Short Answer: NO!
Re the baking soda: DON’T DO IT. Contrary to what most people think, extreme cleansing such as you’d get with with baking soda, a household cleaner, by the way, can actually aggravate acne. This is because you need some moisture in your skin to add a barrier to bacteria, irritants and infections. Over-cleanse your skin, and you lay yourself open to more acne, not to mention rebound oiliness.
Don’t you want a perfect complexion like Jaehyo? Bet you a 100 won his dermatologist and beauticians aren’t letting any baking soda near that creamy-smooth skin.
Alkaline v. Acid
And, baking soda makes your skin more alkaline. But, you actually want a your complexion to be at its natural 4.5-5.5 acid level because that acid mantle kills bacteria and protects you. If you make your skin more alkaline with a product like baking soda, you reduce your skin’s own protection against acne-causing bacteria.
Source: http://www.balancedsaltsolutions.com/ph-ageing-page
Personally, I find images like this gross, but it makes the point.
A Plan
What would help more for exfoliating and cleansing, is to use a cleanser with a skin-level ph, such as Cerave* followed by a salicylic toner and then a water-based moisterizer. If your skin is really oily, try OCM instead of a regular cleanser to get it back in balance, but still use the salicylic toner and the water-based moisterizer.
Source: http://www.insonnetskitchen.com/the-oil-cleansing-method/
There are alternatives that I’ll get into in later post. But yes, the basic mix is castor & olive.
A Second Plan
Another alternative, should you want to do mask treatment, is plain yoghurt. I recommend the full-fat from happy, grass-fed cows kind, because a happy cow will produce healthy dairy. For a yoghurt mask, after cleansing, just rub yoghurt into your skin - in fact, you can do this all over before you shower - and then wait about 20 minutes. Then wash off, and continue with your skincare routine, salicylic toner and moisterizer. Yoghurt has the same ph level as skin, 4.5-5, and so it’s good for helping your skin to its perfect ph.
We all need a happy cow in our lives.
Conclusion
Don’t cleanse your skin with baking soda! Just don’t. Follow the basic skin care plan described above - I’ll write later on how to fine-tune it more - and strengthen your acid mantle so you can smile like Jaehyo here.
*With all products, patch test them first. Put a dab on your wrist or just by your ear where any reaction won't show, and wait 24 hours. If you have sensitive skin, do it a few days in a row to be sure.
