Castor Oil for skin, hair, and odd lumpy things.

So versatile, so potent, some caution is needed with this ancient but now trendy oil made from castor plant seeds.

Castor oil is a health product used topically primarily since ancient times. It is a strong laxative if taken internally and can aid digestion and promote bowel movements from topical use on the abdomen and/or in the belly button during sleep. It is very rich in ricinoleic acid, a potent fatty acid that is not found in any other seed oil crop. Prostaglandin effects from it may reduce fat deposits under the skin (lumpy bits, cellulite on the thighs) and therefore medically is not recommended for use directly on the upper eyelid. We need fat deposits in our upper eyelid to prevent it from drooping over the eye giving a permanent sleepy appearance to the eyes.

Cosmetic trendiness is promoting use of castor oil on the eyelashes and eyebrows to promote hair growth — but, BUT, if iodine is the reason for poor hair growth, then castor oil is not going to provide the body what it needs to grow hair well. Iodine deficiency commonly causes a characteristic loss of the hair at the outer third of each eyebrow, so the eyebrows disappear before dipping downward in the normal swoop of an eyebrow. See this post: Iodine and an old lie, still being spread. (Substack)

Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

Adding makeup or a cosmetic tattoo is also not going to provide the body with more iodine so that the outer swoop of the eyebrows can grow normally again. The body needs iodine and less fluoride and bromide in order to do so - not a tattoo, eyebrow paint, or castor oil. Just an FYI.

The outer third of the eyebrow on the makeup artist appears to be missing, but it may just be effects of the camera. The person being made up also doesn’t have a lot of hair growth on that outer third area of the eyebrow. Iodine deficiency is EXTREMELY common in modern life. There is too much fluoride, bromide and other goitrogens in our food supply, water, and medications. Photo by Chalo Garcia on Unsplash

Cleopatra and Egyptian tombs had castor oil. It helps skin conditions and hair growth but may also treat digestive, liver, kidney, and cancer or cyst type of issues when used in larger amounts in a heated poultice. A poultice is a cloth soaked in a healing solution or filled with a healing herb or grated onion mixture or other substances, and it is placed on the affected body part and a heating pad may be used to keep it all warm and easily absorbable by the skin.

Castor oil packs

Dr. Liz, the acupuncturist with information about the use of Chinese five element theory for understanding emotional issues and personality, has an Amazon store that is very neatly organized and full of useful and interesting products compared to some others that I have seen. One of her product categories is about Castor oil packs and it shows a range of supplies that might be used. Cotton cloth soaked in caster oil on the skin, covered with biodegradable plastic bag and topped with a heating pad is the basic strategy. A company makes a cloth product with straps for easier abdominal use - but then washing it occasionally may be needed where a piece of cotton might just be thrown away and start over. A hexane free organic cold-pressed castor oil in a tinted glass bottle is one of the products recommended.

Look for hexane-free castor oil in a brown glass bottle for purest quality and don’t put it directly in your eyes or on your upper eyelids.

Hexane is a solvent that increases yield and is the standard industry way to produce castor oil which has many industrial uses too. It is very thick oil compared to any other oil we are familiar with - kind of sticky feeling on the skin.

The brown glass bottle is recommended to reduce oxidation from light exposure and glass because oils will slowly incorporate plastic molecules into the oil - discussed in the third video in this post. The first two videos are consumers/Youtubers, and the third video is by a cosmetic MD. Dr. Anil Rajani has some safety precautions about use of castor oil around the eyes (not recommended on the eyelid area as prostaglandin content can reduce fat pads within the upper eyelid and lead to a droopy looking eyelid. he has some products that he sells that he considers safer but he is not saying the castor oil is a bad product or unsafe otherwise - but not for use directly in the eye. He recommends buying empty mascara tubes and lip gloss tubes and using those brushes to apply smaller amounts of castor oil to the eyelashes or eyebrows.

I have been using a little castor oil on my hairline which has a tendency towards early male pattern balding when I am less healthy and more autoimmune. Loss of hair follicles in that area can be due to autoimmune issues causing loss of the hair follicles on the forehead hair line. (Chen, et al., 2022)

So far I am kind of impressed with castor oil and I do plan to try to see if I can use a poultice on my mother’s lumps. She gets itchy from them. We are at comfort stages for her. She has been getting more frail and I give her morphine occasionally. It is sad to see someone suffering even if they don’t want help and get mad at you if you try. Baby steps.

I tried it on myself first and then my mother. With the heating pad it is nice and put us both to sleep for a little while. The directions on the fabric poultice product recommend using it for forty-five minutes to an hour. Continue daily for a month or more. The health changes within the body can take a little time. Skin healing wise though, it really seems to improve irritated skin within just a day or two of use.

Apparently castor oil has gotten a little trendy and it is leading to some unsafe suggestions within testimonial videos. Use on eyelashes seems to help people with ‘dry eye’ conditions and that led to some suggestions to put the castor oil in the eye on purpose. Dr. Anil Rajani, the cosmetic doctor, says don’t do that - it isn’t a sterile product meant to be used in the eye.

A fatty acid within the castor seed, ricinoleic acid, is unique - not found in other vegetable oils.

“Castor plant is one of the oilseed with rich oil content owing to its high monounsaturated fatty acid and bioactive compounds. Its fatty acid profile constitutes mainly of ricinoleic acid and other minor acids such as stearic, palmitic, and oleic acid. Ricinoleic acid of castor oil is unique among all other vegetable oils, making it attractive for a wide spectrum of applications. The predominant triglyceride component in the oil is triricinolein. Minor biological compounds including carotenoid, tocopherol, tocotrienol, phytosterol, phospholipid, phytochemical, and phenolic compounds are present in castor oil. These compounds offer oxidation stability, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties to the oil.” […]

“Castor oil extracted from the seed mostly using n-hexane is very versatile Figure 1. Thus, it is utilized in several sectors such as agricultural, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors. Products of castor oil include; ointments, nylon, varnishes, airplane engine lubricants, hydraulic fluids, dyes, detergents, plastics, synthetic leather, cosmetics, and perfumes (Anjani, 2014; Severino et al., 2012; Ying et al., 2017)” (Yeboah, et al., 2021)

Castor plant seeds are often called bean but they are not a legume. The cosmetic MD, Dr. Anil Rajani, says castor oil is commonly used in lip gloss and other cosmetic products because it is good for the skin and isn’t acne promoting.

Castor oil helps treat acne due to its strong antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It also seems soothing. Frankincense essential oil is also very soothing and healing for the skin but is expensive for a tiny bottle.

Testimonial videos - may not have much science, but the conviction of the consumer does say a lot.

A very peppy Youtuber gives us her review and tips for use of Castor oil for cosmetic (skin conditions or hair growth) and other health issues. I’m sold. I had bought some castor oil to try with my mom but she doesn’t like lotions much and wrapping a castor oil poultice around her seems like she would fuss. Patients kind of need to be part of the process - choosing it.

What to buy? A tinted glass bottle is a point she stresses to look for in a quality castor oil product along with organic, cold pressed, solvent free.

• I Used CASTOR OIL for 30 Days and THIS Happened!!!, Shea Whitney, (Youtube)

And another enthusiast shares history about castor oil along with some personal use tips.

• The Miracles of Castor Oil, Rundown with Rachel (youtu.be)

And a cosmetic MD, factcheck video - he has precautions and other product recommendations for promoting eyelash growth.

• CASTOR OIL FOR YOUR FACE // Natures Botox, Dr. Anil Rajani, (Youtube).

Salicylate caution -

Salicylate is very soluble in castor oil and likely increases absorption from other essential oils if used as a mixer oil.

I learned this the hard way with another bad morning with racing heart, which Ylang Ylang, again was amazing at slowing down - but with me resting, not keeping busy. Getting up again would set off the racing heart for a while that day. Nausea and vomiting occured - a few variables were likely involved. Oxalate excess and too much diuretic pomegranate and sumac seasonings the day before had left me with out of whack electrolytes which in itself seems to cause nausea, vomiting and bad muscle pain, cramps in the back of the head and neck and my arms and legs HURT.

The mental effect of a rapid heart rate does lead to negative thinking and then self-questioning - Is this a panic attack? . . . Or is it salicylate excess again? . . . Or sulfur excess? That also causes a racing heart rate. Whatever the cause/s, the goal is to calm the negative thoughts, calm everything so the heart rate slows and stays slower. Dark, quiet, laying down with feet above the heart - that all helps with calming the body.

I had been using castor oil with essential oils on my legs, feet and a few other pain points and apparently that was too much salicylate at once.

Salicylate is very soluble in castor oil compared to other solvents and that would mean it was helping get salicylate into my body - pain relieving initially, but tachycardia later. And the mental interpretation is hard to keep from thinking “Is this panic or upset-ness at something that happened?” Because your mind is going over stuff and it can be hard to calm that and stick with rational interpretations. The Ylang Ylang essential oil seems to help with slowing the mind and the heart rate. A recent tip I read also helped - Don’t quit something during the bad moment, wait until you are through the bad moment and then think about quitting or continuing - i.e. - Don’t let a temporary bad mood effect long term decisions.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/520332#:~:text=The%20solubility%20of%20salicylic%20acid,7%20parts%20of%20castor%20oil.

Panic wise, the family doctor’s office is still sending nocebo voodoo messaging - now we have to rule out liver cancer that their imagination has created in my body.

The yet another day of feeling really bad with mystery salicylate whatever else imbalance led me to feel a lot more firmly about not playing the medical misdiagnosis of autoimmune disease game. I have been sick and misdiagnosed for too long to continue playing the waste my time and risk my health with unnecessary medical testing.

One of my labs had shown autoimmune antibodies against smooth muscle tissue, (SMA/medlineplus.gov).

Based on previous blogging (lost reference) my impression has been that autoimmune disease and cancer are kind of opposite problems with aberrant dopamine levels - excess in autoimmune disease and too little in cancer - and therefore it is highly unlikely for people to have both cancer and autoimmune disease unless they are in really more severe stages and everything is falling apart. If any of my readers know more about that idea, please share in the comments. Thanks in advance.

“Several studies have shown that immune system cells can be regulated by dopamine acting on immune cells expressing dopamine receptors (DARs) present on the surface of T cells, dendritic cells (DCs), B cells, NK cells, neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes (3, 4). The presence of these receptors on immune cells suggests that dopamine plays a physiological role in the regulation of the immune response and that its deregulation could be involved in the development of autoimmunity and, even, cancer (4, 5). Furthermore, it implies that different physiological or pathological processes in the nervous system could be involved in the regulation of immune response. On the other hand, several studies show that certain immune cells can synthesize and store dopamine in intracellular vesicles and, upon specific stimuli, release it (6), suggesting that dopamine operates as a bidirectional mediator between nervous cells and immune cells. Here, we discuss the involvement of the dopaminergic system in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.” (Pacheco, Contreras, Zouali, 2014)

Patients treated for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) with dopamine receptor agonists have a 47% lower rate of getting cancer than the population average. (Grant, Flis, Ryan, 2022)

“PD is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, depletion of DA in the striatum and the presence of Lewy bodies. Cancer is a neoplastic disorder characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and lack of cell death in the affected tissue (18,19). Thus, at a cellular level, PD and cancer are diseases of fundamentally opposite manifestation. At the population level, many epidemiological analyses have also revealed an inverse relationship between the incidence of PD and cancer mortality (20–24), but the results have not always been consistent and may vary with tumor type (25,26).

A recent meta-analysis characterized the risk of lung cancer in 15 studies comprising 348 780 PD patients and found that PD patients had a 47% reduction in risk of developing lung cancer (22). Importantly, the timing of diagnosis was critical for observing this effect, as only the patients diagnosed with PD had a reduced risk of subsequent lung cancer diagnosis, which, the authors suggested, could be explained by exposure to dopaminergic therapy.” (Grant, Flis, Ryan, 2022)

I don’t think I have liver cancer. Sigh. But, if I do, a castor oil poultice used for a month may help more than he standard of care in Western medicine. AND I recently learned that physicians are at more legal risk to not follow the ‘standards of care’ than to follow them and cause severe patient harm. If all the physicians are causing severe physical harm to their patients then - No Problem Here! - the physicians are just following their orders and therefore did nothing wrong and are not at fault if the patient dies or is disabled by the standard of care.

It is dangerous to enter such a dangerous system that protects system wide medical malpractice instead of protecting patients.

“My eyes rolled so far back in my head that I saw my pineal gland.”

-Demi Pietchell

Addition: Doorless Carp is reminding us that chimeric spike jab effects on Ig4 immunity throws a wrench in the works and autoimmune and cancer or Parkinson’s Disease and cancer do happen. Comment:

“I know from my IgG4 work that the jabs can lead to double jeopardy...

The risk of malignancy in patients with IgG4-related disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

https://arthritis-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13075-021-02652-2

The risks of cancer development in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6282326/

Skin cancer and Parkinson's disease

Joaquim J Ferreira et al. Mov Disord. 2010.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20063399/

Interestingly some anticancer drugs can also reduce amyloid beta:

Inhibitory Mechanism of An Anticancer Drug, Bexarotene Against Amyloid β Peptide Aggregation: Repurposing Via Neuroinformatics Approach

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31368868/” - Doorless Carp

I will add an endorsement for castor oil - it really seems great. My mom seems more comfortable, more active, and better appetite after only a few days using it topically or in a poultice with a hotpad. Improved quality of life is a win.

I’ve been feeling better too but have made a few changes in addition to trying castor oil. I overdid one day and suffered the next with salicylate excess and other issues, but am fine now. I am using mainly on skin areas and have tried the poultice twice, but in the same day, and overdid it. The hotpad needs to be used minimally I think. It would be adding electricity EMF effects. I had left it on while sleeping and it seemed soothing but I think it added to my bad day symptoms. EMF excess can cause muscle cramp like pain at the base of your skull and that was one of the next day symptoms.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

Reference List

(Chen, et al., 2022) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9483356/

(Grant, Flis, Ryan, 2022) Grant, C.E., Flis, A.L., Ryan, B.M., Understanding the role of dopamine in cancer: past, present and future, Carcinogenesis, June 2022, 43(6);517-527, https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgac045 https://academic.oup.com/carcin/article/43/6/517/6591897

(Pacheco, Contreras, Zouali, 2014) Pacheco R, Contreras F, Zouali M. The dopaminergic system in autoimmune diseases. Front Immunol. 2014 Mar 21;5:117. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00117. PMID: 24711809; PMCID: PMC3968755.

(Yeboah, et al., 2021) Yeboah, A., Ying, S., Lu, J., Xie, Y., Amoanimaa-Dede, H.,, Boateng, K.G.A., Chen, M., Yin, X., Castor oil (Ricinus communis): a review on the chemical composition and physicochemical properties. Food Sci. Technol, Campinas, 41(Suppl. 2): 399-413, December 2021 https://www.scielo.br/j/cta/a/jtzR5bpyvr9Fm6WYDrRqt7t/?format=pdf