Information on the OCM can be found by searching Google. This link is a good one.

The Oil Cleansing Method - A simple, cleansing facial massage for clear skin!

In it it basically says that using all these harsh chemicals and products are bad for our skin, which I believe is true. I believe we evolved for millions of years, without the use of soap, and other man made cleaning products. Our skin has evolved to be healthy ON ITS OWN. I'm wondering if there's a way you could incorporate this "Oil Cleansing Method" into your body care, and not just your face. I would assume the blend of oils and process would be the same, but to open the pores I wonder if a practicle idea would be to stand in your shower, with the curtain closed, and leave extremely hot water dripping from the shower/faucet (NOT touching you, just to create steam), for about 15 minutes, then wipe off the grossness with a hot wrung out washcloth, and then pat yourself dry with a clean, dry towel.

Has anyone thought about doing this? Or better yet, tried it?

I have Keratosis Pilaris and what I believe to be mild acne on my body, and acne/blackheads on my face. I'm willing to try anything, so even if I don't get any replies on this, I'm giving it a shot. I hope I stumbled over something important and groundbreaking, but I doubt anything will come out of it. It can't hurt to give it a try for at least a month though. I've only been using soap in the shower every 3 days, and there's already a small improvement, so maybe not using it at all will be even better. The only problem I can see in trying this, is that if you get something disgusting on you, or if you're working with raw meat of any kind, you need to wash it off. Some type of cleanser needs to be used for those occasions (and the cleanse would be followed by using oil as a moisturizer after you clean).

I've tried it on my face about a dozen times and didn't really notice a difference. Although I used Apricot Kernel Oil because I had it anyway but generally I've heard that a mix of castor and olive oil works best so I was thinking of trying it again eventually. Haven't tried it on my KP though..
On another unrelated forum that I'm on a lot of people said that it worked for them although that site is down at the moment.

I use OCM on my face everyday. My skin loves it. I does take a while to massage the oil in, then steam the face, so I think it would take along time to do the whole body like this.

Chris,

I have started to use a sugar scrub that has almond oil as one of the ingredients instead of soap when I shower. I use Dr. Bronner's soap on my armpits and feet and other areas that may need extra cleaning. I rub the sugar scrub as lightly as I can on my skin. When I rinse off, my skin is moisterized from the oil in the scrub and I feel soft and smooth all over. So far, I feel great and I feel clean.

I also don't shampoo my hair every other day like I used to. Now, I let it go as long as I can stand it, about 5-7 days. If I was braver, I'd let it go longer between shampoos. Call it natural conditioning.

I agree with you that soap is over-used and very drying to the skin.

kebod

It seems like an aweful lot to just too bathe but if it will improve my kp it's worth a try. Oh and Kebod even if you don't wash your hair you should rinse and condition it everyday.

IRF,

Why should I rinse and condition my hair every day?

kebod

I also do not wash my hair. I simply rinse it with water in the shower, and towel out the excess oil. My hair is probably one of the few things I really like about the way I look, and not washing it only makes it easier to manage, softer, shinier, and basically every other desirable adjective. I'm hoping Oil Cleansing does the same thing for my skin, but yes, it will be a lot of work, that's for sure. I can picture taking a shower, and using OCM from head to toe every other night. It would probably take at least 45 minutes, and no longer then an hour. That's not bad, if it works. I'm trying not to get too optimistic about it, because for years and years nothing good has come out of getting my hopes up.

I'll definitely take "before" pictures before I do this, and I'll post them with "after" pictures if there's any noticeable difference in my skin. My mom finally got her camera working. I hate it because underneath my horrible skin, I'm not that bad looking.

Rinse it to get out excess oil and all the pros say too condition it every day, that's it.

Oil is good for your hair. It is produced by the scalp to protect your hair. If you wash with shampoo and/or conditioner every day you strip it of it's oils and the scalp will overproduce them to compensate.

I've never heard 'pros' saying you should condition every day. Some people who actually know a lot about hair say you should only use conditioner every few days and no shampoo as it is too stripping but it didn't work for me as it wasn't cleansing enough.

Washing your hair with water every day won't do any harm but is not necessary. Avoid shampoos and conditioners with sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate as they are strip the hair too much and it definitely would not be good for your hair to condition every day with an SLS product. I also do a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse after a shampoo and condition which removes excess product, makes the hair shiny by smoothing down the 'scales' on the hair and returns the scalp to an acidic PH (I get a flaky scalp if I don't do this). Also avoid any heat styling.

I have the softest hair of anyone I've ever met. Don't try arguing with me as I know too much about hair and you won't win :P

Well, I got my info from Ouidad (a professional) who actually knows what she's talking about. You should buy her book Curl Talk because you might learn a thing or two. Oh and I've read in many womans mags that say you should rinse and condition, everyday.

I believe the general consensus is that Curl Talk is an inferior version of Curly Girl which only recommends cleansing once a week.

I wouldn't trust 'professionals' or women's magazines. After all, they never seem to say how bad heat styling and dyeing you hair are. I'm not sure what you mean by 'professional' anyway. Do you mean a hairstylist because they are only normally experts at cutting hair and generally have very little knowledge of actual hair care (the hairdressers in my town all have chemically dyed and heat straightened hair and don't know anything about silicones etc.)

Hi Anna1850,

How do you do the apple cider vinegar rinse? How do you make the rinse, and then how should one use it? Do you leave it in the hair, or wash it out immediately? Thanks!

I use just a small amount (about a tablespoon) in a litre bottle and then fill the rest with warm water (from the shower). I use it after shampooing and conditioning. It does smell a bit even though it is very diluted. I tip the bottle over my head and I leave it on for about 2 minutes and then rinse it out but it doesn't need to be a very thorough rinse. I sometimes finish with about 330ml of water with a few drops of essential oil in it to make sure the smell gets covered although my hair styling products that I use afterwards (Jessicurl) have a reasonably strong smell so I don't often bother.
A lot of people do leave it on without rinsing it and they say that the smell goes away as it dries but I tried it once and the results weren't any better and my hair smelt a bit funny all day.
I used to use very strong anti-dandruff shampoo for years and as soon as I switched to a regular shampoo I'd get flakes again but since I started using ACV rinses (about 6 months ago) I've been almost entirely flake free. The only time I get any is if I'm not careful to make sure I pour enough of it at the hair near my hairline so I'm careful now and I haven't seen any flakes for months.
So it sounds a bit crazy but as I said, your scalp does need to be more acidic than your hair and a lot of shampoos say they are ph balanced (particularly baby shampoos) because it sounds more gentle but it's not what you really need. I'd also really recommend avoiding Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulphate as that can irritate the scalp.
I read about it on a forum called The Long Hair Community but unfortunately that forum has been broken for a while but most of the members have gone here instead:
Hair Care & Styling - The Beauty Bottle
so you can find a lot of info there