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.
Beautiful Skin
Posted by Tina (Princeton, New Jersey) on 09/12/2010
★★★★★
I agree that castor oil is an amazing face oil. I have been using it as a night-time treatment for nearly two months now. I use a tiny amount which I thin down with a few drops of almond oil which makes it easier to pat onto the skin, since castor oil has a thick consistency. I have also noticed that my eyelashes are growing longer!
Beautiful Skin
Posted by London (Sandusky, Ohio) on 08/08/2010
★★★★★
My Mother uses Castor oil on her skin and she looks great, her skin glows. She uses it at night.
Broad Benefits
Posted by Mel (Katy, Tx) on 01/16/2010
★★★★★
Castor Oil cured my insomnia and a Pterygium on my left eye. A pterygium is fatty deposit from wind/dust that affects one or both eyes. There is no pain, but it looks gross. I first got this while living in West Texas and was diagnosed by an Ophthalmologist. My doctor told me that it is not serious unless it starts growing towards the pupil and therefore, should be removed because it will affect my eye sight. My pterygium over the years was getting closer and closer to my pupil as the years have gone by. I knew that very soon I would have to have surgery to have it removed. I started the castor oil therapy about 2 weeks ago for my insomnia and just about 2 days ago I was looking in the mirror and look at my eyes and had to do a double take. The pterygium is almost gone! It is very thin and is not noticeable at all. I am so happy! I started using castor oil for insomnia and that was successful and at the same time cured my pterygium. Thank you so much. :D
Gum Infections
Posted by Cajun62234 (Opelousas, Louisiana) on 10/31/2009
★★★★★
As a proven believer in Castor Oil, the other morning I awoke with a very sore gum in the vicinity of my right canine tooth. A look in the mirror indicated it was blood red, very tender, but no blood excreted when massaging. I generally 'oil' with Sesame Oil, but thought 'Why not try CO?'... Two 20 minute sessions [about 3-4 hours inbetween] and a session at bed time. I excreted all of the 'oiling', but let the CO coating remain in my mouth over night...the next morning it was 95% better; a repeat of the previous day's treatment produced a 100% recovery by the following evening...no redness, no tenderness and a normal, healthy gum..
Burns, Serious
Posted by Sharon (Redding, California) on 08/26/2008
★★★★★
My daughter sunburned the shins on both legs. They had 3rd-degree burns. Big yellow blisters. She could walk for about 3 days. I was told by an elderly man to soak gauze in Castor Oil and wrap her legs with the gauze and leave it for 3 days. The next day my daughter was able to walk. The 3rd day I removed the gauze and she was healed. Blisters gone. Her legs we just a shade pink. It left no scars. Awesome stuff.
Beautiful Skin
Posted by Len (Seattle, Wa) on 06/11/2011
★★★★★
No--the castor oil will not clog your pores. In fact, it has made my pores clearer and smaller. I was very leery about using an oil on my face (I thought I'd break out terribly) but after the first application, I realized that it helped get rid of any blemishes or inflammations not caused them. And I have less clogged pores.
Vaginal Polyps
Posted by Nicole (Chantilly, Va) on 06/29/2016
★★★★★
I had vaginal polyps that were causing a large amount of bleeding during and/or immediately after intercourse which was very disconcerting. I did not visit a doctor as I'm rather disenchanted with allopathic doctors and figured I would try natural treatments first..for whatever this growth was. Research led me to either polyps or fibroids...I'm assuming it was polyps.
I did a castor oil pack for 3 nights in a row...I slept with them actually...and would take them off sometime in the middle of the night in my sleep stupor.
I never bled ever again during intercourse and that was 3 years ago (I never had to repeat them either) . My lower belly also went down in size. Pretty amazing stuff.
Pinguecula
Posted by Paula (Miami, Fl) on 04/15/2010
★★★★★
I am 42 years old and have had a yellow callous like spot on the white of my eyes. I grew up at the beach but never wore sunglasses. After reading how castor oil helps with cateracts and other eye problems. I tried it. I put a drop in each eye. After doing this for about 4 times in the course of 2 weeks, the yellow spot was completely gone. It really is gone.
Dogs
Posted by Francine (Playa Del Rey, Ca) on 07/19/2008
★★★★★
I wanted to share my experience with castor oil. One week ago I discovered a large lump on the throat of my dog, the size of a golf ball. Remembering I had found info about castor on your site, I quickly started aggressively applying it to the tumor. I personally have been brewing and drinking essiac tea for years. I keep the left over sludge and started putting that in my dogs food. Remarkably, the tumor is now gone. A little of a week has passed and after applying the castor oil almost 5 times a day. Thank you so much. On a side note, I have been using the oil on my face for beautiful skin, on my strained veins on my legs, which have been disppearing, and my mother in law's dog with tumors also as well as an enlarged liver, has been applying it to her dogs tumors and liver area, after a visit to the vet, the second tests showed the liver had shrunk to normal.
Diverticulitis Pain
Posted by Hilldy (NC) on 02/19/2022
★★★★★
I used castor oil on my stomach where I was diverticulitis pain, and the pain is about completely gone! I just put it on a small rag over the spot where I was hurting and then covered that with a washcloth. Then I pulled my underwear up over that and left it on most of the day. I wasn't moving around much so it stayed in place. If anyone has suffered diverticulitis pain, or any pain like kidney stones etc. this stuff is amazing!
Broad Benefits
Posted by Tricia (South Africa) on 09/06/2015
★★★★★
I have found no better conditioner for my hair than using castor oil leaving it on over night might be messy I put an old towel on my cushion. The next day before wetting my hair I massage in my shampoo into my oily hair and then use water.
I must say being in a hurry one evening while making soap I forgot to put on goggles while making soap. I lifted the stick blender accidently while mixing the mixture it splattered on my eye lid. My family was very concerned about the lye burn so I immediately started applying castor oil and within three eyes it was gone, no scarring.
Another thing it is great for if you want to grow your hair Castor oil thickens and makes hair grow very fast.
Castor is great.
Broad Benefits
Posted by Katzie (Calgary) on 02/07/2016
★★★★★
I, too, used C.O.P. successfully to alleviate the pain and swelling after falling with all of my weight onto my left funny bone, but it didnt feel "funny" at all. It was very painful of course, and since I couldn't get to a clinic till the next day, I used them to get me thru without pain pills. It worked like an absolute charm. Castor Oil has never let down when I've needed it; I love the stuff so much.
Deep Sleep
Posted by Jen (Maryland) on 02/18/2016
★★★★★
It brings blood up to the surface making your eyes feel heavy and tired. I make products and am studying to become an esthetician, it's how I learned iit.
Yeast Infections
Posted by Eleny (Graham, WA) on 09/25/2008
★★★★★
My son recently had a horrible yeast infection on his bottom. I did not notice it right away because it was right on the outside of his anus. The reason I did not notice it right away is because he had not been passing regular bowel movements and I had no need to wipe him there. I was giving him his bath and wiping him when I first noticed it. At first I thought it was feces but it would not come off and when I looked he had what looked like a horrible case of acne that was about to pop. Initially I thought it was a diaper rash but soon realized it was not. I took him to the doctors office the following morning and the doctor said that he had a yeast infection and prescribed some ointment. I was honest and told the doctor that I would not try the ointment until I tried a natural alternative first. I then went home and applied diluted _____'s Organic ACV on a cotton square and wiped him and also put some H202 on another cotton square and applied that to the infected area. I then decided to use Castor oil because of the many health benefits it has when applied to the skin onto the yeast and I kid you not within a 24 hour period the infection was COMPLETELY gone! And believe it or not since I have used the Castor Oil on his bottom he has been passing bowel movements regularly.
Beautiful Skin
Posted by Brooke (Montgomery, TX) on 03/02/2008
★★★★★
I have religiously used castor oil for over 22 years on my face. About three times per week, I put it on my face and neck and go to sleep! It has continually given me a fresh look, and I have no wrinkles. I also rub it on my elbows and knees. I wash my face with Dr. Bronners Castile Almond soap. The castor oil is a little thick, but keep on trying it. You will get used to it.
Arthritis
Posted by Sunny (Sunny CA) on 12/31/2022
★★★★★
Castor Oil for Arthritis
Helps me take fewer OTC meds on days I overdo it.
I started using organic castor oil on my knees and inner elbows. I rub a lot of oil on my knees and place plastic wrap on them and over them with semi lightweight knee sleeves. I add more oil to it a few times during the day.
It's been amazing, more than I hoped for. I used castor oil in 2005 to save my gallbladder, and use it on the gallbladder liver area off and on even to this day.
Worth a try.. I can NOW GET UP from my computer without a cane and without my knees locking up on me for sitting there too long.
Urinary Incontinence
Posted by Cindy (Illinois, USA) on 05/29/2021 523 posts
Day 7 - coughing fit - coughed up a lot of phlegm from the lungs that I didn't even realize I had. I had sinus issues after covid and some other sort of "thing" about a month after that went straight to the chest after madly working to keep covid from going down into the chest. Expelled a large amount of clear phlegm with no sign of infection but I hadn't even realized I still had "stuff" in the chest. Probably because I was focused on a quite significant form of all-over muscle weakness that went on for almost a year after covid. Until I started rebounding.
Anyway, kind of sore from a LOT of coughing but my lungs and throat are very..."open" so...interesting.
Also had "activity" in the lower left quadrant of the abdomen, which was interesting. Possibly an adhesion dissolving but, of course, I have no way of knowing. Another "issue" I didn't know I had, apparently.
Aside from the hydration - 8 oz every two waking hours - the "Belly Rub of Happiness" 2 or 3 times per day, a little castor oil on a couple of itchy spots, a bug bite of some sort and a spot on my arm that was like a new mole that turned black, then a larger, ugly dead-looking gray but is now pink - no idea what it was - but the castor oil and hydration is all I've been doing so...interesting results.
Oh! And when I started rebounding, it cleared up edema in my lower legs except for two "knots", one on the outside of each leg, a couple inches above the ankle. I would guess it's swollen lymph nodes, possibly "clogged" or something but they've been changing as well. The one on the left is smaller and the one on the right was flat, this morning, so I figured I'd rub some castor oil in while it as flat and was able to detect a small lump so, perhaps applying castor oil while it's flat, in the mornings, will help that along. We'll see. The rebounding didn't seem to be shifting it but maybe it's just a slower process.
And here I was, thinking I didn't have any "real" issues! Very interesting...I suspect the mole on my arm may have been a skin cancer and God only knows what the swollen knots on my leg are...no idea what the gut activity was but it's gone for now.
Can't wait to see what happens next!
Cold Feet
Posted by Sara (southern USA) on 11/13/2019
★★★★★
Castor oil is great for SO many things - including my most recent discovery - a cure for cold feet! As a child my mother forced castor oil down me for every illness so I shunned it for years. But thanks to the Earth Clinic community, I've returned to castor oil using it on my face with great results. And on nasal polyps which seems to be helping.
But the biggy for me was this: I finally decided to try a castor oil pack. Made a small pack (4”x6”) using cotton cloth I had available, soaked the cloth with castor oil (wet but not dripping), placed it just below my right rib cage (liver area), plastic wrap over the top, covered with a heating pad on low. After an hour, I felt better - can't quite describe the feeling - surely a combination of being still, quieting my mind and the castor oil. BUT THEN I got ready for bed. I ALWAYS always wear socks to bed because my feet are cold. To my amazement - my feet were warm!!!! Thought it was a fluke. Tried it again the next night. Yes, warm feet!!! Thank you, Earth Clinic community!
Eye Injury
Posted by Mama To Many (Middle, Tennessee, USA) on 05/31/2013
★★★★★
My teenage son was doing some woodworking yesterday and got a piece of wood in his eye. He was outside for another hour before he came in. I think the piece of wood had absorbed the fluid on his eye because now it was stuck to his eyeball. It was the size of a pin head. I could touch it but it woudn't move. First we tried rinsing it out with any eyecup I have for this purpose, but it woudn't budge. I put a drop of castor oil in his eye. After a few minutes, the piece of wood was able to move again. We were able to carefully work it to the corner of his eye and remove it. We would probably have not worked with it had the wood not been on the white of his eye. We would have waited for blinking and such to work it to the corner of his eye.
His brother once got some sawdust in his eye. His eye was very irritated. I think the sawdust worked its way out, but his eye was still very uncomfortable. (And he isn't a complainer. ) I tried an over the counter product that was supposed to sooth they eye and it seemed to help. When that has happened since, I just use castor oil. I think it is safer and more natural and also something I always keep in the house.