Castor Oil oil is often overlooked when it comes to your beauty routine and today I’m going to show you how to use this thick oil to improve your hair, skin, and even eyelashes.

If you’ve been reading my blog for long at all, you know how much I love a good ol’ natural beauty product….. especially a DIY. I love how different oils moisturize my skin better than anything I’ve been able to find at the drugstore and am always so impressed by the beauty products I’m able to try as a blogger. This past year, I’ve really been educating myself on the benefits of oils and how to properly use them. So for today’s post, I wanted to share my favorite ways to use Castor Oil in your beauty routine.

In my humble opinion, Castor Oil is under-appreciated, under-used, and often looked over. It’s thick consistency makes us jump to conclusions and believe it will be far too oily and will leave an uncomfortable residue… but alas…. my experiences with castor oil have been anything but that.

Here are some easy and effective ways to start using Castor Oil. Try them all… or just one and let me know what you think!

Castor Oil For Hair

While most of the product we put on our hair contains alcohol that dries and damages each strand, Castor Oil is highly moisturizing and enhances hair color, adds thickness, and makes it look shiner and darker.

When your hair is towel-dried, slightly warm a tablespoon of Castor Oil and run your fingers through it before applying the oil to your hair. If you have longer hair, dividing it into quarters will make it easier to apply and get a small, even amount on each strand. When I did this, Castor Oil also made my hair easier to braid and was significantly softer after one application.

Castor Oil For Skin

My skin has always been incredibly dry and will even crack and bleed if I don’t moisturize often. During the summer months, I apply coconut oil every single day to avoid looking like a crocodile by lunch. In the drier, winter months, I have been applying Olive Oil for it’s heavier texture and soothing properties. Even with my daily Olive Oil application, my skin would often be dry and flaky by night, forcing me to re-apply. Once I switched to Castor Oil however, my skin is far more moisturized long term, doesn’t need night-time applications, and even leaves surprisingly less residue than both Olive or Coconut Oils.

After doing some research, I learned that Castor Oil is high is viscous, making it stay put easily and penetrates deep inside the skin tissue to actually nourish with fatty acids. After you’ve taken a shower, apply a small amount to your entire body and rub in just like you would a regular moisturizer. Within just a few minutes, your skin will have completely absorbed the Castor Oil with no residue and you will not have to reapply all day.

For more severe dryness, Castor Oil has been a life-saver in our house. Both my son and I have incredibly dry hands during the winter months if we are not consistent with moisturizing. To cure this, I coated my son’s hands with a thicker coat of Castor Oil and covered each one with a sock before bedtime. By morning, they were surprisingly better and within a week, were completely healed.

Castor Oil For Mascara

I’ve heard of Castor Oil to make your lashes grow in fuller and healthier, but my eyelash extensions have prevented me from applying anything with oil around my own eyes. While I was researching the beauty benefits of Castor Oil though, I can across the most amazing idea I just had to share:

Did you know you can make your own completely natural, volumizing mascara with Castor Oil by mixing Castor Oil, beeswax, and charcoal for color? The voluminous mascara works well all day but also produces healthier, longer, thicker lashes over time. To make your own, melt 1 tablespoon of beeswax in a double broiler and add 2 tablespoons of Castor Oil. Mix in charcoal to create the color and consistency you want and apply with a mascara wand.

While I have experience with all the other applications of Castor Oil, I haven’t been able to try it as a natural mascara alternative. If anybody does, would you mind leaving a comment below and telling me how it worked?

To learn more about which natural oils to use for your skin, this article about the comedogenic scale of natural oils is definitely worth checking out.

I hope this post was able to shed a little light on how to use Castor Oil and you start giving it a try. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!

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