Natural hair oils are the oldest hair care products used by humans since ancient times.
In fact, none of the modern hair products can match the quality and effectiveness of natural hair oils. Most importantly, natural oils are mostly free of any side effects.
Among the many hair oils, the two most effective oils for hair growth are coconut oil and castor oil; jojoba and olive oils are the next best options.
In this article, we are going to see the benefits of using castor oil for hair growth.
I have personally used this oil for a long time, and now also I use it occasionally for the hair, skin, and especially I use castor oil for eyebrows. It is really good for growing eyebrow hairs and straitening eyelashes.
I have seen in my younger days, my grandmother’s one-and-only remedy for skin problems and all types of external body pain relief was the use of castor oil pack therapy.
Now, let us just examine how castor oil for hair growth works and also its other health benefits.
What is Castor Oil?
“Ricinus communis, the castor oil plant, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae.”
Castor is naturally grown in Eastern Africa, the southeastern Mediterranean Basin, and India…mostly found in the tropical regions.
Castor oil is got from the castor seeds (beans). The castor seeds contain about 40-60% oil that is rich in triglycerides, mainly ricinolein.
This oil in the liquid form usually has a pale yellow color, and it turns white in color when solidified.
Traditionally, this oil is mostly used as an ingredient in various herbal medicines…it has the right ingredients that can provide relief for various diseases and physical injuries. Of course, castor oil for hair treatments is also been well known since the olden time.
One of the most popular hair treatment solutions with this oil is the Caribbean black castor oil…a mixture of Castor Oil, Jojoba Oil, and Peppermint.
Castor Oil Benefits For Hair, Health, And Beauty
Castor oil is one of the best natural beauty solutions that have most of the good effects of the costly beauty products you might be buying.
This oil has antifungal and antibacterial properties that can cure many skin diseases and infections.
This oil is also rich in Vitamin E, Omega 6, Fatty Acids, protein, and minerals. It is the ricinoleic acid found in this oil that makes it very valuable for the treatment of hair and skin.
It is one of the most popular traditional treatments for acne. Besides these certain types of psoriasis, skin rashes, osteoarthritis, and hair loss are curable with castor oil.
It is also often used as a laxative to loosen stools and increase bowel movements.
The oil from the castor seeds is also good for colon cleansing and as a natural remedy for constipation.
This natural oil is an excellent facial cleansing oil and is also good for oil hair mask treatment, reduction of stretch marks, dark spots, and skin wrinkles.
Castor oil is also an excellent natural moisturizer to treat dry skin on legs and arms.
Castor Oil For Hair Growth And Hair Thickness
Let us get back to our main discussion on the benefits of castor oil, especially for hair growth and hair thickening.
This oil is best known for its effectiveness in a wide range of hair treatments than all the rest we discussed above. Here are some of the major benefits of castor oil for hair:-
1. Fights Hair Loss
Hair loss is caused by a variety of reasons like vitamin deficiency, diseases, side effects of medication, hereditary reasons, fungal infections, etc. Even the hormonal changes due to excess tension and stress can lead to abnormal hair fall.
The use of castor oil treatment will help hair to grow strong and thick as this oil contains the nutrients required for the same.
The antifungal and antibacterial properties in this oil effectively remove the hair loss caused by ringworm, piedra, folliculitis, etc.
This oil penetrates hair follicles and resists the effects of a fungal or bacterial infection within the hair roots themselves.
As a treatment for hair loss, you could gently massage the castor oil onto your scalp and hair for few minutes ….preferably do it 30-40 minutes before the shower bath. Do it 4 to 5 times a week to get the best result from this natural hair loss treatment.
2. Helps In Moisturizing And Thickening The Hair
Another major reason for hair breakage and stunted hair growth is the excessive dryness of hair. Mostly due to a lack of sufficient hair vitamins and fatty acids in the diet, the hair usually turns dry and dull. Some of the harsh shampoo and bathing bars can also make your hair dull.
The omega-6 fatty acids in castor oil add moisture and shine to the hair.
If you regularly apply a thin layer of this oil on your hair and scalp, it will soon make the hair thicker and stronger as well.
As you are treating the dryness of the hair, make sure to rub this oil all over your scalp too, as it will also help the hairs to grow faster and healthy.
Either you can apply it 30 minutes before the bath or for a profound treatment, you can leave the oil application on the hair and scalp to stay there overnight and wash it off in the morning. ‘Overnight oil curing’ is more effective especially when you are limiting this treatment to once or twice a week.
3. Benefits Of Castor Oil For Hair Regrowth
In most cases, the hair will begin to grow faster if it is stimulated with natural oils that contain hair growth nutrients.
The protein and Omega-6 fatty acids in castor oil help in stimulating hair re-growth. Massaging the scalp with this oil also increases the blood circulation to the scalp and also opens up the clogged skin pores in the scalp to oxidize the hair follicles.
The hair follicles receive a sufficient amount of hair growth nutrients through increased blood circulation and also absorb the soluble nutrients directly from the castor oil.
As the castor oil has a comparatively thicker consistency, it may not penetrate deep into the hair follicles, for this reason, it is found to be good to mix a 50/50 ratio of coconut oil or jojoba oil into it. This mixture also helps in improved growth of hair.
If you have long hair, then you will need to part the hair into a small section as you apply this oil mixture evenly to every part of the hair and scalp.
4. Castor Oil For Hair Darkening
The hair darkening properties in castor oil work well. Even if you have gray hair issues, it will gradually turn into dark color with regular application of this oil.
The humectants substance in this oil removes the dullness of the hair and brings back the natural shine to the hair. The Jamaican black castor oil is especially known for its effectiveness in making the hairs dark and reversing gray hairs.
5. Castor Oil Removes Dandruff
One of the major reasons for hair loss is dandruff infection. It is actually the deficiency B-vitamins that are mostly responsible for dandruff.
The castor oil, with excellent antifungal properties in it, is good for dandruff removal.
The regular application of this oil on the scalp will help in the eradication of dandruff within a few weeks. This oil is also a good preventive solution against dandruff.
6. Hair Conditioning And Styling With Castor Oil
Castor oil is a good natural hair conditioner. The Omega-6 fatty acids in this oil form a protective layer over the hair strands.
Conditioning the hair with this oil removes the dryness and dullness from the hair and makes the hair appear shiny.
7. Stops Split Ends
The hair growth becomes stunted because of the hair split ends. If you already have the split ends, just trim them off evenly, and begin to treat your hair ends with castor oil – regularly apply a thin layer of castor oil on hair ends.
Even just using castor oil for conditioning the hair also will help in stopping split ends. It makes the hair stronger and also removes the dryness that leads to split ends in the hair.
How to Use Castor Oil Treatments On Hair?
There are a couple of convenient methods that you can adopt for castor oil hair treatment.
For a profound treatment, you can use this oil as a hair mask. This method works well for hair re-growth, and also it adds moisture and shine to the hair.
It is always good to mix the castor oil with coconut oil or jojoba oil as it will make castor oil light (thinner) and allow its deep penetration till the hair follicles and help in evenly spreading the oil on all hair strands.
This treatment receives maximum effect if you can allow the oil application to stay on the hair and scalp for 3 to 7 hours (overnight is best). If you are leaving it overnight, you could conveniently use a shower cap or cover to prevent the oil from spreading all over your pillow and clothing.
You should gently rinse off the oil in the morning and also use a natural hair conditioner after this treatment for retaining moisture and shine. This application procedure could be repeated twice or thrice a week for the best results.
Another method for applying the oil is to massage regularly your scalp and hair with this oil 30-40 minute before the shower and then wash it off. The effectiveness of this method is comparatively less and needs to be repeated daily.
For split ends treatment, after the shower, you can regularly apply a thin layer of castor oil exclusively on your hair ends.
You can also use castor oil for conditioning the hair just like any other hair conditioner.
What Type of Castor Oil Is Best?
There are several verities of castor oil hair treatments readily available for purchase in herbal stores or online.
You can also easily do the oil mixtures by yourself at home. It is always better you prepare the treatment solution with castor oil at home…it would ensure that you are using genuine products. Secondly, you can also save a few bugs on the price of the product.
If you are preparing the various castor oil treatments by yourself, only you need to make sure you learn the details of required oil mixtures and other ingredients.
As for me, I always love to prepare all my hair care products by myself.
For hair treatments with castor oil…the other oils that could add to it are coconut oil or jojoba. It is also good to gently warm up the oil mixture to get them properly diluted.
If you like to buy the ready-made Castor oil for hair treatment, you can probably purchase it online at amazon.com… one of the most popular brands with maximum positive reviews I have found is the Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil. Once I tried it and is really a good product that lives up to the promise.
Castor Oil Pack Therapy
I hope that you have some idea already of the castor oil pack therapy.
This oil pack therapy usually consists of different mixtures of herbal ingredients meant for specifically treating various ailments. The different items in the pack have castor oil as the base ingredient, but the other ingredients may vary according to the particular treatment required for a specific ailment.
The Castrol oil pack is generally used for treating ailments such as arthritis, kidney disease, hair loss, hair growth solutions, congestion, toxemia, appendicitis, intestinal disorders, liver conditions, etc.
Usually, the oil pack comes with a detailed user’s manual on how to make use of the Castrol oil pack for various treatments.
All of the treatment solutions included in Castrol Oil Pack therapy are time-tested proven natural remedies with castor oil in practice for centuries.
In the end, all the very best for your castor oil for hair growth treatment.