If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would voluntarily rub oil on my face, I would have thought you were crazy. I have sensitive, acne-prone skin, so oil always seemed like the enemy. Using it to clean my skin sounded ridiculous, until I realized that it can be used as part of a double-cleansing regimen. Apparently double-cleansing originated in Japan, but the general idea is to use an oil-based cleanser to dissolve makeup and sebum, followed by a soap or wash to remove dead skin cells, dirt, bacteria, and sweat. As you may (or may not) remember from chemistry class, “like dissolves like,” so oil-based substances like sebum and makeup can be more thoroughly removed with oil. Last year I decided to give it a try using oils I mixed up myself following the guidelines in this article, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It made my skin feel clean, but balanced, not dry and tight like some cleansing can lead to. With no further ado, here’s my oil cleansing recipe.

DIY Oil Cleansing Recipe

2 Tbsp castor oil
2 Tbsp sweet almond oil
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tsp jojoba oil
1/2 tsp argan oil
1/4 tsp tea tree oil

Mix oils in a bottle.
To use, massage onto dry skin for 1-3 minutes. Rinse with warm water, then follow with your usual face wash.
I found all of the ingredients for this at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. I think Whole Foods alone probably would have had them all, but Trader Joe’s just had some of them for quite a bit cheaper.

Surprisingly, my first attempt at this recipe dried out my skin. Castor oil is quite drying, so the ratio of castor oil to the other oils makes a big difference. You may need to adjust this recipe to fit your needs, so I recommend halving it the first time to test it out on your skin. For oily skin, increase the amount of castor oil, and for dry skin, decrease it. This article has more info about adjusting the oil ratio.