Quarantine boredom has created a newfound love for DIY beauty treatments. But, if you’ve exhausted every combination of pantry item for homemade hair and face masks, or you’re considering more niche practices to add to your beauty regimen, try adding oil pulling to your daily skincare routine. Here, we share two techniques to help keep blemishes at bay.
Oral Oil Pulling
A traditional Ayurvedic practice for removing toxins, oil pulling is a technique as simple as its ingredient listขyou’ll just need coconut, sesame, or olive oil. As soon as you wake up, swish around two tablespoons of oil on an empty stomach for at least 20 minutes. Then, resume with brushing your teeth and using mouthwash to get rid of any residue.
While oil pulling has been most closely associated with teeth whitening, its benefits span past just oral health. Oil pulling in the morning removes toxins that have accumulated the night before, preventing them from entering your bloodstream and contributing to unfavorable skin. For some, oil pulling has alleviated conditions like eczema and psoriasis, while others have noticed a healthier complexion.
Oil Cleansing
Oil cleansing also utilizes the single ingredient to rid skin of potential breakout agents like makeup, dirt, bacteria, dead skin cells, and sebum. Based on the simple chemisty of oil attracting oil (and water separating from oil), by massaging in facial oil for an extended period of time–at least 15 minutes–the oily lipids on the surface of the skin bind to the cleansing oil and are more easily washed away. Cleansing for a longer time allows for the oils to pull waxy sebum from the skin and can sometimes give physical results, extracting the oil plugs from your pores. It's important to start with dry skin, so that the skin's natural oils or the ones in your makeup have direct contact with the oil cleanser and can be dissolved. For those that double-cleanse, oil cleansing should always be the first step, followed by a gentle cream, gel, or foaming cleanser.
When choosing an oil for this method, pantry staples like extra virgin olive oil, coconut, or avocado work well, but some are suited best to specific skintypes. According to esthetician Nayamka Roberts-Smith, natural oils are either rich in linoleic acid or oleic acid, with the former benefitting oily skin and the latter helping dry skin. Olive oil, avocado oil, and marula oil are rich in oleic acids, while safflower oil, sunflower oil, and rosehip oil are among the top choices for high linoleic acid options. There are also plenty of oil cleansing products, like Farmacy's fan-favorite Green Clean Cleansing Balm, that work just as well as natural oils.
See the oil cleansing technique in action on Roberts-Smith here:
