So, I will be the first to admit that I thought this sounded completely crazy when I first heard about it. I have got some pretty wacky skin that is somehow oily and dry all at the same time (?). I thought it sounded absurd to wash my face with oil, but the only thing that's really absurd about it is that more people aren't doing it.
I first tried the oil cleansing method back in January of this year. I figured since I don't use shampoo on my hair, what's stopping me from ditching soap on my face? So the deal is, you mix some oils together, usually castor oil and some other kind of oil like jojoba or olive, depending on your skin. I personally used olive. I mixed it about 70/30 olive/castor. You then take the oil mixture and massage an ample amount into your skin; you want to spend about 3-5 minutes massaging your face with the oil. While you're massaging, you want to have a towel soaking in hot water. Once you're done with the massaging, wring out the towel and drape it over your face and let it sit until the towel essentially cools to near room temperature (only takes a couple minutes). Then use the towel to gently wipe the excess oil from your skin. I swear your skin will feel amazing. I don't do it every day, only because sometimes I'm so tired by the time I get to bed, I just don't have it in me to spend 10 minutes on my face.
It's also a great way to remove makeup - since most makeup is oil-based, oil is the most effective method for removing it. This method also avoids the harsh drying effect of many detergent based facial cleansers, and is about as squeaky clean as you can get, in terms of ingredient lists. It does a very good job at cleansing, and I've had absolutely no problems with breakouts using this method.
While I'm at it, I may as well do another little no poo update. I'm on month 15, I think, of no poo and I've pretty much got things down to a science. I'm still CO-washing daily, and my hair is loving it! I finally went and got a haircut about a month and a half ago. I just CO-washed my hair before going, and it was still wet when I got to my hairdresser, so she said it wasn't necessary to wash it again... whew, dodged a poo! I can't believe the condition it's in; it's so healthy. She cut off probably close to 6-8 inches, so what's left is in great shape. I'm still using the Tresemme Naturals no silicone conditioner for CO-wash, although I'm currently using it in the Radiant Orange scent. Apparently, this one is volumizing the and Avocado and Aloe one is moisturizing, but to be honest, I really can't tell much of a difference between the two. They both smell good and work equally well as CO-washes. I takes me about 5-6 weeks to get all the way through a bottle.
I posted a while back on using oil to cleanse your face, also known as the oil cleansing method. The most important factor in using the oil cleansing method successfully is to figure out what oils to use. There are different oils that are appropriate for different types of skin and even the proportions in which you mix those oils can make a difference, although determining proportions is usually by trial and error.