The Oil Cleansing Method

I have adult acne. I'm allright with admitting it because Madonna has adult acne, therefor adult acne is supercool. But, when you're 31 and have spots it's not always as cool as Madge makes it look.
For about fifteen years I did what you're supposed to do for adult acne-washed my face with a salicyclic acid/detergent based cleanser, which for some reason always contained a lot of blue coloring, followed up with a light moisturiser, usually a yucky chemically one but at least with SPF, before spot-treating with some form of skin bleaching acid/miracle chemical/whatever.
Sometimes I'd change products and for a week or two, whatever my current hope was would work well, but nothing ever really cleared my skin.
My acne is mild, apart from a nasty cystic outbreak seven or eight years ago that left me reulctant to leave the house. I get mainly spots on my chin, and blackheads on my nose.
Eventually I had a moment where I realised that I'd been using these chemicals, day after day and year after year, and that my acne was no better. In some ways, my skin was worse, as the deeper layers could not get enough moisture from the constant stripping of natural oils. I started to read labels, and realised that no matter how much I paid for a product, or how new or different I thought each one was, I was essentially buying the same product over and over...salicyclic acid, benzoyl peroxide, triclosan, and various detergents. I didn't and still don't know what all those things do, how they are made, or where they come from.
Since the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, I decided it was time for a change. My first baby step was trying an organic skincare brand, called Botani. It utilises lovely ingrdients like lemon scented tea tree and olive squalene. I still use their products daily, but that's another story (and, most likely another blog post).
My skin improved dramatically, but still wasn't clear. I also had a big problem getting my mascara to come off at night, and so googling around I discovered the oil cleansing method.
It pretty much is what it sounds like. It's using oil to wash your face. You can find a lot of different recipes by googling around, but I started off with straight extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)because it's what I had to hand.
You massage the oil well into your face, really working it in gently, taking a few minutes if possible. EVOO will dissolve makeup including waterproof mascara. Some people actually have sebum plugs simply pop out of their skin during oil massage. I simply feel that it cleans my skin thoroughly but gently.
After my nice oily face massage, I take a face washer and soak it in warm to hot water, wring it out then lay it over my face to steam the oil. I like to repeat that two or three times, before wiping the oil and any makeup gak off, rinsing the facecloth as I go.
After I'm done, I need moisturiser, which is astonishing as really I've used nothing stronger than oil to cleanse. Sometimes I use a little more oil to moisturise, or just a nice soothing cream. I follow that with a little aloe vera on any red or spotty areas.
I do still get the occasional spot, but they heal almost twice as fast as they did previously. My pores are visibly cleaner, my skin is softer. My eyebrows and eyelashes are silky and my eyelashes are thicker, longer and do not fall out as much. I had some lines (called 'braceletting') at the front of my throat, and they are much reduced.
Some important points if you wish to try the OCM.
I oil cleanse at night, and use a botanical gel or exfoliating cleanser in the morning. Residual oil can affect makeup application, or it can simply be a case of too much of a good thing. I also use a good mask (at present Lush's mask of Magnaminty) to deep cleanse my pores weekly.
The cloth you use should be changed every day or two. Makeup, oil, and grub will defeat the purpose of the deep cleanse. You'll know you've left it too long when you get a grubby little spot.
Not everyone can Oil Cleanse everyday. Some people go mad on it, washing twice a day, then go, "Urg, what a horrible thing, I'm never doing that again!". If you bombard your skin with new stuff, of course it's gonna freak out. Experiment to find what's right for you.
Do your research. Read forums, love google. Other people may have your same skin type, and the same problem. Read what worked for them, and experiment.
Play with lovely greasy things. My current blend is a mixture of EVOO, sweet almond oil, rosehip oil, and a few drops of various lovely essential oils for scent.
Multi-task. I use my oil blend to cleanse, moisturise, condition the ends of my hair, moisturise or shave my legs....not only does it give fantastic results, but even considering the fancier oils I've purchased it's a total bargain.