You want me to wash my face with what?

Sebum.  It's the oil your skin secretes to protect itself from the harsh environment.  It's really good for you skin.  In fact, my skin always looks best first thing in the morning, right after I get up.  My skin looks soft and supple with a healthy glow.  That's because of sebum.  So if this oil is so good for your face, why do we strip it off when we wash?

Every morning I wash my face with Neutrogena Oil-Free Face Wash.  And every morning my skin gets tight and dry so I apply a moisturizer to combat this problem.  But before I washed my face I didn't have dry skin.  Only after I stripped off the layer of sebum did dryness set in.  So what I need is a way to wash my face without stripping off this helpful layer of sebum.

Queue discovery.  I ran across this, the Oil-Cleaning Method or OCM.  It's very simple.  Oil dissolves oil.  If done correctly you can remove the dirty oils and replace them with beneficial ones.  Your skin will retain its moisture and stay soft and supple.  And this method, when done correctly, will help clear up acne, oily skin, dry skin, blackheads, and other skin problems.

So I decided to give it a try.  First I bought a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a bottle of castor oil, and a bottle of tea tree oil.  Tea tree is not necessary for this "formula" but it has antiseptic properties to work on my occasional breakouts.  Castor oil is a great cleanser and olive oil is a great moisturizer that is actually the same pH as your skin!

I got everything at the drug store.  Tea Tree- $7.99, Castor- $4.99- Olive Oil- $6.99.

 Now for normal skin they recommend using a one to one ratio of olive oil and castor oil.  For oily skin they recommend three parts castor to one part olive oil.  For dry skin try three parts olive oil to one part castor.  My skin is combination dry and oily so I tried two parts castor to one part olive oil.  I then added a few drops of tea tree.  I started with about two ounces, or 60 mL (that's 40 mL (8 teaspoons) of castor oil and 20 mL (4 teaspoons) of olive oil with four drops of tea tree oil.

So put this all in a bottle, don't use a spray bottle because oil will just gunk up the sprayer and it won't work.  Shake the bottle well before use.  Then take a quarter size portion of oil and massage into dry skin.  Work this in really well everywhere.  This stuff will even take off your eye make-up for you without using a separate pricey eye make-up remover.

Once that's massaged in take a washcloth and wet it with hot water, don't make it hotter than your face can stand though.  Take the hot washcloth and set it on your face until it cools.  This will open your pores and give you a mini facial.  Then rinse the wash cloth and use it to remove the excess oil.  Do not use soap, just water and the cloth. Pat your face dry and marvel.

The first time I tried it was at night before bed.  My skin felt so soft.  It even looked better, younger.  My pores were smaller, less noticeable and I didn't have to moisturize anything, not even my normal dry problem areas.  The next morning a budding pimple on my forehead had shrunk to almost nothing and my skin still felt and looked great.

Lots of sites recommend only using this at night and in the morning just rinsing your face with plain water.  I'm going to use that recommendation and see how it goes.  I'm going to keep up with this routine and see how it looks in a few weeks, a month, and a few months.  Winter will be a true test as my combination skin tends to freak out in the dry air.  My most common skin complaint are: enlarged pores on my nose with blackheads, occasional breakouts on my cheekbones and chin, and dry patches on the sides of my nose, between my eyebrows, and under eye area.  I took a baseline photo to compare with in a few weeks.  I'll keep you updated!

On to two separate issues.  Remember when I told you about my wonderful parmesan chicken and spinach dinner?  Well I made it again and it was just as delicious and I managed to snap a picture this time!

This time I made it with brown rice which had more spinach mixed in.  I love spinach in salads but cooked its not my favorite.  I find that if I mix it into things I don't notice it so much as it tends to have a mild flavor.  I had left overs from this a few nights later and I have to say its just as tasty the second time around!

I also wanted to share my newest purchase.  I went to a fair two weekends ago and found a vendor selling silver at 50% off.  I found this beauty and when it fit I decided it was mine!  Its opal and silver and only ran me $14!

Quick Update:  Dr. C has put me on Metformin ER 750 mg tablets.  I'm taking two every night with dinner.  This is supposed to help overcome my fertility challenges but combating insulin resistance.