"Our skin is made up of several layers. Just beneath the epidermis which we commonly call skin, lies the thickest layer, the dermis, "within (which) ... are nerves, blood vessels, sweat glands, oil glands, and hair follicles, though it primarily consists of collagen, a protein that gives the skin strength and contributes to its flexibility." **(All About Skin).
"Within the dermis are the sebaceous glands or oil glands. .... These glands produce sebum, an oily fluid that lubricates the skin. Sebum also breaks sweat into many fine droplets to prevent dehydration. If the glands malfunction or are overactive, they can produce too much sebum...(and) the oil can lead to pores becoming clogged and dead skin cells accumulating on the skin’s surface."**(All About Skin).
SOAP is used to clean skin effectively because it consists of water and fats chemically bonded with sodium hydroxide (in Nature, also known as wood ash) which act as a team to remove excess sebum and sweat from our skin.
When excess sebum clogs our pores, cleansing with oils alone can actually help dissolve the accumulated dead skin cells.
Over 2,000 years ago, the Romans cleaned their skin with lavender-scented olive oil and a curved metal instrument, a strigil, which was used to scrape the grime off their bodies. (The entire ritual was a little more involved, including sweaty exercising and three temperatures of bath to help stimulate circulation at the skin level thereby optimizing the cleansing effect of the oils and strigil).
Instead of a strigil, a modern washcloth does the trick! Or a natural loofah (from a vining plant similar to a squash or gourd).
Today we can "go Roman" and adapt the technique to any part of our body where our skin is suffering from clogging pimples, blotchiness, sloughing skin, flaky, itchy skin, subcutaneous eruptions, wrinkles or a papery effect.
Soap is not necessary every time you wash. In fact, I argue that commercial soap made with chemicals from the oil industry is particularly bad for the skin, in any case.
Natural soap made with plant oils, herbs and plant essences (rather than lab chemicals) will help your skin heal naturally. However, if you are having particular problems, try cleaning with oils.
This is how to do it: Rinse your skin with comfortably warm water. Apply the oils and rub them into your skin. The next time you wash, in 12 hours, right?, use much hotter water and a wet wash cloth or loofah to gently (kindly!) exfoliate your skin and begin to clear the clogged oil and dirt.
Reapply the oil and massage it into your skin. The next time you wash, use the hot water and exfoliation method again. Be gentle with yourself! Everyone finds a method that works best for them.
Herb Garden Naturals has created four cleansing oils for those times when soap and water is too drying for your skin. Each has been created with special essential oils to aid in unclogging pores, healing redness and irritations while bringing you a sense of well-being.
Check out these very special scented, hydrating oils for those times when you need a deeper clean than our amazingly beautiful soaps:
Our Little Secret (a special balm especially for the face)
** Facty.com/anatomy/integumentary system