Castor oil and Hair Growth
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free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:48 pm

Does anyone know the science behind using castor oil for hair growth? I'm a little skeptical as to whether it truly works or not, but I've seen it referenced so much on these forums. I'd love to know if anyone has a non-folkloric take as to why it's effective. I think I'm going to start using it on just my brows and lashes to see if it does anything - seems like it can't hurt!

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:04 pm

I have heard this oil is good for hair growth..........so if one wants to apply for hair on the head go ahead........But im paranoid if i use this on the face il start hvaing facial hair Shock

........so i would not put this oil on my face. If you notice some of the hair gels or balms have castor oil in them.

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:07 pm

And seeing this info would help me decide whether or not it was OK to keep using in OCM, since I have definitely seen more facial hair that started well before I began doing OCM. Ah, the joys of aging, right?

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:18 pm

Well i dont no how old you are. But i read that some hair growth can be related to hormones on the hair removal forums so like maybe this is your case. You could go doctor and get that bit checked out so you can rule it out Question

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:47 pm

Yes facial hair growth is related to hormones, I should know my husband reckons its so close to sleeping next to a man its not funny Laughing

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:36 pm

ginnielizz wrote:

Does anyone know the science behind using castor oil for hair growth?

All I've ever heard was the folk-lore and "old wives tales" about it, but check this link for a discussion about it on another forum: http://skininteractive.proboards28.com/index.cgi?board=others&action=print&thread=1166203361

One poster postulates that castor oil "demodex mites" which live in hair follicles so this could be one of the reasons that it helps hair grow.

If anyone can find any actual science on it, please do post it so we can figure out where all the folklore came from!

Having said that, I *am* a true believer that castor oil actually works in promoting growth because I used to use it to "set" my brows years ago and I noticed that while I was using it, it seemed that I'd have to groom my brows a lot more frequently than before (my brows were already Brooke Shields-esqe-circa-1980 to begin with, so I didn't actually welcome the resulting "weed patch" that I had to pluck/wax every couple days in order to make sure I didn't resemble a uni-browed gorilla!) so SURELY there must be some science behind those old wives tales....

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:46 pm

Right, I generally figure that generations-old wisdom is still around because it worked for someone somewhere along the line! I just wish I understood it better - but thank you for the link, I will definitely check that out!

I'm hoping I can use CO to help fill in patches of my brows that I had over-waxed. It's crazy, I never realized that I waxed them slightly asymetrically until my new waxist pointed it out, and even then I didn't believe her until she pressed with her fingernails on where each brow began and ended. With that tactile method I could really tell - so now I'm trying to grow in the ends on just one of them, since I'd gotten over-zealous in my plucking. I hope CO helps, I'm incredibly impatient with the awkward grow-in stage and there are just a few sparse ugly hairs straining the wrong direction right now! Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:00 pm

ginnielizz wrote:

Right, I generally figure that generations-old wisdom is still around because it worked for someone somewhere along the line! I just wish I understood it better - but thank you for the link, I will definitely check that out!

I'm hoping I can use CO to help fill in patches of my brows that I had over-waxed. It's crazy, I never realized that I waxed them slightly asymetrically until my new waxist pointed it out, and even then I didn't believe her until she pressed with her fingernails on where each brow began and ended. With that tactile method I could really tell - so now I'm trying to grow in the ends on just one of them, since I'd gotten over-zealous in my plucking. I hope CO helps, I'm incredibly impatient with the awkward grow-in stage and there are just a few sparse ugly hairs straining the wrong direction right now! Rolling Eyes

If the CO doesn't work for you, might I suggest you consider either Ardell Lash & Brow Growth Accelerator or the KGF Brow Serum from the Skin Actives website. I know you like all-natural skincare whenever possible, so you'll probably want to check the ingredients of both to see which is more "holistic."

Another consideration, other than CO is Arnica-infused oil (you can easily make your own -- I can send you some Arnica leaves if you'd like -- even Arnica-infused castor oil Wink

).

There are a few other herbal extracts that are also known to promote hair growth so let me know if you'd like a list of them and I'll hunt down my reference manuals....

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:09 pm

Oooh, Carrie, I'd love any lists or recs you might have for other herbs! And don't worry, I'm blessed with a few great apothecaries in Seattle so I can get ahold of arnica or maybe even pre-infused oil (though I do like doing things myself whenever I can - such a control freak!) Thanks for the nudge though, I had no idea arnica was good for hair growth, I just use it for bruises.

Thanks for the tip re: Ardell too, I've been looking at the reviews of that in my search for castor oil info, but I hadn't heard of KGF. I'll check both out and compare, you know me too well! No parabens in my peepers, haha.

My boyfriend is going to think I'm so crazy if I start brushing castor oil on my brows every night - but if this works I'm totally going to bug him to try it out for his balding head. He'll probably resist, but you never know - he recently let me start anointing his fungus-ridden toenails with a neem, tea tree, and lavender concoction, and they're finally clearing up, so I think he's starting to change his tune about all of my "GD crazy hippie" remedies! Laughing

Just wait until I quit this day job and start spending more time making crazy concoctions in our kitchen.

free skin care · Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:54 pm

hahaha now that would be the day ginnielizz and her crazy concoctions Laughing

free skin care · Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:01 pm

would like to say that castor oil in conj with olive and jojoba for 3 months def caused a lot of extra white facial hair on both my sister and my face while we were doing OCM. It is on my cheeks, chin and lip. I also had a lot more eyebrow growth - like brooke shields in the 80s!!!!!! basically i have a layer of white fur over my face, and a few that look like whiskers- more spiky. Very notceable side on.

we still have hideous cystic acne from the ocm, mine are at the infected boils stage now 3 months on. I am spending a fortune on acne prods and will vist my doctor for antibiotics tomorrow morning. they are so deep and infected that a greenish pus (not even yellow!) comes out of them. We also have rash like white clogs all over us - like a beard. looks great with the extra hair!!! I am in a lot of pain with them. most of them are under my jaw along my neck and at the sides of my chin. I probably have about 11 either big red/purple blind ones at the moment that are all swollen and about 5 with the yellow green pus heads and 5 that are further along and started to scab. I am a mess.

we did nothing else but ocm differently- we are also 10 years different in age so it can't be the same change in hormones!!!!!

that is our ten cents worth! see our "ocm ruined my skin" thread for more info. the hair came a bit later but it is really noticeable and my sister has started removing it. I am a 31 year old blue eyed blonde who has never had excess hair issues before! and she is 21 and fair too!

beware ocm- i wish i had not been swayed by all the hype, it is retrospectively the worst thing i have ever done in the name of beauty.

we are sad every day as we just want things back the way they were.

free skin care · Sat Sep 29, 2007 8:36 pm

Oh Bella77,
I am so sorry for you and your sister. The condition you describe sounds so serious. Is there something else going on with your health. And I am wondering what kind of CO did you use ???
I hope you both can heal quickly.Thank you for sharing your experience.
Take care

free skin care · Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:27 am

just to be on safe side...it would be good to get a hormonal test done as well to check whether the hair is from any hormonal imbalance or problem such as PCOS.
good luck. And sorry bout the OCM, it sucks yess and this definatly reinforces the fact that one needs to be patient and wait on reviews then jump right in to try something out cause someone said it works this and that Exclamation

free skin care · Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:10 am

Perhaps one of the oils you were using was rancid

Tue Oct 06, 2015 7:35 pm

I recall in my high school days, I would break a capsule of castor oil and apply on my lashes. And they were beautiful. There was a girl that would always asked me what i used, to get same results.
But I was young then.

Today is another story. Did you know that thyroid problems can contribute to the thinning of eye brows and lashes? Must consult a doctor for this one.

Another thing: fake lashes. Or lash extensions. They can be hard on the lash roots. I recall talking to a woman with no lashes due to the glue in falsies!

I think, to find the reason is tough, but getting a washable gentle mascara with keratine and Hyaluronic Acid is a good way to go. Do you like a waterproof mascara? May be to cut this down for now?

And this is my 5c for you.

free skin care · Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:00 am

I have heard about castor oil and hair but not for stimulating growth – other than when it is massaged into the scalp and the massage itself probably has more to do with stimulating growth than the oil does. What I do know is that when you apply to the hair, it temporarily creates a thickening because the hair absorbs it, and in doing so it creates the illusion of thicker hair. Not sure if that helps, but I imagine with lashes and eyebrows, applying castor oil to them would do the same thing, namely it would thicken the existing hairs creating a fuller look rather than stimulating growth – but as someone has suggested maybe if the oil travels down to the root it could have an effect?

free skin care · Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:24 pm

I don't know for certain what it does or does not do scientifically but I do know is that I used it on my eye lashes for a while when I was in my 20's and got a lot of compliments. It did make them appear lusher, fuller and longer.
The reason I quit was that it was problematic with my contacts...couldn't seem to get rid of all the residue.
I'm thinking of maybe giving it a go again...And maybe I'll try it on my eye brows too..(it couldn't hurt).
I do have fairly full eye brows but they were Brooke Shields kind of thick before I shaved them down. I didn't shave them all away and, thank goodness, I didn't leave them just as a pencil thin line. They're not bad but I wouldn't mind if some of the original thickness could return....doesn't hurt to try.

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