Do you remember your parents giving you castor oil as a laxative when you were younger? Do you see it on the shelves in the stores? Yes! But did you know it can help with hair growth and has moisturizing properties for the skin? Castor oil has been used for many years in many different ways. Let’s examine castor oil. According to Wikipedia, castor oil is a vegetable oil that comes from the castor bean. It has fatty acid properties that is used to stimulate hair growth, but also to moisturize the skin. It is very thick and the color of it could either be pale, yellow or very dark brown. I will explain what I mean about the color of it being black later on in this article.
I mentioned earlier that it is very thick. It is a great sealant! Water moisturizes while oil seals and locks in the moisture. When using on the skin after a shower or a bath, lightly pat dry your skin. Your skin should be damp, but not dry. Take the castor oil and apply it. Your skin will feel nice and moisturized all day! It may leave a light oily feeling to the skin, but it will dissipate after a few minutes. Can it be used on the face? It could, actually it is the main ingredient for the OCM, which stands for the Oil Cleansing Method. It has anti-inflammatory properties, so it is great for acne and oily prone skin!
Using The Oil Cleansing Method’s website, you would take part castor oil and part of a soothing oil, such as sunflower seed oil or olive oil. When I was using this method, I used half of castor oil and half of extra virgin olive oil.You would apply the mixture to your face and circular motions. I did it for at least 3 minutes. Doing it for this length of time gives it time to really clean out those pores and bring acne pimples to the surface. Taking a soft and gentle washcloth, wet the towel in hot water. It should be hot, but not scolding. Lay the towel over your face until the towel is cool. Think of this method as a mini facial. It is very relaxing, especially if you have had a long day. Do this a couple of times then lightly rub the excess oil from your face. You should not need any moisturizer after doing this method, but if do feel like your skin is a little dry, then apply a little of the soothing oil. When you wake up in the morning, just rinse your face off with cool water and you are good to go. The method is best done at night.
Remember when I said that there is a castor oil where the color is dark brown? This is called Jamaican Black Castor Oil. It is a dark brown colored castor oil and it has a smoky or burnt smell to it. Compared to the pale colored castor oil, this one’s smell is more potent. You can smell it a mile away. In my opinion, the smell does become more a faint scent after a while. But I have seen reviews that the scent lingers for a long time. For a lighter smell, you can use regular castor oil and it is just as good. As I do not use it on my face, I use it in my hair and on my scalp. To stimulate hair growth with it, take a small amount and massage it into your scalp every other day.I have heard people even use it to regrow hair in their eye brows. Interesting! If you are experiencing hair loss, this method will be perfect for you, but results will not be visible if you are not consistent with it. You can also use it to seal in the moisture on the hair. Take a water based moisturizer or water itself and apply it from root to tip. Then afterwards, take the castor oil and apply it the same way. When using these steps, my hair can stay moisturized for days at a time without having to re-moisturize again.
The key to well moisturized hair and skin is sealing in all that moisture that you just added with a sealant, such as castor oil. Think of it as this. You have moisturized your skin or hair with water or a water based moisturizer but it needs to be sealed in to keep the moisture trapped in or else it will not be beneficial because you will lose the moisture.
For more information on castor oil, please visit Wikipedia.org at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil
And for more information on the Oil Cleansing Method, please visit the Oil Cleansing Method’s website at: http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/
This brings my article to a close. I hope you try castor oil sometime. Your skin and hair will thank you for it!
