By: Sheetal Rawal, scientist (human genetics) & founder of Apsara Skin Care
Castor oil is a favorite Ayurvedic Ingredient and makes its place in beauty care as well as internal body care in this age-old system. It is called "Arandi Tel" in Ayurveda. It won’t be wrong to say that castor oil is one of the top ingredients for flawless skin that does not age before time. It is great for many skin issues like acne, blackheads, whiteheads, open pores, wrinkles, and more.
When it comes to castor oil, I do speak from personal experience. One of the first products I formulated for Apsara was our Jojoba Facial Serum, which includes castor oil as one of the ingredients. Shortly after using this serum, my skin was clearer, my pores were unclogged and my skin took on a clean and glowing appearance.
So what makes castor oil such an awesome ingredient you might ask. In my opinion, two things stand out very clearly. One is castor oil’s ability to de-grease and another is its anti-inflammatory properties.
1. Reduces Acne, pimples, Blackheads, Whiteheads and Closes Open Pores
Castor oil’s degreasing properties are legendary. As far as skin care is concerned, a degreasing ingredient dissolves excess oils hardened in your pores. This hardened sebum causes blackheads, whiteheads, and acne. But not just that. The fact that your skin is over-producing oils indicates that your skin is imbalanced and your pores are most likely open. Castor oil has a great fatty acid profile, and that serves to deeply nourish your skin and bring it into balance while cleaning it out at a very deep level.
So in a short period of time, your pores are much reduced in appearance; blackheads and whiteheads disappear and you get clear and acne-free skin. The trick however is to use castor oil wisely.
Used alone it can result in a purging reaction where it might seem that your skin is breaking out more. In reality, what might be happening is that your pores might be cleaning out very quickly, and the debris coming to the surface all at once. So use an intelligently made product that combines castor oil in just the right proportion with many other natural ingredients to give you that flawless skin you want.
Our Jojoba Facial Serum is one such product.
2. Prevents & Fades the Look of Redness & Rosacea
Castor oil has anti-inflammatory properties. This fact is very well recognized in Ayurveda. Therefore castor oil is a great one to calm down your skin while nourishing it. Inflammation can be a result of free radical damage. It can result in lines, wrinkles, rosacea, acne, dark spots, and a host of other skin issues. Castor oil comes to the rescue. It calms and pacifies your skin and helps even its tone and texture.
3. Fades Lines, Wrinkles and Slows Down Skin Aging
In addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, castor oil has an awesome fatty acid profile.
(Also read anti ageing home remedies using cucumber to erase wrinkles quickly)
It deeply nourishes your skin and heals skin cell membranes so that they can hold on to more water. Therefore your skin looks plump and the look of lines and wrinkles is reduced. Its wonderful nutritional profile can encourage the buildup of collagen and elastin while at the same time discouraging their breakdown.
4. Deeply Nourishes and Revitalizes Dry Skin
Yet again it is castor oil’s fatty acid profile that helps it get dry skin back to life so to speak. As your skin cell membranes get healthier, they are able to lock in more moisture, which is the key thing for dry skin recovery. If your dry skin is the result of eczema or dermatitis, castor oil’s legendary anti-inflammatory properties come to the rescue to possibly reduce the appearance of these skin issues. (Learn more about home remedies and skincare tips for dry skin).
Related: Apsara Skin Care's Jojoba Facial Serum can help you get rid of acne naturally.
Here is how you can use castor oil in easy home remedies for face and skincare.
1. Castor and Jojoba Anti-Acne Mask
Both jojoba and castor in this remedy have great pore unclogging and skin calming properties. Aloe vera with its skin resurfacing plant hormones helps remove dead cells and pore-clogging impurities. Use 1-2 times a week.
Ingredients
1 tsp. of jojoba oil
6 drops of castor oil
1 tsp. of aloe vera gel
Instructions
Mix these ingredients well and gently massage the remedy into your skin for 2 to 3 minutes.
Leave on for another 10 minutes.
Wash with lukewarm water and always follow with your toner, serum, and lotion.
2. Castor and Sunflower Mask For Dry Skin
Ingredients
1 tsp. of sunflower oil
8 drops of castor oil
5 drops of vegetable glycerin
Instructions
Mix well and massage into your skin for 2-5 minutes. Leave on for an extra 10 minutes.
Wipe your skin with a damp towel and apply your toner, serum, and lotion for dry skin immediately after.
3. Castor, Date, and Almond Anti-Aging Mask
Dates and almond oil have been known in Ayurveda for their wonderful anti-aging properties. Another notable and natural anti-aging ingredient is carrot seed oil. That is the reason it makes its place in Apsara’s Carrot Seed Lotion and Sweet Almond and Wheatgerm Age Defense Serum.
Ingredients
1 tsp. of almond oil
1 tsp. of mashed up date fruit
8 drops of castor oil
Instructions
Mix well and apply on your skin with a massaging motion.
Then leave on for about 15 minutes and wipe off natural face mask with a wet towel.
Apply your toner, serum, and lotion right after.
4. Castor, Olive, and Brown Sugar Scrub for Glowing Skin
While castor oil deep cleans your pores, it is the olive oil and brown sugar mix which loosens up the top layers of your skin. This easy and effective scrub leaves your skin glowing and soft. Use once a week. Do not use it if your skin is acne-prone. Scrubbing is best avoided in case you have acne; it can irritate the skin.
Ingredients
1 tsp. of powdered brown sugar
9 drops of castor oil
Enough olive oil to make a thick paste
Instructions
Massage this mixture into your skin with gentle circular strokes to help remove dead cells. This takes about 4-5 minutes.
Wash with lukewarm water and follow with your toner, serum, and lotion.
5. Castor and Banana Mask For Blackhead
This mask is wonderful to dissolve and fade the look of blackheads along the T-zone.
Ingredients
1 tsp. of mashed up banana
6 drops of castor oil
Instructions
Mix well and massage into the blackhead-prone areas of your skin. Massage in gently for about 5 minutes and then wipe off with a wet towel.
Apply your toner, serum, and lotion right after.
Notes
Apsara’s Jojoba Facial Serum is a great product to balance out your skin and help unclog blackheads and significantly reduce the appearance of acne.
Related: Apsara Skin Care products can help fade acne scarring.
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Go natural. It is good karma!
