Today you’ll find out if the Oil Cleansing Method helps acne or just throws more fuel into the acne fire! And stay tuned until the end of this episode for the question of the day; if you answer it correctly, you'll have a chance to win a free skincare product!
[INTRO]
The Oil Cleansing Method isn’t new but it’s getting more attention, which means I’m getting more questions about it from viewers whose reality testing is challenged by the idea of putting oil on already oily, acne prone skin. That’s because applying any extra oil seems so counter-intuitive since oil is the root cause of acne, and people with oily skin even without acne fight a daily battle to reduce their skin oil. So what’s the deal?
To resolve this dilemma, you need to know three medical and scientific facts.
First… yes, oil dissolves oil, which is part of “like dissolves like.”
Second, oil is the root cause of acne. Period. Without oil you can’t have acne, even if you still have skin bacteria and clogging cells.
And third, and most important, and this is where for me the Oil Cleansing Method defies reality: there is no such thing as “reactive seborrhea” which is the theory that removing oil from the skin makes the skin compensate by making more oil. There is no feedback loop in the skin to do that. There are no oil sensors in the skin to send a message to make more oil and the bottom line is that the ONLY thing that causes oil production is male hormones directly acting on and STIMULATING oil glands. And yes, even women normally have very small amounts of male sex hormones.
So now that we have those three facts, let’s welcome the 2,000 pound elephant into the room: At the end of the Oil Cleansing Method, how do you get the excess oil, that you’ve used to remove your native oil, off your skin? Without chemical emulsification of that oil, for example, with a cleanser, you can’t. So by removing your oil with another oil you’re just setting yourself up for worse acne or just oilier skin. Now you might say that a cleanser can be drying. And they can. But that’s easily compensated for by water-based moisturizers.
While the Oil Cleansing Method may work for some of you, and I never argue with success, for those of you with oily or acne prone skin, I can never recommend it.
[TRIVIA]
Now for today's skincare trivia! Answer today's question correctly within three days of this episode's airing and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a free skincare product. Submit your answer at DermTV Dot Com Slash Trivia. Today's question is:
While I believe that regardless of your skin type you should use a cleanser every day, what is the most effective way to remove any residual cleanser from your face that rinsing with water didn't remove.
And don't forget. You can find the answer to this and all questions in past DermTV episodes.
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