In the spirit of finding natural ways to create effects as profound- or more excellent- than lab-engineered beauty products, I have made myself a test subject for many folk remedies and beauty treatments from the pantry and the health-food-store aisles. One major discovery of the year that I now use daily with astonishing results: hexane-free castor oil.
Castor oil has trumped most every other oil I have tried for skin, hair and even nail beauty. My eyebrows and lashes even thank me!
I used to think castor oil was a horrific punishment. I remember my grandmother threatening to give it to us as kids if we didn’t eat our vegetables. Traditionally, this oil which is high in ricinoleic acid (anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-bacterial) has been used as a potent laxative. Be warned: it irritates the lining if the digestive system tremendously and its side effects are unpleasant and at times dangerous. (you can read the Mercola information on castor oil and its health benefits and dangers HERE) I luckily evaded even a single dose from my grandma….!
That said, castor oil applied topically is highly-absorbable and when used topically it can do wonders as a beauty treatment. Only use hexane-free castor oil. Lots of the commercially processed oils have been stripped of their beneficial properties. I get mine from WholeFoods, and you can also find it HERE, or at a local health-food store.
My 8 Beauty Secrets Of Castor Oil
1. Lips! I put a tiny bit of castor oil on my lips when I moisturize my face in the morning and at night. I have found that a drop soaks in quite quickly and I can feel the difference in plumpness and smoothness after this tiny drop of oil.
2. Hands & nails: Once I do that drop on my lips, I typically rub the excess oil into my hands and cuticles. It is wild how fast my hands drink it in, and my manicures tend to last longer due, I believe, to the softening power of the oil on my cuticles.
3. Facial Cleanser: Once a day, I do oil cleansing. THIS POST explains the traditional way to do oil cleansing. I have refined this a bit for myself. Now, I slather on a mix of castor and olive oil at night ( stored in the mason jar you see above!) and wipe it off along with any makeup that I might have on, depending on the day. I then use a natural oatmeal soap on a Clarisonic brush to cleanse over my face without adding extra water. The results for me a 5X what I experienced with oil cleansing alone, but if you haven’t tried oil cleansing, you might want to give it a go and find your best way.
4. Full Eyebrows! While I can’t guarantee that this will happen for you, I discovered this one accidentally. In my nightly regime of oil cleansing, I realized that some oil was being left on my brows. Over the course of a month, they were fuller than before. I couldn’t understand it- was it my diet? green smoothies? the weather?- until I did a bit of research and learned that this is one way that castor oil can be used- to regrow over-plucked, sparse brows. Now, I deliberately put a drop on my brows at night and yes, I do notice the difference for myself! (I hope you do , too! It’s so cool!)
5. Fuller eyelashes. This one I read as I was researching my brows, and again, I incidentally had less lash breakage using castor oil mixed with olive oil to take off eye makeup and the occasional fake lashes. Some beauty websites advise applying the oil straight to your lashes. That scares me: so close to my eyes, sleeping with this sticky stuff on my lashes. I let the residual oil from the oil cleansing (#3) do its thing for my lashes without applying it straight to my eyes like that! This should be HEXANE-FREE castor oil.
6. Castor Oil Packs. You can read how to make a castor oil pack right HERE. This has been my PMS salvation, and a major go-to when I feel my immune system is rocky. Ladies: you have fibroids, endometriosis or bad PMS, you might want to ask your doctor about this natural treatment. While the jury is out as to how much this can make a difference, I have found it to be completely therapeutic for a number of reasons!
7. Hot Oil Treatment: As I have been recently immersing myself in a weekly trip to the Korean spa filled with various saunas, a hot oil treatment was in order to make all this heat and sweating beneficial for my hair. Let me say this: Castor oil put into your hair without being diluted is not something I recommend. I do love mixing a bit of it with some raw coconut oil and massaging that through my hair before I hit the heated rooms for a few hours. You can put on a shower cap, wrap your hair in a towel or even lay in the sun with oil on your hair once a week. I have heard that coconut oil can penetrate the hair shaft, as does the castor oil. I am not sure of the mechanics, but my hair has not looked this great in ages! Of course, shampoo out the oil and use a rinse of 1 part apple cider vinegar to 10 parts water (comb through damp hair, let sit for a moment and then rinse) before the shampoo if you want to really remove the oil!
8. Grow Your Hair: This is awesome. People use castor oil as a hair-growing agent for a reason. The coconut oil/castor oil mix is favored, heavy on the coconut and light on the sticky castor oil. At night, part your hair and massage a small amount of the mix in your scalp, part in a new place and repeat. Keep going until you’ve added just a touch t your whole scalp. Let it penetrate your scalp – do it at least an hour before bed- and don’t overdo it or you’ll wake up with oil all over the place. Wash it out in the morning. Some people do this nightly to stop hair loss and regrow hair.
Castor oil is something that is so rich and concentrated that just a drop goes a long way. Anything in excess ceases to be excellent. That said, it has been excellent to me, and I am so excited about the discovery!
Expanding the scope of natural ways to treat yourself well can only enhance your life. When you drop some of the toxic load that your body has to process on a daily basis, you have more energy for other things… things you love! xoxo Dana
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Ive been having a problem with dry, chapped lips for years. I mixed the castor oil w/ coconut oil and put it on my lips a few minutes ago and im already seeing results! There was a dry patch on my upper lip and it is totally gone now. Thanks for the tip!
🙂 love this stuff! so glad it helped!!!
i have grey hair which I don’t dye but also my eyebrows are getting grey. I have been plucking the grey out of my brows but then left with sparse very few brown hairs. I started using castor oil on my brows to see if this works about a month ago, every night I put it on my brows and go to bed, and not only are my brows getting thick again like they were when I was in my 20s, the hairs are growing in brown not grey. how weird! I am so glad its working for me. I have been using it as a hair and scalp mask with the virgin coconut oil, and I also switched to a sulfate free shampoo and see a difference in my hair on my head too, shiny and way less frizzy.
thats so wild!!! i love hearing this!
I have been using Castor Oil for 40 years and the last 20 years internally. I take a drop a day and I have no pain, no arthritis, a thick head of hair, thick lashes and brows and no wrinkles (I’ll be 60 on my next birthday)…it works!!!!! I am an athlete and i still run jump and play. I have been pushing this oil for years to my clients. I am so glad people are beginning to enjoy it again. For women with dry white hair, I always mixed 85% olive oil and 15% castor oil, mix into hair AND WASH really really good…your hair will shine like you are 25 years old.
Rosa..thank you for all of your suggestions…which castor oil do you take internatlly?…is it different from the one you use externally??…please let me know…than you 🙂
i don;t ever take it internally 🙂
Please guide me which form of CASTOR oil is best for hair growth & beauty treatment. Like Castor oil is available in various forms i. e. REFINED, UNREFINED, COLD PRESSED etc. I am bewildered about this if there is any harmful effect of any form respectively.
the one that I get is from a health food store and is coldpressed and cold processed. I don’t eat it, just use it topically!
What kind of oatmeal soap do you use after the oil cleansing? I do oil cleansing and for a while it was working wonderfully but now not as much. Thanks!
trader joes 🙂 it has 3 ingredients i think… i dont have the package at the moment but its awesome.
It’s can used for weight loss process ?
i’ve never heard of it used that way!
You can take a spoonfull of Virgin Coconut Oil everyday and it can do wonders on the outside. I tried it and it really works.
love it! yes!!!
I’ve been reading about castor oil for stretch marks. Do you have any advice?
Thanks
Xx
Ive never done it… but i’ve had great success with skin marks with coconut oil mixed with a drop of lavender & rosemary oils. its also awesome for hair 🙂
I thought you would like to see this post by Dr. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. because of your concerns about getting this in your eyes. I was researching eye health after attending a Naturopathic convention, and found several instances of cataracts being reversed with castor oil. Though you might like to share it with your viewers. Of course it must be USP Castor Oil – hexane free cold pressed. He said DO NOT — USE THE CASTOR OIL YOU WOULD — USE FOR CASTOR OIL PACKS OR BATHS! https://normshealy.com/castor-oil-for-cataracts/
Website is under construction
very interesting!!!
Dana i mixed castor oil with vaselin in empty mascara bottle ….I apply it every night on my eyelashes ….it’s amazing. ..it’s save believe me
love this!!!!
The castor oil I use, is Hertige Store The Palma Christi…I take a 1/4 of a teaspoon every morning. And I take another hit just before I go out on a run. Feel free to ingest a small portion as noted. It is only going to make you feel better. NO MORE MENSTRAL CRAMPS. It gets rid of all of your aches and pains and once you start experiencing dry itchy vagina…it cures that also.
Love Your Website!!!
Hello plzzz answer thos question i really need to know, Can I put castor oil and coconut oil on my face cause I mixed them together with a lit bit of honey and I placed it in the Fridge and now its a solid(I wanted it to be a solid) so do you think I can put it on my face
i think so… i mean i put both on my face so as long as your skin likes both oils its great!
I love this post! Thanks girl!
I have been losing my hair recently from few months..i have seen many websites and started using castor oil every two days alternately..at first wash it was good..but after 3 washes it became so dull and I cant manage it.. For rinsing it I am using sheeka Kai paste.. Today I mixed castor with coconut ..still some hair being off..pls suggest me sister..i am losing my confidence so much
you might want to head to a doctor and check your iron levels and hormones – both can have an effect on hair loss. stress and nutrition too!!!