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.

A little background before I detail all the drama - a few days ago I learned about the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) thanks to Fran over at High On Health, an interesting (and simple) way of cleansing the skin by using certain oils to counteract and breakdown the existing oil that clogs up pores. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it before, especially as it has quite a good following and the majority of users find it works extremely well. I’ll be going into more detail on this in a future post.

The key ingredient is castor oil, a basic and cheap product which has been used topically and internally for all sorts of ailments over the years. So yesterday, I headed down to a nearby pharmacy to grab a bottle and try it out. Except they didn’t have any, and they’ve never stocked it in the past.

Undeterred, I decided to stop off at Tesco’s on the way home. They didn’t have any either - not in the cooking oils section or the pharmacy. The lady behind the counter wanted to sell me a zinc and castor oil cream instead, until I explained what it was for.

At this point, I started wondering what was going on. How is it that a large, modern pharmacy and a national supermarket don’t have this most basic item? Perhaps it was just a coincidence, so I had a look in my local Sainsbury’s too. Nope, nothing there either.

It was a little after 6pm, so too late to check any other pharmacies. I went back home and did a little research and discovered that castor oil is often taken by pregnant women wanting to induce labour. As this practice is questionable, it seems that stores don’t like to sell it.

There are two other supermarkets in my area, and I was getting more and more determined to find the darn oil, so I decided to check them out just in case. Nope, that’s Asda and Morrisons off the list as well.

Today, I got my husband to ring around a few pharmacies (I asked him to do it in case they assumed I was pregnant). He called five places in total - three independant stores and two national chain stores (Superdrug and Boots) and nobody had any. However, there is some good news - Boots have arranged to order some in and it should be ready for collection tomorrow.

Interestingly, one of the pharmacies we contacted said that castor oil isn’t readily available because no one currently holds the licence to distribute it in this country. I find that rather strange, especially as Boots are able to get some, but it would certainly explain things.

The other alternative is to buy online, Googling castor oil brings up several UK-based companies selling it in sizes from 50ml to 1 litre. Assuming I like the OCM, I think that’s how I’ll be buying my castor oil from now on. 

Update: My husband works for the NHS, so I asked him to look for castor oil in the British National Formulary (BNF) - this is the official guide to all licensed medications in the UK for health professionals. It seems that it was once available as a laxative, but has been replaced with other products and is now considered obsolete. Amazing, eh? He also nipped into Boots this afternoon and one of the bottles we’d ordered had come in - I say only one as that’s all their supplier had. Looks like I’ll definitely have to order online if I stick with the OCM…..