It is indeed difficult to outline all the different ways you can use castor oil. While it’s mainly known for being a natural laxative, people also use castor oil to treat eye irritation, dry skin, inflammation and sometimes to induce labour (yes, no jokes here!).
But lately, castor oil has seen a resurgence amongst men looking for hair loss treatments. If you were to Google, you will come across several benefits of using castor oil for regrowing hair.
But then Google mostly always has mixed views and hence you may wonder if castor oil for hair loss is indeed legit. We give you the answer here.
What is Castor Oil?
The dictionary definition of castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans. Well, not exactly, when you read the fine print.
Before we go any further, let us preface the next paragraph by saying that castor oil you find in stores is safe to use by humans. The raw material it comes from is where the concern lies. Raw castor beans contain a toxin called ricin, which is toxic if a human being ingests just a few milligrams. To make it safe for human consumption, beans are pressed and heated to a boiling point of 313 degrees Celsius.
When it does end up on shelves, what can you expect? Mostly a thick, sticky, odorless oil that comes in a small package. For most uses, you only need a few drops to achieve whatever you’re hoping to achieve.
Does Castor Oil have Benefits for Hair Growth?
Typically, you’ll find the following reasons to rush out to your local drug store to buy castor oil for hair loss:
1. Nourishes your scalp with critical proteins, vitamins, fatty acids, and antioxidants
2. Increases circulation to your scalp
3. Locks in moisture to your hair
4. Treat a wide variety of skin condition
5. Treats dry scalp and dandruff due to its moisturizing and antimicrobial properties, but this is becoming less common now that ketoconazole shampoo is an FDA-approved alternative. Indirectly speaking, treating dry scalp and dandruff can help with hair loss by mitigating scratching of the hair.
Now let’s address the elephant in the room. In short, there isn’t much scientific proof that castor oil promotes hair growth. We will elaborate in a bit, but for now, let’s chat about how to apply castor oil to your scalp to avail above-mentioned benefits.
How do I apply Castor Oil?
Before you start applying castor oil to your scalp, you should know that even a few drops of it are way too much. In fact, it’s critical to dilute even just a few drops of castor oil before you apply it to your scalp. Some experts suggest a ratio of one part castor oil to five parts almond or argan oil. If you skip this step, there is a decent chance you will experience some scalp irritation.
Once you have diluted your castor oil, apply it to your scalp or hair in small doses. The old adage “a little goes a long way” is especially true when it comes to castor oil.
Additionally, hair loss experts recommend laying off other “moisturizing” treatments in conjunction with castor oil. The biggest concern is moisture-associated skin damage (MASD), which makes the skin prone to maceration when it becomes overhydrated.
Does Castor Oil Help with Hair Loss?
Sorry to disappoint but there is not any scientific evidence that castor oil promotes hair growth. It’s even not effective for thinning hair. And when it comes to how castor oil helps hair growth, we have already covered many of those limited benefits above.
In short, any evidence that would say that you should use castor oil to regrow hair is anecdotal. There is one study on the effects of using castor oil in your hair. And technically it did impact the way people grew hair. But when you take a closer look, you will discover that researchers discovered that vigorous use of products like castor oil in hair led to a condition called hair felting. Or in layman’s terms, a bird’s nest.
We know you are looking for ways to treat hair loss. And sure, people with a bird’s nest have more hair than you do. But we are confident you are not after that type of result.
It would be easy to walk away from this article a bit disappointed. After all, who doesn’t want a natural solution to treat hair loss?
But there is one important thing to takeaway. While castor oil has not been proven to regenerate your hair, the moisturizing benefits that we outlined can be worth the trouble of figuring out how to dilute the stuff and apply it to your scalp on a regular basis. Even though your primary concern might be growing hair, keeping your scalp healthy is still important.
Looking for other proven solutions to treat male pattern baldness?
You can consider Finasteride and Minoxidil, but this is a lifetime treatment plan and cannot regrow hair. For those who want permanent new hair, Hair Transplant surgery is the only viable solution. And for those who would rather prefer non-surgical solutions, there are more effective hair regrowth options such as PRP hair Treatment, Hair Mesotherapy and Laser Hair Therapy.
