You’ve heard of oil cleansing with coconut oil or grapeseed oil, but oil cleansing with shea butter?! Does it work? And why would you use it? Guys, lemme tell you, though it’s not usually done and sounds weird, oil cleansing with shea butter ROCKS!
What is Oil Cleansing, Anyway?
The first time I heard about oil cleansing, I don’t remember my reaction exactly but one thing’s for sure, it took a long time for me to actually get around doing it.
It is a method of cleansing your face using just oils (and hot water). The theory is that the good oils you’re cleansing your face with go deep into your pores and push out the stale oils, dirt, pollution, grime and excess dead cells. This cleanses your face on a whole new level since it digs deep into the pores.
So when I finally got around to doing it, I was pretty excited because everyone was raving about how oil cleansing was the only thing that helped them get rid of acne. And acne is something I really want to magically disappear. Anyway, I went ahead and started using a variety of oils for oil cleansing. I actually made a mixture with coconut oil, olive oil, blackseed oil and a couple other oils.
It worked super amazing for my sister – glowing skin and all, but for me, sadly it was a fail. I kept getting acne and not just regular bumps but tiny cystic acne all over my cheeks. And they were itchy! I thought I wasn’t washing the oils off well so I continued. The acne also continued popping up. I even thought my skin was detoxing and just left it and that. But good heavens people, how long was this detoxing supposed to take? Cause boy was it sure taking long for me. And no one wants to move around with weird itchy cystic acne!
That’s where shea butter comes in. What makes it oil cleansing with shea butter so special? Well, the greatest thing is that it’s NON-COMEDOGENIC! This means it has a comedogenic rating of zero! A comedogenic rating is a scale of 0 – 5 that shows the pore clogging ability of an oil or skin care product. If an oil has a comedogenic rating of 3 – 5 and your skin is prone to breakouts, stay away from it!
Now coconut oil, olive oil and black seed oil, which I was using have comedogenic ratings of 4, 2 and 2 respectively. That’s the reason it’s not gonna work for some people, especially those with acne prone and oily skin. Oil cleansing with these oils might make you breakout!
Shea butter’s comedogenic rating isn’t its only plus point for oil cleansing. Here are more benefits of oil cleansing with shea butter.
Other Benefits of Shea Butter for Oil Cleansing
- Easily penetrates into skin without ‘sitting on top’ like some oils.
- Has nourishing nutrients that feed skin with nutrients
- Rich in fatty acids that keep skin supple soft and smooth
- Leaves your face glowing
- Promotes anti-aging
- Soothes irritated and sensitive skin
- No need to moisturize afterwards
- And more!
Which Shea Butter to Use
I always like shea butter that comes in a jar because it’s easy to scoop some and use. My favorite is Perfect Body Harmony Shea Butter. It comes in a 17.5 BPA-free amber jar, so it’s protected against light degradation. It’s 100% pure, USDA certified organic and unrefined West shea butter. You can get it here.
How to Oil Cleanse with Shea Butter
- Place ½ tsp of shea butter on your clean palm. Then using the fingers of your other hand, scoop it up and evenly apply it all over your face.
- Once your whole face is covered, run a soft microfiber cloth under very hot water from the sink.
- Then wring it out and start dabbing it all over your face.
- Repeat 2 – 3 times until all the oils have been removed.
- Use the washcloth to give your face a final wipe to remove the excess oils. Make sure you thoroughly wipe off all the residual oils so that all the dirt is removed.
- Voila! Your face will be clean and soft. It’ll also glow like the sun 😉
- No need to moisturize! Just splash your face with cold water to close the pores then pat your face dry.
- Amazing, right?!
- Try it every night if you’re hard core or at least twice a week.
What do you think? Are you ready to do oil cleansing with shea butter? If you are, you’re not alone! You can ask advice from me anytime in the comments below!
I’ve found that placing the hot, damp towel over my face for a moment then gently wiping all the oil off, then rinse the cloth and wipe once more (for good measure) works best for me. I’ll then take a cotton round with rose water and make sure everything is off helped to make 100% sure that all the dirt, oil and makeup was gone.
I will say, I used jojoba oil and olive oil at different times for oil cleansing, and Shea butter does THE best job! Not only that, but with oil-oils, I found my skin actually felt dry after. The Shea leaves my skin exactly as you put it—doesn’t need a moisturizer! Granted I do wind up toning and doing an Argan/rosehip combo before bed, but still. ?
Hi Sara… I think I’d like to try this out but doesn’t it hurt using hot damp towel on your face. Even wringing it out was quite difficult for me. Can warm water be used instead?
Absolutely! The water I use is hot but not boiling/scalding hot. The warmer it is the better it penetrates your pores, pulling dirt and other environmental crud out of your pores. But a warm cloth is fine. Just keep it on your face to help loosen things after you gently rub the oil thoroughly into your skin. It’s my favorite method, for sure! Most of the time all makeup and dirt is completely gone after, but I still recommend going over once more with a good witch hazel (and/or rose water) toner just to be sure you got everything off. I don’t break out at all anymore, outside of the maybe once quarterly hormonal chin cystic bump, otherwise my skin has never been so clear and calm in my life! Hope that helps!
sure did help.. Thanks a whole lot
You’re very welcome!