Oil Cleansing with the Board and Batten Take It Easy Essentials Set

I’m always intrigued by natural ways to care for my skin. I’d heard some buzz about oil cleansing on a couple of the blogs that I follow, but I admit I didn’t know much about it until recently. I was curious about the idea behind oil cleansing – that using oil to clean your face dissolves dirt, sweat, oxidized sebum, makeup, and sunscreen without stripping away the natural oil balance of your skin. By maintaining this natural balance, your skin isn’t forced to produce more oil to compensate and so you stop the vicious cycle of oil overproduction. I was still nervous about putting oil on my face though. I have combination skin, and even at my age I still get breakouts, tied to my cycles. The idea of putting more oil on my already oily skin seemed backwards.

But I decided to give it a try when I discovered Board and Batten, a line of hand-blended natural skin products created by hand at their plantation style farmstead in Lake County, Florida. Board and Batten is dedicated to creating the most beneficial “farm to skin” products. They carefully blend natural, soothing ingredients like hydrating oils, softening butters, organic plant extracts, and essential oils to moisturize your skin without harmful chemicals, alcohol, or overpowering fragrances. 

Board and Batten Take It Easy Essentials Set

I received the Take It Easy Essentials Set for review. My set included two ounce containers of Cleansing and Conditioning Balm, Calming Lift with Hyaluronic Acid, Glowing Solution, and Begin Again Micro Facial Buff and Masque in a little zippered travel pouch. The set included an organic facial shammy too.

Board and Batten’s best-selling Cleansing and Conditioning Balm is formulated from a combination of rich plant oils and extracts that cleanse your skin without stripping its natural oils.
Ingredients: organic coconut oil, shea butter, organic jojoba oil, chia seed extract, organic soy oil, organic extra virgin carrot oil, olive squalane, orange peel wax, organic beeswax, oat extract, vitamin E.

Calming Lift with Hyaluronic Acid is a multipurpose spray that calms and hydrates your skin instantly. Just spray on whenever your skin needs refreshment. The hyaluronic acid holds moisture on the surface of your skin, helping your skin stay hydrated throughout the day and relieving skin inflamed due to heat, exercise, or hormonal changes.
Ingredients: organic aloe leaf juice, rose distillate, witch hazel, glycerin, silk peptides, hyaluronic acid, sorbic acid.

I used a small amount of the Cleansing and Conditioning Balm on my face every night. You can see in the pic above that it’s a solid at room temperature. After rubbing it into my skin (and even on my eyelids) for a minute or so, I used the warm, damp facial whammy to gently wipe the oil off. It cleaned my skin thoroughly and had no trouble removing my makeup too.

As I mentioned earlier, I have an oily T-zone, and typically by dinnertime my face used to feel like an oil slick. After using the Cleansing Balm every night for four weeks, I noticed that my skin was much less oily as the day progressed. Success! My skin felt soft and hydrated after cleansing, even without using an additional moisturizer. I didn’t notice any improvement in my blemishes, but I didn’t notice any worsening either, so my fear of putting oil on my skin turned out to be unfounded. I did find that I needed to clean my sink more frequently though, as the oil left a ring around the sink.

My morning routine consisted of the Begin Again Micro Facial Buff, a spritz of Calming Lift, then Glowing Solution. I liked how the Micro Facial Buff left my skin fresh and smooth and didn’t cause any irritation. The Calming Lift tingled a bit on my skin and felt refreshing just as advertised. I found the Glowing Solution oil very moisturizing; it took a couple of minutes to soak in before I put on my makeup.

The Bamboo Charcoal Skin Tonic is a grey gel (you can actually see the activated charcoal in it). It doesn’t foam up like a commercial shaving gel, but it worked well to help my razor slide smoothly across my skin. I didn’t get any nicks or cuts, and I really liked the subtle lavender scent. I can’t speak to any detoxification though. I’m not sure what I would look for.

 

I made a natural mask with one teaspoon each of buckwheat honey and Begin Again Masque powder a couple of times. I loved it! I could feel it tingling and working away while the mask sat on my skin. My skin felt so fresh and noticeably softer after using it (and it even tasted good too!). This mask and the Cleansing and Conditioning Balm are my favourites from the products I tried.

When I first received these products, I wasn’t quite sure how to use them together. I reached out to Patricia at Board and Batten who was very helpful and recommended the skincare routine I described above, but I do wish the instructions that came with the set had been a little more detailed. I’d also like to see a complete list of all the ingredients included with each product or on the website for consumers to inspect, and in case of allergies as well.

Connect

Get connected with Board and Batten on Facebook and Twitter.

Shop

Browse the Board and Batten shop. The Take It Easy Essentials Set I reviewed retails for $93.00.

Want to Win?

Come back on Thursday when you could win a full-size jar of Cleansing and Conditioning Balm (ARV $60) to try oil cleansing for yourself. Sign up for my emails to make sure you don’t miss this giveaway or any of my other posts.

Disclosure: I received sample items for review.  All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ.