The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Eye Stye
Posted by Bee (Mo, Usa) on 09/26/2009
★★★★★
I just wanted to share my success with using castor oil for stys. I frequently get little bumps around my eyes that look like whiteheads, had some particularly irritating ones just on the edge of the eyelid that rubbed the eye. Ouch! I tried the baby shampoo which got rid of most, but some stubborn ones remained so I tried castor oil. First of all it's very soothing and didn't bother my eyes like the shampoo, especially since it was unavoidable to get in the eye bc of location. I just used a qtip and smoothed it over both lash lines and around the eyelid and let it sit overnight. My stys cleared up around 24-48 hours. I kept at it a little longer, it feels nice and hopefully will prevent anymore.
Application Tips
Posted by Stacey (Berlin, Germany) on 09/14/2009
★★★★★
Cold-pressed oil is considered superior to other methods of oil extraction because heat and solvent based processing often destroys the active ingredients in beneficial oils. You can find cold-pressed oils at a healthfood store. They are often organic as well, so expect to pay more. The are better than regular oil, but regular castor oil is better than nothing.
Age Spots
Posted by Alyson (Plano, Tx Usa) on 09/12/2009
★★★★★
Update to my post: The dark age spots I started using the castor oil on are almost completely gone! My skin looks so much better - my mother and father when I showed them thought I had been wearing extra makeup! Such a god-send - thank you for the tip!!
Age Spots
Posted by Alyson (Plano, Tx, Usa) on 08/26/2009
★★★★★
I'm in my late 30s and a few years ago, after my first pregnancy, I started get a number of small sun/age spots/freckles on my face. About a year ago, I got two on the top of my checkbones under my eyes, where my glasses rest. They are big in comparison and made me look much older than I am (at least to me!) Ive been very hesitant to use any medical or chemical procedures - prescriptions, laser treatments, etc. I read here and on one other site about caster oil and thought Id give it a shot before spending way too much money on natural beauty products on the market (one was for over $40, vs the $5 castor oil!). Its been a little over a week now, dipping a cotton swab into the oil and applying twice daily after washing my face. I rub it in a little and wait about 10 minutes before applying daily or nighttime lotion. The spots have lightened DRAMATICALLY! I barely have to use any coverup on them when before I had to cake it on. I cant wait to see what they look like in a month! My skin where i have used it is looking much better, too, although I cant quite pinpoint why - smaller pores, tighter, fewer lines...not sure yet. Ive started using it on my "worry crease" between my eyebrows and have also noticed a difference!
Thanks, Alyson
Warts
Posted by Elaine (Edmond, Oklahoma) on 08/21/2009
★★★★★
As a teenager I had five "seed" warts on my right middle finger. They drove me nuts for a about three years until my mother suggested I use castor oil. I would soak small pieces of of a cotton ball in the castor and then place it on the wart held on with surgical tape. After about three weeks of this all of my warts had disolved. There was no scar and the surrounding skin was not effected. I hear that castor oil is also good for longer, thicker eye lashes.
Shingles
Posted by Junglegirl (Haiku, Hawaii) on 08/11/2009
★★★★★
Shingles treatment: My mother used a high quality pure castor oil slathered on the worst spots. She applied it most heavily at night and wore old pajamas because it's messy, but it worked immediately for her. We found the remedy somewhere online, years ago, so I can't reference it. But it worked.
Toenail Fungus
Posted by Patricia (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) on 08/02/2009
★★★★★
I noticed a question about using caster oil with nail fungus. I have a story you might find interesting. I had read about its anti-fungal action, and when I began to notice some nail damage, I began applying caster oil twice a day. As I was about to travel and I worried about getting more damage, I went to my podiatrist. He looked at my nail and said that he was sure it was a fungal infection but that he would take a sample for testing. When I returned a month later, he checked back on the test, and was shocked to note that there was no fungus there at all. He wanted to know if I were sure that I had damaged my nail --in other words, he began to look for another reason for the nail problem. There was no other problem and no fungus! caster oil works for nail fungus prevention and most likely treatment.
Deep Sleep
Posted by A (Chennai, India) on 07/25/2009
★★★★★
You are falling asleep immediately because castor oil has a cooling relaxing effect on the body. In India, it is very common for people (especially in South) to massage scalp with it (along with other oils) and also to put a few drops on eyelashes and eyes. Helps internally cool the body.
Application Tips
Posted by Merilee (Guelph, Ontario, Canada) on 07/03/2009
★★★★★
I have a Castor Oil application idea that I would like to share:
I have suffered from pain for years - first endometriosis, and now full-blown fibromyalgia, neck (both muscle and lymph), gall, and kidney pain (which I now know all stems from Lyme infection of 15 years...). Ever since using a heating pad for the debilitating monthly cramps in my teens, I have found heat to be an aid. In addition to the over-used hot water bottle, I also use an infrared heat lamp that a Chinese Medicine Practitioner gave me, which I place over whichever organ/area I wish to treat (he uses one to increase the effectiveness of acupuncture). It's about 8-10" in diameter and has a swing-arm stand, which holds the light about 8-12" from my body, resulting in an approx. 12" treatment area.
This has been very helpful to me. Apparently, the infrared wavelength of light penetrates a couple of inches into the body, vibrating at a wavelength that resonates with fat cells (the water in them?), and can cause them to mobilize and excrete toxins (much of our toxic load is attached to fat cells, and hard to remove). It has a greater impact on my pain than the water bottle (greater muscle relaxation, I think), and I find it soothing, especially as it does not have to be particularly hot to work (it works because of its particular wavelength of light, not just the heat).
The reason for my post:
I have recently been using the lamp as a means of Castor Oil application, with the thought that it might produce deeper penetration (and much less mess) than simple Castor Oil packs. I just slap some on my skin and apply the light for 20min-1hr, then wipe/wash it off. I have nothing to compare its effectiveness to (I never tried castor oil packs after a few messy, unhelpful PMS cramp-releif attempts in my teens), but it does seem to ease my uterine and gall bladder pain, and my sore/swollen groin-area glands.
As both therapies are purported to mobilize toxins, I'd like to think they potentiate each other, and together pull out some of the stuff that is giving me trouble.
I would be interested in hearing what someone with more Castor Oil know-how thinks of my practice, and perhaps other infrared lamp owners could give it a try.
Lymphatic Malformation
Posted by London (Sandusky, Ohio) on 06/23/2009
For anyone with Lymphatic Malformation out there. Chocolate should be taken out of the diet, and Sugar, minimized.
My daughter has not had a flare up since I have completely omited chocolate and large amounts of Sugar from the diet. I even tested her out with the chocolate and she got a flare up the next day.
Hemmorhoids
Posted by Jon (Singapore) on 06/02/2009
★★★★★
I had severe piles (internal) & haemorrhoids (external). Visit to doctor who gave some creams & advised surgery if the haemorrhoids didnt shrink. Read about castor oil and tried it as last resort as I didn't fancy the idea of surgery. A friend of mine who had piles surgery discovered he couldnt control his bowels well sometime after surgery.
Anyway, what i did was to coat the rear area, especially the inflamed tissues with castor oil twice a day after visiting the bathroom. Amazingly, after a couple of days, the area went back to normal and I did not have to go back to the doctor.
I will try castor oil for other various problems that I read about on earthclinic. Castor oil rocks!
Sinus Issues, Loss of Smell
Posted by Gautam Desai (Vadara, Gujarat, India) on 03/17/2009
★★★★★
i had severe problem of sinus coupled with loss of smell. Doctors suggested this is dsue to polyps and i had them removed about 5 years.
this surgery has given temporary relief but the loss of slell continued.
some of my friend suggested use of castor oil.
i put one drop of luke warm castor oil in morning and one drop before i sleep.
this i am doing for last 10 days and to my surprise i got rid of my sinus problem and smelling sense is gradually coming back
EC: Thank you for this feedback! We take it you mean 1 drop of warmed castor oil in each nostril?
Heating Pads
Posted by K.Lynn (Mt. Healthy, Ohio) on 03/15/2009
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
I've noticed at reading some of the posts that alot of people use heating pads for their ailments. and that's understandable because heating pads are comforting. But PLEASE ask yourself if your ailment could have an infection at it's source otherwise, you could mistakenly SPREAD an infection. I did this with myself, when I should have been using an ice pack to contain the infection. GOD BLESS!!!!
Jammed Finger
Posted by Joshua (Windsor, WI) on 02/05/2009
★★★★★
i use castor for so many things, though i work in construction and one day bent my index finger back to quite a painful extent...instantly began to swell to the size of a big toe. i left work briefly and picked up ol'faithful...castor oil. i soaked and wrapped it thouroughly and finished the day of work. as well...i play drums and had three days worth of gigs lined up starting that night...i would simply keep it soaked and wrapped until i had to play and then rewrap when i was done. using this method led my finger to heal quickly, even with the extra abuse i had put it through. great for wrist problems as well.
Skin Cancer
Posted by Carolyn (Northwest, OH) on 01/13/2009
★★★★★
Yes, use castor oil on your lips! It was a major ingredient in lipsticks for years and years and is perfectly safe. As for it's effect on skin cancers, one case was specifically mentioned in the book, "The Oil that Heals" where a man had a tumor on his ear which disappeared after using castor oil topically daily. I always keep a bottle on hand and never ingest it--just use it topically.
Skin Cancer
Posted by Lynne (Sedona, Arizona, USA) on 01/12/2009
Skin cancer of the lip: Has anyone ever heard of using Castor Oil Packs on skin cancer???
Cataracts
Posted by Brooke (Montgomery, TX) on 01/03/2009
★★★★★
A couple of drops of Castor Oil (cold pressed only) put into the eyes right before you go to sleep will also get rid of cataracts.
Deep Sleep
Posted by Robin (Rural, VA) on 11/03/2008
★★★★★
This is amazing. I have been on a quest for a good nights sleep, which didn't include medications, for several months. I fall asleep in a reasonable amount of time, but wake up several times, sometimes for a few hours at a time. I have tried everything posted on this site, but the Castor Oil works! My boyfriend laughs at me and my crazy remedies. Well he has insomnia too, and I'm sleeping through the night. Does anyone have any ideas about why this works?
Deep Sleep
Posted by Parag (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA) on 10/29/2008
★★★★★
Castor oil is great to get that deep, restful sleep. Apply about a drop of castor oil to your eye lids only. It is okay if it enters your eye. This is the normal, regular castor oil you get at the stores. Initially you will fall to sleep the moment you hit the bed. So make sure you are ready to sleep when you use it. If you plan to sleep only 3 to 4 hours, i.e. not you full normal sleep, do not use castor oil as it will make getting up very difficult indeed! I use it when I have anxieties or when I find it difficult to sleep. I and my wife have been using it for decades now.
Hope it helps you too. Wish you sweet dreams!
