Forgoing the Face Washing

So you may remember a month ago how I talked about quitting shampoo...now it's face wash. It had long been my habit to wash my face twice a day - in the morning and before bed. Around the time I stopped sudsing my hair I cut back to nighttime-only face washings, feeling like a cleaning in the morning was excessive. Over the last week I've imagined my (albeit gentle) facial cleansers doing similar things to my face that shampoo had been doing to my hair, and developed a new routine. I now clean my face with olive oil and can say that, after about five days of this, it's working out just fine. What I do is this:

Pour a dime- to nickel-sized amount of extra virgin olive oil (lesser grade oil will not offer the same benefits, though I imagine that coconut oil would also do wonderful things. Jojoba oil, which I used while in California, was less than ideal, and made my skin a tad dry) in the palm of my hand then massage into my face. I let it sit while I brush and floss my teeth, then take a warm, damp wash cloth and gently wipe away only some of the oil. The rest can absorb into my skin overnight.

Not only do I feel like I'm doing my skin a favor, but I love being able to eliminate the need for more products round the house. I can do so many things with so few items (vinegar, baking soda, and olive oil) that it allows us to pare down on the stuff, and I like this.