Castor oil comes from the palm-like castor plant, native to East Africa and South America. Packed with nutrients, fatty acids, and omega 9, the oil is great for nourishing your skin and body. It can also effectively ease joint pain.
Castor oil is primarily a vegetable oil used for a wide range of cosmetic and medical purposes. It is said to provide several health benefits for the face and skin.
Castor oil boosts hair, eyelash, and eyebrow growth. It is a very runny oil, so best to use with your mascara wand if applying it to your lashes. Castor oil can nourish our scalps and condition our hair to give a silky feel.
Massage it into your hair and scalp, leave for an hour and rinse off for at-home treatment. The oil is a boon to your nails, as it fortifies your nails and moisturizes your thin hand skin. It strengthens our nails and helps them to grow quickly.
Castor oil is known to have healing properties and can smooth a tummy ache. Keep reading to find out more about the health benefits of this magical oil.
This article will outline what the oil is and discuss castor oil benefits for your face and skin. We will also discuss how to use it and possible side effects to expect.
Castor oil and ricinoleic acid help increase absorption in the skin. Hence the oil is used in the treatment of various skin conditions like acne, dermatosis, and psoriasis.
The oil serves as a source of ricinoleic acid and several other fatty acids, and hence is used in skin care products, particularly for the face. As the oil is relatively low-cost and is widely used.
What is Castor Oil?
Castor oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the castor oil plant Ricinus communis found primarily in Africa, South America, and India. India is one of the leading producer of this oil in the world. The USA and China are the primary importers.
Cold-pressing castor seeds produce the oil, and then heat is applied. It is not an edible oil and makes up only a fraction of the whole world’s vegetable oil production.
Historically, the oil is used effectively as a laxative. It has also been used to induce labor. It is also used to treat a range of medical conditions, most notably digestive issues.
Castor oil is a translucent yellow liquid. It is an active ingredient found in a variety of household items, like cleaning products and paints.
But today, castor oil finds a special place in the cosmetic industry. According to a review, castor oil was used in over 900 cosmetic products worldwide.
Benefits of Castor Oil – For Your Face and Skin
Castor oil has many potential benefits and is an integral ingredient in most cosmetic products. These include:
1 Preventing wrinkles
Castor oil is a rich antioxidant that fights free radicals in your body. Free radicals accelerate the aging process in your body, making wrinkles appear sooner. The oil promotes the growth of healthy skin tissue, making it helpful in reducing wrinkles.
2 Conditions your hair and scalp
Castor oil can be used to condition your hair and nourish your scalps, making your hair silky and flowy. Slowly massage it into your hair and scalp, leave it for an hour and rinse off. You can also leave it on overnight for a deeply nourishing treatment.
3 Fighting acne
Castor oil’s antibacterial properties can help fight bacteria on your face that clog pores and lead to acne. The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of castor oil make it useful in reducing acne. The oil contains Ricinoleic acid which can inhibit growth in the bacteria that cause acne.
4 Reducing puffiness
The oil’s anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce puffiness and swelling. It could reduce the size of inflamed pimples or even your eye bags.
5 Moisturizing
Castle oil is a good moisturizer. Moisture keeps your skin looking shiny, young, and healthy. Moisture also prevents the formation of wrinkles.
6 Fighting dry lips
Castor oil is a commonly used ingredient in lipstick and lip gloss as it is a good moisturizer. If you have dry lips, use castor oil. But you might want to mix it with a better-tasting oil, like coconut oil.
7 Soothing sunburn
Castor oil may ease your pain associated with sunburn – due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Its moisturizing qualities may also reduce peeling. The fatty acids in the oil enhance smoothness and softness when you apply it to your facial skin.
8 Promotes overall skin health
Castor oil is loaded with healthy fatty acids and omega 9, which are good for your skin. Fatty acids are essential elements to maintaining good skin health.
The oil has a low comedogenic score meaning it is unlikely to clog pores in your skin. It also reduces the risk of developing blackheads, thus making it appropriate for use on sensitive skin.
Castor Oil for Your Skin
Do you have atopic skin? It is skin eczema that makes your skin red and itchy. Commonly seen in children, it can occur at any age. Atopic dermatitis is long-lasting and tends to flare periodically. No cure has been found for atopic dermatitis.
Thanks to castor oil, its greasy texture can purify and hydrate your skin. It works wonders on very dry skin and solves skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, cold sores, burns, and more.
You only need to massage in a drop of the castor oil using circular movements for it to penetrate your skin. The oil can also reduce the appearance of liver spots noticeable on our face and hands.
Do you know the oil can also be used as a skin cleanser? You can use the oil to remove makeup and cleanse your skin. It can deeply clean pores, thanks to its bacteria-killing fatty acids.
Try massaging the oil onto your scars, even after years they have been formed. The nutrients slowly penetrate your skin and gradually fade scars by boosting cell growth.
Castor oil’s anti-aging action boosts collagen and elastin production in your skin. This helps to soften and repair your skin whilst preventing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. In short, the oil gives you a smooth, soft, and youthful glow.
This oil can help with minor skin irritations. The oil’s anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties soothe all kinds of itchiness, flare-ups, insect bites/stings, and sunburn. This is definitely one oil you should add to your beauty routine list.
How is Castor Oil Used on Your Face?
Castor oil is thick. Hence you have to mix it with a carrier oil before applying it to your face. Common carrier oils include coconut oil, almond oil, and olive oil. You can also add it to shea butter for an extra moisturizing effect.
Apply this mixture to your face before bed, after cleaning your skin. You can leave the oil on overnight or wipe it off with a warm cloth after five minutes.
A couple of words of caution you should take note of. The quality of your the oil really matters. It is an amazing carrier oil which means that it takes on everything it comes in contact with.
So you only want the oil from a glass bottle. No plastic bottles are allowed, otherwise you are going to get all the chemicals leaching from the plastic. So always get this oil from glass bottles, from a trusted source. This is to make sure that it is organic and freshly pressed, that is what you should look for.
Castor Oil – Side Effects
Castor oil has a range of promising properties, but scientific evidence supporting many of these claims is still not available.
This means that most studies need to be done in order to provide wide-ranging and accurate data. However, there are reports related to allergic reactions, such as skin rashes, swelling, and itching with this oil. If you experience an allergic reaction to the oil, you should seek medical attention immediately.
The safety review mentioned that the topical application of this oil irritates the skin of some with dermatitis. If you have dermatitis or another skin condition, you should consult your doctor before using this oil. The FDA also found some evidence that the oil could irritate the eyes.
Development of rashes and skin irritation are the most commonly reported side effects.
Takeaway
Using castor oil is a useful, effective, and inexpensive way to promote skin health, and it might also have particular benefits for facial skin. This oil is relatively safe, but it might cause some side effects in special cases.
Castor oil is indeed very good for your face and skin because of its nourishing, moisturizing, and anti-bacterial properties. Many people are experimenting with the dermatological benefits of this oil, but it is already extensively used in the cosmetic industry.
If you want flawless, glowing skin and bouncy hair then you need not resort to chemical-laden products or unnecessary treatments. Castor oil is your only solution – a natural beauty ingredient that can solve most of your skin and hair problems.
