7 Top Best Uses for Castor Oil
Written by: Victoria Williams R.H.N.
Victoria Williams R.H.N.
Victoria is Head of Operations at Queen of the Thrones®. Victoria obtained a Pre-Health Science Certificate with Honours from Georgian College, which ignited her passion for natural wellness and nutrition.
Full bio
Medically reviewed by: Melanie Swackhammer B.A.
Est. reading time: 7 minutes.
Use #6 is our favorite!
Have you been curious about how you can use Castor Oil and/or Castor Oil Packs? Maybe you’ve been told to give them a try from your practitioner but would love to know more.
You see, Castor Oil Packs are a legendary practice that dates back to ancient times. Traditional Chinese medicine, Indian Ayurveda, Ancient Egyptians, and Mediterraneans all used Castor Oil for its rejuvenating health and beauty benefits. Amazing, agreed?
The castor bean plant has even been given the special name of the ‘Palm of Christ’, as Castor Oil is mentioned in the Bible as an anointing oil.
Plus, Castor Oil on its own or on a Castor Oil Pack (more on Castor Oil Packs soon), has been called an absolute game-changer by many who have used them.
Would you love to know 3 tried & true Castor Oil Pack protocols used by practitioners so you can restore your body from the inside out?
But, you might be wondering, “what are the best uses of this oil?” Well, you’re in the right place because this blog will uncover the 7 best uses of Castor Oil (supported by science). You’ll see why and how the topical use of Castor Oil may be your new go-to for your natural wellness routine.
Are you ready?
One of the first and most important functions is that…
#1. Castor Oil supports lymphatic drainage
Did you know that your lymphatic system plays a crucial role in fighting against infections and balancing your fluid levels?
And when your lymphatic system is clogged, like your hair-filled shower drain, your body can’t cleanse properly and you might feel lethargic because your body’s fluids are unbalanced.
This also means you might have too much harmful bacteria, making you feel like you just came off the tilt-o-whirl. Does this sound like you?
So, where does Castor Oil come into play? Well, when applied topically on your skin, Castor Oil works its way into your tissues and stimulates lymphatic drainage via the Peyer’s patches1, a small group of lymphatic tissues.
Plus, you can also enhance lymphatic flow by simply adding a Dry Brush to accompany your Castor Oil Pack practice so you can…
- Reduce inflammation that’s taking up space in your body.
- Increase circulation so you can truly reconnect to your body.
- Engage your lymphatic system and organs to help your body cleanse naturally.
Amazing, right?!
Another wonderful use for Castor Oil is…
#2. Using it as an anti-aging tool
These nutrients have anti-aging5 properties that reduce wrinkles, dark circles, and puffiness under the eyes. Sounds wonderful, agreed?
So, you can use a Castor Oil Eye Compress as a vehicle for your Castor Oil to work its anti-aging magic. Plus, the Eye Compress stimulates both the circulatory and lymphatic systems.
Bonus tip: You can also use Castor Oil as an eye makeup remover and a gentle moisturizer.
So, that brings us to our next use for Castor Oil. Are you ready?
#3. You can use Castor Oil for thicker eyelashes and brows
Various factors like stress, bacterial growth, immune reactions, thyroid and hormonal imbalances can cause thinning of eyebrows and eyelashes. Can you relate?
So, regular use of a Castor Oil Eye Compress (while you sleep) can nourish the hair follicles and enhance circulation6. All you need to do is apply Castor Oil to your lashes and brows, and your Eye Compress helps keep the oil from rubbing off. Makes sense, right?
Plus, wearing an Eye Compress7,8,9 to bed helps to naturally balance your sleep hormone, melatonin10,11, so you can sleep deeper. Would you love that?
So what’s next?
#4. Castor Oil also helps naturally manage inflammation
You may have heard that Castor Oil can be used as a natural anti-inflammatory for your bowels, right? Have you also heard that it can be helpful for inflammation during your period and for inflammation in general?
But how does it work? Well, Castor Oil stimulates the smooth muscles12 of the digestive tract as well as the uterus.
Have you noticed that you poo more often before and during your period? That’s because the same hormones and messengers of the body stimulate your digestive tract to move and your uterus to expel the blood.13
By acting on your smooth muscles, Castor Oil Packs can even help with your cramping.
While we’re on the subject of pain, it’s important to discuss another common cause of pain — inflammation, which can be found all over your body in varying degrees.
Castor Oil Packs are wonderful, natural tools for inflammatory pain.
You see, the unique active component of Castor Oil — ricinoleic acid — is an anti-inflammatory14 and analgesic (pain reliever)15 agent. So, that paired with the gentle compression of your Castor Oil Pack works together so the Castor Oil can permeate deeper into your skin.
Are you wondering how exactly Castor Oil Packs work and if you can get the same anti-inflammatory benefits from just rubbing Castor Oil on your liver/abdomen? Find out everything you need to know in this blog post.
The best part? Castor Oil not only fights inflammation but also…
#5. Fights unhealthy bacteria and promotes healthy bacteria
You see, a balance between healthy and harmful bacteria is crucial for your skin and scalp health.
So, when applied to the skin, scalp, and mucus membrane, Castor Oil can help to support a healthy microbiome.16,17,18,19
Cleansing your skin with Castor Oil can help balance the bacteria propionibacterium acne,20 which can cause skin breakouts.
When you use Castor Oil on your scalp, it can naturally balance the microbiome of the scalp and may help reduce inflammation of hair follicles and dandruff relief. Amazing, agreed?
And, now, it’s time for our favorite use of Castor Oil. Ready?
#6. Castor Oil + a Castor Oil Pack supports constipation relief
Your digestive system is much more complicated than just the food you eat because your gut is also highly regulated via hormonal and nervous system pathways. In fact, your gut is known as the second brain.
But why? Because it relies on the brain to tell it what to do and is the only organ that can work independently.
This means you could take it out of the body and it’d function entirely on its own. This system is called the enteric nervous system, which dictates what goes on in the gut. How interesting is that!
But, there are only a few ways to engage the gut’s action. The easiest is the tried and true Castor Oil Liver Pack.
Studies have shown that Castor Oil Pack over the liver helps to relieve constipation and improves the smooth muscle function of the digestive tract.21 This allows you to get rid of all the junk in your digestive system and start having regular healthy bowel movements. Sounds wonderful, agreed?
Traditionally, Castor Oil has been recommended by pharmacists to be taken orally as a strong stimulant laxative.21,22
However, Castor Oil Packs have been shown to be just as effective and better tolerated for relieving constipation when applied topically as a gentle Castor Oil Pack, compared to conventional laxatives.
The cherry on top? Castor Oil Packs can also reduce stress23,24,25,26 and support balanced hormones, similar to a weighted blanket, which brings us to the last best use of Castor Oil…
#7. The topical use of Castor Oil supports natural hormone balancing
Do you find it difficult to sleep, feel tired, or have digestion problems?
If yes, it’s likely you have higher stress levels, which ultimately affects your hormones.
The soft compression of your Castor Oil Packs on your skin calms your entire system and stimulates the release of feel-good “love and connection” hormones so you can naturally promote the production of our feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine25, as well as our love and connection hormone, oxytocin.23
Plus, oxytocin also lowers cortisol (your stress hormone) and balances blood pressure,27 leading to healthy levels of progesterone.
Why does this matter? Well, studies show a connection between higher anxiety levels and high progesterone levels.28
But remember, rest and relaxation take practice when you use Castor Oil consistently. The best part? Your Castor Oil Pack gives your body a chance to practice over and over again, so be gentle with yourself.
Especially in this case. The Castor Oil and the material placed against your skin should always be of great quality.
Your checklist for good quality Castor Oil (like Queen of the Thrones®):
- 100% pure
- Organic
- Cold-pressed & extra virgin
- Hexane-free
- Bottled in amber glass
Your checklist for a good quality Castor Oil Pack (like Queen of the Thrones®):
- Organic cotton, wool, or linen touching the skin
- No synthetic blends or chemically treated materials touching the skin (i.e., velour, bamboo)
- No uncomfortable belts, buttons, or velcro
So, you see not just Castor Oil, but the Castor Oil Pack is a tried and true self-care tool with anti-aging qualities for both health and beauty since the beginning of humanity.
Are you a practitioner, health coach or wellness influencer? If you’re interested in recommending our easy-to-use tools and practically applying them in your health and wellness professional practice, in clinic, or online with the people you serve, you can join now!
Click here for references
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2. Moore JE Jr, Bertram CD. Lymphatic System Flows. Annu Rev Fluid Mech. 2018 Jan;50:459-482. doi: 10.1146/annurev-fluid-122316-045259. PMID: 29713107; PMCID: PMC5922450.
3. Marwat SK, Rehman F, Khan EA, Baloch MS, Sadiq M, Ullah I, Javaria S, Shaheen S. Review – Ricinus communis – Ethnomedicinal uses and pharmacological activities.Pak J Pharm Sci. 2017 Sep;30(5):1815-1827. PMID: 29084706
4. Patel, V. R., Dumancas, G. G., Viswanath, L. C. K., Maples, R. & Subong, B. J. J. Castor oil: properties, uses, and optimization of processing parameters in commercial production. Lipid Insights 9, 1–12, (2016). PMID: 27656091
5. Mary Fu, BA, MA Jennifer Brusewitz, ND Castor Oil & Age-Related Cataract – A Case for the Therapeutic Order NDNR Posted May 1, 2018 In Anti-Aging
6. Coonen. L.P “Herodotus on Biology”. The Scientific Monthly. Vol. 76. No. 2, 1953. Pp.63-70. JSTOR.
7. Rong-fang Hu, Xiao-ying Jiang, Yi-ming Zeng, Xiao-yang Chen, You-hua Zhang. Effects of earplugs and eye masks on nocturnal sleep, melatonin and cortisol in a simulated intensive care unit environment. Published online 2010 Apr 18. PMID: 20398302
8. Khoddam H, Maddah SA, Rezvani Khorshidi S, Zaman Kamkar M, Modanloo M. The effects of earplugs and eye masks on sleep quality of patients admitted to coronary care units: A randomised clinical trial. J Sleep Res. 2022 Apr;31(2):e13473. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13473. Epub 2021 Sep 12. PMID: 34514653.
9. Miller MA, Renn BN, Chu F, Torrence N. Sleepless in the hospital: A systematic review of non-pharmacological sleep interventions. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2019 Jul-Aug;59:58-66. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.05.006. Epub 2019 May 24. PMID: 31170567; PMCID: PMC6620136.
10. Bitar, R.D., Torres-Garza, J.L., Reiter, R.J. and Phillips, W.T. 2021. Neural glymphatic system: Clinical implications and potential importance of melatonin. Melatonin Research. 4, 4 (Dec. 2021), 551-565
11. Li Y, Zhang J, Wan J, Liu A, Sun J. Melatonin regulates Aβ production/clearance balance and Aβ neurotoxicity: A potential therapeutic molecule for Alzheimer’s disease. Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 Dec;132:110887. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110887. Epub 2020 Nov 2. PMID: 33254429.
12. Sorin Tunaru,a Till F. Althoff,a Rolf M. Nüsing,b Martin Diener,c and Stefan Offermannsa,d,1 Castor oil induces laxation and uterus contraction via ricinoleic acid activating prostaglandin EP3 receptors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 5; 109(23): 9179–9184. Published online 2012 May 21. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1201627109 PMID: 22615395
13. Camerino C. The New Frontier in Oxytocin Physiology: The Oxytonic Contraction. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jul 21;21(14):5144. doi: 10.3390/ijms21145144. PMID: 32708109; PMCID: PMC7404128.
14. Boddu SH1, Alsaab H2, Umar S3, Bonam SP2, Gupta H2, Ahmed S3. Anti-inflammatory effects of a novel ricinoleic acid poloxamer gel system for transdermal delivery. Int J Pharm. 2015 Feb 1;479(1):207-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2014.12.051. Epub 2014 Dec 24.
15. Vieira C et al. .Effect of ricinoleic acid in acute and subchronic experimental models of inflammation. Mediators Inflamm. 2000;9(5):223-8. PMID: 11200362.
16. Saxena R, Mittal P, Clavaud C, Dhakan DB, Hegde P, Veeranagaiah MM, Saha S, Souverain L, Roy N, Breton L, Misra N, Sharma VK. Comparison of Healthy and Dandruff Scalp Microbiome Reveals the Role of Commensals in Scalp Health. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2018 Oct 4;8:346. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00346. PMID: 30338244; PMCID: PMC6180232.
17. Andrade IM1, Andrade KM2, Pisani MX1, Silva-Lovato CH1, de Souza RF1, Paranhos Hde F1.Trial of an experimental castor oil solution for cleaning dentures. Braz Dent J. 2014 Jan-Feb;25(1):43-7.
18. Badaró MM, Salles MM, Leite VMF, Arruda CNF, Oliveira VC, Nascimento CD, Souza RF, Paranhos HFO, Silva-Lovato CH. Clinical trial for evaluation of Ricinus communis and sodium hypochlorite as denture cleanser.J Appl Oral Sci. 2017 May-Jun; 25(3):324-334.
19. Salles MM, Badaró MM, Arruda CN, Leite VM, Silva CH, Watanabe E, Oliveira Vde C, Paranhos Hde F. Antimicrobial activity of complete denture cleanser solutions based on sodium hypochlorite and Ricinus communis – a randomized clinical study.J Appl Oral Sci. 2015 Nov-Dec; 23(6):637-42.
20.Orchard A, van Vuuren S. Commercial Essential Oils as Potential Antimicrobials to Treat Skin Diseases. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:4517971. doi: 10.1155/2017/4517971. Epub 2017 May 4. PMID: 28546822; PMCID: PMC5435909.
21. Sorin Tunaru,a Till F. Althoff,a Rolf M. Nüsing,b Martin Diener,c and Stefan Offermannsa,d,1 Castor oil induces laxation and uterus contraction via ricinoleic acid activating prostaglandin EP3 receptorsProc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 5; 109(23): 9179–9184. Published online 2012 May 21. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1201627109PMID: 22615395
22. Arslan GG, Eşer I. An examination of the effect of castor oil packs on constipation in the elderly. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2011 Feb;17(1):58-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.04.004. Epub 2010 May 18. PMID: 21168117
23. Walker SC1, Trotter PD2, Swaney WT2, Marshall A3, Mcglone FP4. C-tactile afferents: Cutaneous mediators of oxytocin release during affiliative tactile interactions? Neuropeptides. 2017 Aug;64:27-38. doi: 10.1016/j.npep.2017.01.001. Epub 2017 Jan 19. PMID: 28162847
24. Rolls ET et all. Representations of pleasant and painful touch in the human orbitofrontal and cingulate cortices. Cereb Cortex. 2003 Mar;13(3):308-17. PMID: 12571120
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26. Löken LS, Wessberg J, Morrison I, McGlone F, Olausson H. Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans. Nat Neurosci. 2009 May;12(5):547-8. Epub 2009 Apr 12. PMID: 19363489
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28. Reynolds TA, Makhanova A, Marcinkowska UM, Jasienska G, McNulty JK, Eckel LA, Nikonova L, Maner JK. Progesterone and women’s anxiety across the menstrual cycle. Horm Behav. 2018 Jun;102:34-40. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.04.008. Epub 2018 Apr 24. PMID: 29673619.
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