I'm always on the lookout for ways to help my family's health while being kind to our pocketbook! Whether it be making homemade bone broth and taking cod liver oil or pinching pennies while buying used clothing, I'm always on the lookout for a collision of these two ideals.
When I first heard about oil cleansing as a face wash I was hopeful that it was all it was cracked up to be. I've tried many different types of facial cleansing systems- Neutrogena, Clearasil, Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford, Kate Somerville's Complexion Perfection, and even ProActive, along with a ton of different homemade recipes- all in the pursuit of a face wash that could help with the adult acne, age spots, and wrinkles that seem to be collectively spreading across my 30-something face. Oil Cleansing seemed to be a good solution to try that would be healthy and cost effective.
For 30 days I tried oil cleansing with a castor oil/apricot oil blend. I would massage this into my face every night and then hold a warm washcloth over my face to steam it into my pours. Afterwards, I'd use that washcloth and gently scrub my face. To help close my pores and get rid of blackheads I would follow with an homemade apple cider vinegar toner. I liked how it worked together and it was cheap. But, my face felt really tight afterwards and I was wondering if I was getting enough moisturization.
I read many articles on using different items for a facial cleanser, and another one on the benefits of using lard for oil cleansing and came up with my own recipe to try for the next 30 days:
15 crushed aspirin (for acne fighting and exfoliation)
2 TBS honey (for antibacterial purposes)
1/8 tsp turmeric (for help with age spots)
2 TBS garbanzo bean flour (I can't remember the reason I chose this one)
2 TBS Coconut Cream concentrate (for moisturization)
1 cup lard
7 drops Bandito oil (for antibacterial purposes)
I mixed all of these ingredients together in a magic bullet and ended up with an almost mayonnaise looking mixture. I used the same procedure described above and I was amazed! My skin felt so soft!
Tallow (lard) is uniquely compatible with the biology of our cells. About 50% of the structure of our cell membrane comes from saturated fats, with remaining amounts consisting of monounsaturated and to a lesser degree polyunsaturated fats…. Tallow also contains skin nourishing ingredients that plant-based oils do not. Though I am still a huge fan of coconut oil, the skin on my face is visibly more toned with tallow. I think that may be because of the abundance of fat soluble vitamins (A,D,K and E) that naturally occur in pastured tallow, along with the potent anti-inflammatory conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and anti-microbial palmitoleic acid.(source)
This recipe has done wonders for my face and my 30-something skin problems.
For more information on oil cleansing, please watch the video below:
