People all across the world have learned how helpful castor oil can be for your face, as well as all the skin on your body. Sure, some people are sensitive to castor oil and can’t use it, but for the majority of the population, castor oil can work wonders.
If you’ve been looking for a new product to try for cleansing or moisturizing your face, definitely try out castor oil and watch your skin visibly improve. If your skin is oily, castor oil can remove that extra oil and prevent acne from forming. If your face is dry, castor oil will work its moisturizing wonders to rehydrate your skin.
Below, I cover exactly what castor oil is, the benefits of castor oil for your face and exactly how to use castor oil for a facial.
What Is Castor Oil?
Castor oil is a vegetable oil that is pressed from the castor bean plant. When the bean is pressed, a thick and clear, yellow liquid will come from the bean which we know of as castor oil.
The oil is popular all over the globe, but the plant it comes from grows in Eastern Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, as well as parts of Asia and India.
In the western world, castor oil has not always been so popular. However, locals that have grown the plants for thousands of years have known about its health benefits for centuries. Castor oil is a very popular oil that has been used to treat constipation and wounds as well as healing sensitive skin and hair.
Today, we continue to recognize the importance of castor oil and the great effects it has on the body. If you have issues with your skin — whatever those issues may be — it’s likely that castor oil will be able to help.
Do you deal with dandruff or weakened hair? Castor oil can help with that. Is your skin excessively oily and covered in acne? Castor oil can help with that. Is your skin dry, cracked, and irritated? Castor oil can help with that. Do you deal with occasional constipation? Castor oil can help with that too.
Is Castor Oil Good For Your Face?
Castor oil is an excellent product to use for your face because it has many amazing properties.
Ricinoleic acid is the main ingredient found in castor oil, making up over 90% of the product. Ricinoleic acid works wonders on the body because it is incredibly moisturizing, and it contains anti-inflammatory properties.
Not only does it contain high levels of ricinoleic acid, but it also contains vitamins and nutrients that are essential to the health of your skin.
Whether you’re dealing with oil and acne, dryness and itching, or an infection, you’re likely to feel some relief with castor oil.
Benefits Of Castor Oil For Face
Castor oil contains a lot of amazing properties, so it’s no wonder that it has a lot of benefits for your face.
It Fights Acne
Castor oil has both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, making it the ideal product to treat acne.
Acne is caused by bacteria seeping into your pores and causing an infection. Castor oil will penetrate deep into your pores to kill bacteria and draw out impurities. It will also use its anti-inflammatory properties to reduce swelling and pain around the site of your acne.
Even those with dry skin are prone to acne. This is because, when your skin is dry, it creates an excess of sebum to try and compensate. Sebum is a type of oil that can cause an increase in oil.
Castor oil will bind to sebum produced by dry skin to clear it away. In the same way, if you have oily skin, castor oil will bind to that excess oil to clear it.
It Improves Your Complexion
The anti-inflammatory properties of castor oil can also help to reduce any swelling and redness on your face not caused by acne.
Likewise, castor oil contains about 90% ricinoleic acid. The acid is a fatty acid that works to smooth and soften your skin. It also encourages the growth of new skin that will appear stronger and healthier than the skin that proceeded it.
Because of this, many older people love to use castor oil on their face because it makes them appear younger. Castor oil will reduce puffiness, wrinkles, and discoloration that are often side effects of getting older.
How this works is that castor oil promotes the production of new skin cells. Castor oil is known to improve circulation in the areas where it’s applied.
Blood is rich in nutrients and vitamins that the skin needs to be healthy. When you have more blood flow going to your face, your skin is able to absorb more nutrients. With more nutrients, your skin is better able to create new skin cells to stay healthy and reduce imperfections.
It Locks In Moisture
Castor oil is incredibly moisturizing, making it the perfect product for different types of skin.
The oil itself contains many moisturizing properties. It is a very thick substance, so it is easily able to penetrate the skin while also locking in moisture for a longer period of time.
Similarly, castor oil can even draw moisture from the air surrounding us. The moisture from the air combined with the moisturizing properties of the oil itself will leave the skin hydrated for a longer period of time.
Castor oil is so great that you can even use it on your lips. We all know that the skin of your lips is even more sensitive than the rest of your face, so many of us are very cautious about what products are used there.
Fortunately, castor oil is the perfect moisturizer for your lips. Just remember to use a carrier oil mixed with the castor oil to prevent any irritation. I recommend using coconut oil because it tastes sweet. Castor oil does not taste good, so it’s good to have coconut oil or another sweet-smelling oil to mask the taste.
How To Use Castor Oil For Facial
There are a few different ways that you can apply castor oil to your face, so there should always be an option for everyone.
Carrier Oils
The one most important thing you should remember when using castor oil is that it needs to be diluted. You may be worried that diluting it could reduce the usefulness of the product, but it doesn’t.
Diluting castor oil simply protects your skin while also allowing you to reap the full benefits of the castor oil.
The problem with castor oil — despite all of its amazing properties — is that it is very potent. The potent nature of the oil means that it can be quite irritating to the skin if used in its pure form.
This is why you should always mix castor oil with some kind of carrier oil like jojoba oil, coconut oil, or almond oil.
How Long To Apply It
Also, while it’s important to keep castor oil on your face for a decent amount of time, it’s really up to you to decide how long it will stay on.
Some people leave the castor oil mixture on their face for half an hour, up to two hours before rinsing it off. Others will apply it before bed, allowing the mixture to do its magic on the skin overnight. You can then simply rinse off the castor oil when you wake up the next morning.
Preparing Your Skin
One last important thing to remember when applying castor oil to your face, is that your skin should always be clean. You should never apply a castor oil mixture to your skin after a long day if you are not clean. Doing so won’t harm you, but you also won’t be reaping the full benefits of the oil.
Instead, be sure to clean your face first. This may seem counterproductive considering the castor oil is supposed to be cleaning your face. Why do you need to clean your face twice? But trust me, it makes all the difference.
Before applying castor oil, wipe your face down with warm water. It is very important that the water is warm because it will open up your pores.
Sometimes, people don’t want to open their pores when cleaning their face because they’re afraid their pores may become clogged with the product. However, you don’t have to worry about this with castor oil.
Castor oil is noncomedogenic meaning that it does not clog pores. This is why castor oil is so great for acne.
So, by using warm water to open your pores, you are actually doing the castor oil (and your skin) a favor. The castor oil will more easily penetrate your skin to clean it.
When it enters your pores, it can clean out any bacteria and cling onto dirt. When you wash the castor oil away, it will then take the dirt and bacteria with it, leaving you with healthier skin.
For some great recipes, check out what I’ve included below:
[mv_create key=”38″ type=”recipe” title=”Castor Oil Facial Cleanser Recipe For Acne” thumbnail=”null”]
You can then massage the oil into your face using circular motions with your fingertips for about 3-5 minutes.
After this, warm a washcloth with warm water and ring out the excess water. Hold the cloth gently over your face for an additional 3-5 minutes. Doing this will warm and dissolve any hardened impurities on your face, making it easier for the castor oil to grab them.
Then, rinse your face off with the same washcloth to remove the castor oil and the impurities that had bound to it. You should wait about 5-10 minutes before applying the rest of your facial care products.
[mv_create key=”39″ type=”recipe” title=”Year-Round Castor Oil Moisturizer” thumbnail=”null”]
Before you start, wash your face with a warm washcloth to cleanse your skin and open your pores. You can then massage the oil mixture into your skin using a circular motion with your fingertips.
You can allow this mixture to sit on your skin overnight, but it should stay on your skin for at least two hours.
In the morning, you can rinse the oil off with a warm washcloth.
Conclusion
No matter what skin-type you have, it’s likely that you’ll notice an improvement after using castor oil.
People are very cautious of the products they put on their skin — particularly of the sensitive skin of their face — and for good reason. Many products are filled with bad things that will simply make things worse for your skin.
However, castor oil is not one of these products. For the vast majority of the population, castor oil can make a significant improvement on the health of your skin.
It can get rid of excess oil, it can clear up acne, it can relieve itchiness, heal dryness, and even treat infections. Long story short, if you’re looking for a new product to try on your face, you will likely enjoy castor oil.
Learn more about how castor oil compares to olive oil here and here for how long it lasts. You can also find all our castor oil guides here and how to use castor oil for tattoos here.
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