Product Review: Oils of Aloha's Kukui Oil

Living in Hawai'i definitely has it's perks. You're practically minutes away from the water, the sun is warm, people live the 'aloha spirit', and rainbows are full here. With that said, the island is still not immune to humid days or cold weather during this time of year. Although you won't find Lake Tahoe snow or iced lakes here in December, the cold mornings and harsh winds can do some dirty business to one's skin. Especially when it comes noon time and it's all of a sudden humid.



The island is home to the Kukui Tree and the infamous Kukui Nut Leis (shown above) you see being worn all around and hanging from car rear view mirrors. Availabe in a variety of styles and designs, who would have guessed that the oil of this seed could benefit the skin.

I first heard about Kukui Oil a couple of years ago. My sister-in-law (SIL) had really bad (and I mean BAD) eczema in California because of the dry air there. Prescribed ointments and lotions were the only things she could use on her sensitive skin and even at that, the results were minimal. From there, Wal-Mart's OTC Equate Dry Skin Cream was by far a better solution and eventually replaced all the doctor's prescriptions.

My mother-in-law (MIL) ran across Kukui Oil at a store here on vacation and bought it to try it out on the SIL's skin. Claiming to relieve dry skin, sunburn, eczema, and psoriasis she just had to put it to the test. After continual use of the product, eczema was a thing of the past. Her breakouts still occurred, but less often and definitely not more than what she was used to having. Then when they moved here, my SIL's skin cleared up just from the tropical air!

So if this oil could do wonders for eczema, then what about using it to moisturize?

Now mind you, I have oily skin. To use it anywhere else on my body was fine. But once the thought of using it as a moisturizer for my face presented itself, hesitation kicked in like a natural born reflex. And I'll let you know right now that it took some coaxing and a little extra reassurance to just try out the oil on my face. And even then, I only started using it as a nighttime moisturizer because its night and who the heck cares how my face is! So I took the plunge and tried it. The worse thing that could happen was I'd have an allergic reaction and/or breakout from it. Either way, if after a consistent trial of using it and I didn't start to notice any results (not dramatic results, but just ANY results), all I'd have to do is stop using it and go into recovery-mode. But at least I knew.

But oil on an oily face? You'd think I'd gone mad. Well the mad truth behind oil production is this. Your body secretes oils to lubricate itself. Although you'd think the purpose was really to drive you to your wit's end crazy! When the oils are stripped, your body thinks there's less oil so it produces more to make up for the oil that was taken away. And the more oil you take away, guess what? The MORE oil you're going to produce to compensate. Plain and simple.

So I decided that if I couldn't beat my own body's game at oil production, then I'm going to play game to get it to produce LESS oil, NOT MORE. Herein lies my Kukui Oil.

I have been using this pretty regularly for nearly a month and the results are just as you've seen in my FOTDs and my most recent Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) Tutorial. My skin feels soft and supple, it looks smoother, and even moreso after incorporating the OCM into my regimen, my T-Zone shine is getting under control.

On With the Oil

The oil is very light in viscosity. Not thick like pouring a bottle of Glycerin onto your hand. And although the bottle says "Fragrance Free", the overall smell is just like that of oil.

The Skinny on Application

In order for oil to work, you need to use it on a damp face. After washing up, I fill my prayer hands with water and douse my face with it. Then I scrape the drips off my face with an arched hand. You want your face to be damp not wet. Since my hands are still damp from the dousing, I squirt a TINY bit of the Kukui Oil into them. Tiny should resemble 3-5 drops from a dropper. I then rub my hands together to distribute the oil and then work it into my face. Because my face is damp, gliding the oil across the skin is easy and if you can meditate on good energy, very relaxing. I concentrate on my nose and forehead since these are the areas where I would like the oil production to stabilize. And then keep massaging the oil until EVERYTHING has absorbed into my skin.

When To Use It

I started using this as a nighttime moisturizer until I finally got down how much oil to use. Initially I was using too much oil and the result was exactly what I was afraid of, an oilier face. But after working out the kinks and realizing that 3-5 dropper drops is barely anything, it works like a charm. After bringing the amount to use under control, I've moved up to using the Kukui Oil as a daytime moisturizer as well. And since you barely use much, one bottle will last awhile!

Overall

I can say I've faced my fear of putting oil on my face and am glad I did. The results on my skin are more than I imagined. And I don't say this to boost up my confidence or self-esteem, but only because just like good sale you see going on, you have to share it.

Hope Tuesday is doing it's duty and keeping you uppity UP!

Aloha,
Mrs. Lynne

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