, they do look less red and glaring.

On the day itself, I discovered why I’d had the breakout (and why I’d been cranky for a few days) – my period started. It couldn’t have waited one more day, oh no, it had to come about three days early this month. I tend to get nasty stomach cramps, plus the usual discomfort for the first few days, so it wasn’t much fun driving around and putting on a happy face for my relatives.

On the plus side, my mum liked the two moisturisers I gave her and the big box of Milk Tray. :D

I got myself a Twitter account yesterday. Still not entirely sure what it’s all about, but I figured I might discover some natural skincare information through other Twitters. I’ve already found Anita Grant’s Twitter page (and wish her all the best for the impending birth!) and am following another focussing on green/eco-friendly blogs.

I’d love to know if any Online Goddess readers have a Twitter account too, especially if you like to Twitter about skincare – feel free to pop your link in the comments so I can follow you. My own page can be found at http://twitter.com/OnlineGoddess.

A few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find a comment from Helen James, the Founder of Innocent Oils, on my post regarding shopping for skincare products.

Innocent Oils is a natural skincare company based in the UK, specialising in hemp seed oil products, which has gone from strength to strength since its inception 2 and a half years ago.

I thought it would be fascinating to learn about the inner workings of such a company and so Helen very kindly agreed to answer a few questions for the readers of Online Goddess:
Read more »

Price: £19.95 for 100ml
Rating:
Link: http://anitagrant.com

Ingredients: pure camellia kissi oil and pure copaiba balsam

I know I’ve gone on a lot about Anita Grant this month, but I really had to do a review of this oil. I bought several different samples from her online store, but this really is the star product for me. The funny thing is, I almost didn’t buy it either, it was a last-second addition to my shopping basket. Believe me, I’m incredibly thankful it caught my eye!
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I can’t remember exactly how I came across this, but I was looking at a natural health site somewhere and saw these cute little candlelit salt lamps. The whole lamp is made entirely of Himalayan rock salt and when you place a tealight inside, it lights up with a nice orange glow.

Now I adore mood lighting, so this really caught my eye and I decided to investigate further. That’s when I discovered that these lamps come not only in “candle-powered” form, but mains-powered as well utilising a small 15w lightbulb. I was also excited to find that they come in many different shapes, sizes and colours. The most common variety is a classic slab shape, but I fell in love with the firebowl – a gorgeous salt bowl full of salt rocks. The photo here is just like mine.

I bought mine from this eBay shop, but Googling for Himalayan Salt Lamps will bring up a whole variety of online stores. I chose eBay because the lamps are much cheaper than elsewhere, but be aware of delivery costs as they are heavy items – mine weighs about 5Kgs!

Anyway, what is it about these lamps that makes them worthy of mention in this blog? Well, it wasn’t just the attractiveness of the lamps that appealed to me. Apparantly, the salt gives off negative ions when heated by either the candle or the bulb, which negate the effects of positive ions emitted from household appliances. Why does this matter? Well, positive ions are actually very bad for us and can cause us to feel stressed, tired, and even compromise our immune system causing a higher susceptibility to illness and a slower recovery time. Many users of salt lamps have revealed that they feel more alert, happier and healthier after being around them – these benefits include healthier skin!

Himalayan Salt can also be used in the bath as a detoxifier, pulling toxins out of the skin and into the water. I have a few rocks bought for this very purpose, but you do have to soak in the bath for a good half an hour so that they can do their magic. Akamuti sums up the beneficial properties quite nicely:

Salt baths can reduce fever and promote healing of soft tissue injuries and joint problems. The cleansing effects of a 30-minute salt bath are believed to equal that of a 3-day detox. The toxins are released into the bath water through osmosis, while the minerals from the salt are absorbed through the skin. This reduces the acidity in our body and balances the pH factor of our skin.

There is a very detailed article here on the various benefits of Himalayan Salt and how it works. Also, do check out the incredible photos and learn about the history of the Khewra salt mines in this article – the mines are even open to the public if you wish to visit someday.

As there is currently no scientific proof available, it’s possible that the perceived benefits of salt lamps may in fact be our own minds telling us that it’s doing something good. I have definitely noticed that I’m feeling a lot less stressed lately, but whether it’s my mind playing tricks or the lamp making a difference doesn’t really matter to me. Something has happened and I’m grateful for it. If nothing else, the lamp is a beautiful feature-piece in my home and I fully intend to buy a few more in the near future.