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Castor oil: what are its benefits?
I think all men with beards have castor oil in their bathroom. This castor oil has indeed become in a few years one of the flagship products of beauty for men. It is now mainly used to promote the growth of beard hair, and to make beard hair stronger, softer. But did you know that castor oil has many other benefits that make it a real miracle product in the bathroom?
Where does castor oil come from?
Even though castor oil has become one of the best-selling products for beard care in recent years, it is important to note that it has been used by women for millennia. Already the Egyptians of the time of the pharaohs used it as skin care. But with the fashion of the beard appeared a few years ago, castor oil has had a second life.
Castor oil is a vegetable oil that comes from castor bean. Castor is a shrub of tropical origin. Ricin comes from the Latin ricinus which means tick. This name was given to it because the seeds look like ticks, due to the prominent bump.
But before being an important and beneficial source of oil, castor is above all a very dangerous plant, which can prove fatal for humans. The seeds and hulls indeed contain toxic substances for humans, because they contain ricin, which can cause serious poisoning. Thus, the ingestion of only 2 to 3 seeds can be fatal for a child, for an adult it is necessary to go up to 6 seeds. Which is still very little. In short, if you see a ricin in nature, during a trip, do not have fun eating seeds. Similarly, its leaves can cause itchy skin in humans. As you will have understood, in its natural state, the castor is therefore a shrub to be avoided! It is in India, China and Brazil that the production of castor beans, and therefore oil extraction, is the most important.
But did you know that in addition to being used as oil for the skin and the beard, castor oil was also used as fuel for lighting, as biofuel or even as engine oil or even as rat poison? Castor oil is even used as a laxative, but in a very controlled way because it can be very dangerous. To tell you the truth, during the 2nd World War, in Italy, it was used as a means of torture. So don't have fun drinking it to try to see what it tastes like!
How is castor oil made?
Going back to the oil, castor oil is obtained by cold pressing the seeds. The process is relatively simple: just squeeze the seeds to release oil. It must be said that castor seeds are very very rich in oil. Cold pressing is important because it retains all the benefits of castor oil, including ricinoleic acid, which is a fatty acid rich in Omega-9 and Omega-6. The presence of this fatty acid makes it a very moisturizing product.
What are the benefits of castor oil?
Castor oil has many benefits for both skin and hair. But castor oil for the beard is also very beneficial. It is therefore interesting to integrate castor oil into your daily beauty routine, by mixing it with your day or night cream, or even by making masks.
Castor oil promotes the growth of hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, body hair and nails
Castor oil is an excellent natural oil for strengthening hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, body hair and nails. If you have dry or damaged hair, for example, making masks based on castor oil, which you leave on overnight, is a very good way to treat it.
Likewise, castor oil strengthens hair and hair by supporting the keratin they contain, making them stronger. This allows you to have thicker hair and therefore, visually, a denser beard.
Finally, castor oil promotes blood circulation, especially in the scalp, which has a positive effect on hair growth.
castor oil is anti-wrinkle
Castor oil promotes the production of collagen, which helps maintain good skin tension. Skin that lacks collagen becomes more flaccid and leads to the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Thus, by maintaining good collagen production, the natural aging of the skin is delayed. Great !
Similarly, to prevent another effect of skin aging, castor oil is also an excellent oil against skin spots. These spots which not only do not give a healthy glow but visually accentuate the aging of the skin.
castor oil is soothing
As castor oil is an excellent moisturizer, it will soften the hair, but especially the beard hair. This is one of the reasons why men use castor oil a lot in their beard care routine. Indeed, the hydrated hair will be more supple and softer. It is particularly advisable to put castor oil on a 3-day beard because the 3-day beard is thicker than a longer beard.
Castor oil is antibacterial
Castor oil is also recognized for its antibacterial and antifungal properties, which makes it effective against folliculitis (the hair does not stay in its hair follicle and constantly falls out), dandruff and scalp infections. And therefore allows the hair follicles to guarantee the good maintenance of the hair and not to have a hole, in the hair or in the beard.
Thanks to its anti-bacterial properties, castor oil also proves to be a go against the proliferation of pimples on the face. An important element in case of acne.
Castor oil is moisturizing
Castor oil is one of the best natural moisturizers today. Be careful however to dose well, because castor oil is very thick and greasy. Too high a dosage could have the opposite effect and clog the pores of the skin and thus promote the presence of blackheads and pimples.
Castor oil for lips
It is very important to have perfectly hydrated lips to prevent them from drying out. This will avoid having to treat chapped lips . The lips indeed need to have a very good hydration because not only the hydrolipidic film is very light (the lips have few sebaceous glands, so they produce little sebum), but in addition the skin of the lips is very very thin . Thus, it is necessary to provide additional hydration, and castor oil for lips is perfect!
You can make a homemade lip balm with castor oil, by mixing it with vegetable butter, beeswax and coconut oil.
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