Mineral Oil Facial Cleansing

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beckster51

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I am starting this thread at the suggestion of Zany, and the inspiration for using mineral oil came from Irish Lass. I have very dry skin, but also have a tendency to have rosacea and breakouts, especially in the T zone. I have used DHC cleaning oil and several others over the course of the last few years with mixed results. Some are too drying, some cause breakouts.

My first experiment, as suggested by Zany, was to use straight polysorbate 80 to clean my face. And BOY, did it get my face clean! I noticed much less noticeable pores and redness on my nose immediately, but it dried my cheeks out terribly. So today I began using 50% mineral oil, and 50% polysorbate 80. So far, so good.

I should say that I really detest using moisturizers, and I have yet to find one that does not eventually give me acne on my nose or chin, so my quest is to find a cleansing oil that gets my face clean enough to go without moisturizer and yet does not clog my pores. I'll keep you posted.
 
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I didn't notice any problem with emulsifying the MO. I just mixed it this morning, so I don't know if it will separate. I have noticed a bit of dryness on my very old and wrinkled cheeks, but I am going to wait until the end of the day to actually evaluate this. My face is certainly shiny clean and soft. If this is not the percentage that I will end up with, I think it is close. I may have to shift the percentages based on the season/weather.
 
Good to know!
Thank You.gif


I have parched cheeks as well... I ran out of my stuff about 4 months ago (!) and need to make some more... like yesterday! Haha. Hmmm, wonder if I have any mineral oil around?
 
I am starting this thread at the suggestion of Zany, and the inspiration for using mineral oil came from Irish Lass. I have very dry skin, but also have a tendency to have rosacea and breakouts, especially in the T zone. I have used DHC cleaning oil and several others over the course of the last few years with mixed results. Some are too drying, some cause breakouts.

My first experiment, as suggested by Zany, was to use straight polysorbate 80 to clean my face. And BOY, did it get my face clean! I noticed much less noticeable pores and redness on my nose immediately, but it dried my cheeks out terribly. So today I began using 50% mineral oil, and 50% polysorbate 80. So far, so good.

I should say that I really detest using moisturizers, and I have yet to find one that does not eventually give me acne on my nose or chin, so my quest is to find a cleansing oil that gets my face clean enough to go without moisturizer and yet does not clog my pores. I'll keep you posted.
Try moisturising with rosehip oil or jojoba oil, I know it might sound oily but they are what people refer to as dry oils because after you put them on your skin feels dry again and not like an oil slick. I use a 50/50 blend of rosehip oil and jojoba and love it! I use to get red ichy skin but not anymore.
 
so my quest is to find a cleansing oil that gets my face clean enough to go without moisturizer and yet does not clog my pores.

That's the trick, for sure....finding that right balance between the oil % and the emulsifier % that your face likes. Right now I'm using 15% emulsifier, 75% mineral oil and 10% squalene. I have 2 bottles of this combo going....one with PS80 as the emulsifier and the other with Olivem300 as the emulsifier to compare.


IrishLass :)
 
Try moisturising with rosehip oil or jojoba oil, I know it might sound oily but they are what people refer to as dry oils because after you put them on your skin feels dry again and not like an oil slick. I use a 50/50 blend of rosehip oil and jojoba and love it! I use to get red ichy skin but not anymore.
I have tried both of these oils as a night moisturizer, and I liked them both, BUT they both broke me out. Yes, everything breaks me out, it seems. Perhaps I should try a mix of them and see if my results are different this time. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
That's the trick, for sure....finding that right balance between the oil % and the emulsifier % that your face likes. Right now I'm using 15% emulsifier, 75% mineral oil and 10% squalene. I have 2 bottles of this combo going....one with PS80 as the emulsifier and the other with Olivem300 as the emulsifier to compare.


IrishLass :)
I haven't quite found the right percentages yet, and I think I need to add something to the MO. I love squalane, so maybe I will give that a try. Please keep me posted on your comparisons, IL! I think this is doable, I just need to keep going without giving up. And thanks for the information!
 
I don't like any oil on my face except for Red Raspberry Seed Oil. I keep it in the fridge and rub a few drops between my palms to spread on my face before going out in the sun. It's pricey, but you don't need much and it lasts a long time. I buy it at Lotion Crafter but I think BB carries it too.

It has many benefits for mature skin, including natural sunscreen protection from both UVB ("B" for burn) & UVA ("A" for aging) rays. Here's a link to a good article:
https://www.schoolofnaturalskincare...y-seed-oil-in-your-natural-skincare-products/
 
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Please note the article linked says "Absorbs UVB and UVC and offers limited protection from UVA so “may act as a broad spectrum UV protectant” (Oomah et al., 2000) although further studies are needed to test this*."

Please do not replace traditional SPF sunscreens with Red Raspberry Seed Oil.
*End of off topic commentary*

While I am interested in other benefits of Red Raspberry Seed Oil, I don't think it has a place in the mineral cleansing oil being discussed. Much like argan oil - it's much too expensive to wash down the drain - it would be better considered as a moisturizer outside of the cleansing oil.
 
I have always been spooked by mineral oil - for some reason it is in my brain that it is not good for face skin - comedogenic?

I don't have any on hand, and I think I would avoid using it in a facial cleanser.

On the other hand, I thought Fractionated CO was good for skin - and I just got an email from some skin "professional" saying it is the worst thing in the WORLD to put on your skin.

Sometimes I feel like I am living in that Woody Allen Movie "Bananas" - you know - the one where he comes back from being frozen about 500 years in the future and the doctors tell him that all the things we THOUGHT were bad are now known to be good, like Red Meat, and Cigarettes.

HAH!

@Zany_in_CO I hope you are putting "regular" sunscreen on too? I wear a 50 every day, rain or shine.
 
Please do not replace traditional SPF sunscreens with Red Raspberry Seed Oil. ... While I am interested in other benefits of Red Raspberry Seed Oil, I don't think it has a place in the mineral cleansing oil being discussed.
I agree with all of the above. Thanks for mentioning that, amd. :thumbs: Also, just to be clear, I didn't mean to suggest using it as a cleansing oil... just that it's a good (leave on) facial oil for mature skin.
@Zany_in_CO I hope you are putting "regular" sunscreen on too? I wear a 50 every day, rain or shine.
Yes m'am, I make a Sunstick SPF 15 that does the trick. I'm rarely out & about so I only use it as needed. (Melanoma survivor here.)

Keep in mind that some "unprotected" sunshine is good for us. My ritual of putting on Red Raspberry Seed Oil before going out into the fresh air and sunshine for 20 minutes during the winter/early spring months is to absorb precious vitamin D. Helps prevent SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which I am prone to.

FYI: You might want to do a little research -- the difference in the degree of protection from SPF 15 to SPF 50 is negligible. Haven't got "chapter & verse" back-up off the top of my poor ole head but there's lots of info about that out there. What I do know is when my DH put on my Sunstick before a round of golf (6 hours) he never burned and barely got any tan.

Getting back on topic:
In case you didn't know it, Johnson & Johnson's Baby Oil is mineral oil. I used it on my babies. It's been around "forever" LOL. If it's good for babies, how bad could it be for us big babies? Family Feud host, Steve Harvey, uses it! Luvs it!
 
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I have always been spooked by mineral oil - for some reason it is in my brain that it is not good for face skin - comedogenic?

I think mineral oil gets a bad rap. Of all the oils out there, it's inert and least likely to cause skin irritation. And I've read from others in the dermatological field that it helps prevent transepidermal water loss better than triglycerides and fatty acids, which my face can attest to. Of all the oils I've experimented with so far in my emulsified cleansing oil, I actually like mineral oil the best because it dries my face out the least. My grandma used petroleum products on her skin all her life and she had the most softest, supple, beautiful, blemish-free skin even into her 80's, when she passed away.

Clarice said:
On the other hand, I thought Fractionated CO was good for skin - and I just got an email from some skin "professional" saying it is the worst thing in the WORLD to put on your skin.

I've learned that you just have to go with what works well for you and not get too hung up on what the 'professionals' say, because they sure do seem to change their opinions quite often. lol


IrishLass :)
 
On the other hand, I thought Fractionated CO was good for skin - and I just got an email from some skin "professional" saying it is the worst thing in the WORLD to put on your skin.

The skin "professionals" that I know (friends who sell Mary Kay or Beauty Counter) are usually trying to sell me their own skin care regimen.
 
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