Castor Oil
Castor oil is slowly gaining popularity as a wonder oil with numerous health and beauty benefits, but do you know it has been used from thousands of years in beauty and hair treatments. Castor Oil is a vegetable oil obtained from seeds of Ricinus communis plant. The oil is thick and viscous in consistency and may feel a bit heavy initially on application, but it gets absorbed very quickly. A majority of people know castor oil as a laxative only, but its beauty benefits would stun you. It is a nutrient-rich liquid and is a tried and tested solution for many skin and hair related problems. Read on for unbelievable beauty benefits of this Oil For skin and hair. Let us see what all benefits this oil has and how we can use it in our daily routine. When picking, keep in mind to pick cold-pressed castor oil cold-pressed oils are higher-quality and more nutrient-rich than those processed at greater temperatures. Castor oil has high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, proteins and minerals and hence made this oil more beneficial.
How to Use Castor Oil For Skin and Hair
1. It is rich in ricinoleic acid which is an unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid and a hydroxy acid. Ricinoleic acid has anti-microbial and acne-fighting properties, which inhibit the growth of bacteria. If you have acne-prone skin, use a blend of castor oil and olive oil in circular motion on the skin and rinse off in the morning.
2. It can give you beautiful skin. You can use it as a moisturizer by mixing with sweet almond oil. Castor oil is a great humectant and locks in moisture into the skin, giving you smooth and soft skin.
3. Whiten your teeth with it. You have heard about oil pulling right? If you haven’t, here’s a detailed post on how it works. Oil pulling is basically an Ayurvedic treatment and it is believed to treat around 30 body ailments. Here’s how you can use castor oil in oil pulling to whiten your teeth and improve your health – take 2 tablespoons of oil and swish it around in your mouth for 15 minutes. Do this regularly and you would be able to see a set of white pearlies pretty quickly.
4. Reduces hair breakage – Because of its highly hydrating and moisturizing properties, castor oil can reduce breakage by strengthening the hair.
5. Treats alopecia – the oil increases blood circulation and increases blood flow to the hair follicles and therefore it is highly beneficial in treating alopecia. Make a blend of coconut oil, castor oil, and vitamin E capsules and apply it directly it on the scalp regularly.
6. Prevents ingrown hair – Apply a thick layer of castor oil over ingrown hair overnight and rinse off in the morning to ingrown hair.
7. Straighten hair with it – Shun away chemical and harsh treatments to straighten hair, instead make a concoction with 2 tbsp of castor oil and 1 tbsp of soybean oil and heat the mixture. Massage this oil on to the hair and keep it overnight. Do this regularly to straighten out your mane.
8. Moisturizes dry skin – Because of its high viscosity, castor oil helps in restoring the moisture balance of the skin. Apply cold-pressed oil on your skin in circular motion and leave it overnight and wake up to soft and supple skin.
9. Fights dandruff – the oil with its anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties can cure dandruff and prevent it from recurring.
10. Stops hair fall – This oil has been used from hundreds of years to stop hair fall. A mix of castor oil, coconut oil, and vitamin E capsules can arrest hair fall pretty quickly.
11. Treat itching and skin rashes – With its anti-fungal properties, this oil alleviates itching and rashes.
12. Prevents premature greying – Omega-3 fatty acids in castor oil prevent premature greying and if you make your own hair oil by mixing the oil with coconut oil and amla oil, no one can stop you from having beautiful hair.
13. Natural conditioner for hair – As I have mentioned previously, castor oil is a great humectant, and thus acts a natural conditioner for hair.
14. Promotes hair growth – Castor oil strengthens hair root, increases blood circulation to the follicle, and thus promotes hair growth.
15. Prevents wrinkles – It helps to hydrate skin and prevents wrinkles on skin. Regular use of this oil will give you smoother, softer, and younger skin.
16. Castor oil to treat under eye swelling and wrinkles around eyes – Apply a mixture of sweet almond oil and castor oil under your eyes to get rid of dark circles and wrinkles.
17. The best use of this oil is for oil cleansing method, It is because of its anti-bacterial properties that castor oil can be used as a skin cleanser. Our sebaceous glands continuously secrete sebum and harsh cleansers remove naturally occurring sebum and makes skin to produce more oil. So instead of using the harsh chemicals on your skin to remove dirty oil, use fresh and clean castor oil to remove dirt and excess sebum. It is important to know that oil dissolves oil.It will not only clean your face but will also moisturise it for good.
18. Castor oil is very good for growth of nails and it helps strengthens the weak nails and improves the texture of your cuticle skin. Apply few drops of this oil on your nails and cuticle (one drop for each nail), and massage it for 1 minute. Do this every night for 2 weeks and you will the results yourself. It even helps in lightening the dark nails.
19. It works amazingly hair regrowth. Take 1 tbsp of castor oil, 1 tbsp of olive oil and add 2 capsules of evening primrose oil and massage this solution on your scalp twice in a week. It is very effective.
20. It also works great as a hair serum. It smoothes the hair in an instant and makes them tangle free. In 50 ml of rosewater add 1 ½ tbsp. of castor oil and few drops of jojoba and grapeseed oil and spray it on wet hair. You can use it as a leave-in scalp treatment also
21. The oil is not only good for hair growth, it can give you thick eyelashes and eyebrows too. To get thick eyebrows, mix equal portions of castor oil and almond oil and massage on your eyebrows for a month. To get long and thick eyelashes, use a mascara wand to apply this mixture and leave it overnight. You would be able to see awesome growth really quickly. Here’s how you can make this oil – DIY Long Eyelashes with Castor Oil.
Not only does castor oil have cosmetic uses, it also has medicinal uses. It is an important source of ricinoleic acid and is used in many anti-fungal medicines used to cure allergies and other ailments. One of the major illnesses that this oil is used to cure is arthritis and joint pains. Massaging with castor oil really helps relieving nerve inflammation and swollen muscles.
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