Your grandma might had used it. And her grandma most certainly had used it — let’s be honest, they didn’t have much of a choice as far as the cosmetic products were concerned. Now that any of beauty brands you may think of are at your fingertips you are no longer forced to use castor oil to take care of your hair. But hundreds of years of tradition prove that the natural substances of castor oil make miracles, and modern science can actually name the main magical ingredient — ricinoleic acid.
Some people still use castor oil as it is. The concentration of active substances in it is quite low, which is why it requires a frequent and prolonged application to achieve any effect. Luckily, modern formulations allow us to get the concentrated goodness from castor oil. To make the cosmetic effects even more prominent, the active ingredients can be enhanced by the Dead Sea minerals, bringing old traditional recipes to the totally new level.
Keeps water inside
Ricinoleic acid is a natural humectant — a substance that is capable of retaining water. Our cells need water to function. When the cells lose water they shrink and eventually die. It results in a dry and itchy scalp. A humectant can help you avoid this. When the hair filament loses water it lacks elasticity and is prone to breakage and split. The conditioners like this Castor oil conditioner for dry hair brings back the glossy surface and elasticity to the hair as it helps to lubricate the hair shaft and repair the cuticles on the surface, it also helps moisturize the scalp.
Promotes hair growth
Castor oil has been known for stimulating hair growth. The products that contain castor oil nourish the hair bulbs from one hand, and they lubricate the hair shaft making it more flexible and break proof from another hand. Thanks to this double action the hair becomes stronger and thicker. The formulation of serum or hair mask is a matter of preference — both cosmetic products can be enriched with powerful castor oil extracts that don’t require hours of application as pure castor oil would do.
Fights dandruff
These white flakes that compromise your style covering your shoulders can be caused by a number of reasons. The simplest one is the dry skin on your scalp — the cells on the surface can’t retain enough water and when they die you observe them on your black garments. Another reason is more complicated — you could have seborrhoeic dermatitis which results in oily scalp combined with flaky dandruff. The nature of this condition is mainly inflammatory. One more reason for dandruff could be a mild fungal infection. While being quite safe in terms of overall health it could give you this unsightly result.
Fortunately, castor oil is universal in fighting all of them. Its antiseptic properties fight fungi, its anti-inflammatory components soothe the seborrhoeic dermatitis and the ricinoleic acid helps to moisturize the skin to avoid the flaky surface. Try this castor oil shampoo that will help fight all three reasons in a gentle way.
Repairs hair shaft
The hair shaft itself is basically dead protein — keratin. Its structure depends on how well it retains water. This is especially crucial for people with curly hair — whenever their hair gets too dry it gets almost impossible to manage as the keratin cuticles puff up and make bonds between individual hairs. The castor oil helps to lubricate and repair the hair shaft and to make the hair surface smooth. The leave in conditioners for curly hair that contain castor oil and the Dead Sea minerals make the difference for curly girls who struggle with a comb every morning. If your hair is straight, but looks dull, the same applies — keratin surface probably got rough again and it cannot reflect the light properly. A conditioner with castor oil or a leave-in conditioner could “glue” the cuticles back for a shiny look.
Ancient recipes sometimes sound weird and unlikely to help. But some of them are backed up by science and deserve to be a part of your beauty routine in the XXI century.
