20 Frugal Uses for Castor Oil

Maggie of Family Frugal Fun is sharing 2o frugal ways you can use castor oil. Her uses for castor oil include beauty treatments and home remedies.

You have probably heard horror stories from your parents or grandparents of being given a spoonful of castor oil, but have you ever wondered about the benefits of castor oil?

Castor oil is completely natural and is derived from a plant. The plant is native to India and has been used there generation after generation for home medicinal purposes.Castor oil is just a kind of a vegetable oil and  you get it from pressing (smashing) the seeds of the Castor plant. Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid.  It generally has a mild or tasteless flavor.  Castor Oil has a boiling point 595 °F (that is pretty high).

As with all home remedy’s you have to use caution and be concerned about potential side effects. Talk to your natural health practitioner and use common sense. I’ve done tons of research on castor oil but I’m not a doctor.  The best book I’ve found of the healthful and healing benefits of castor oil is – The Oil That Heals: A Physician’s Successes With Castor Oil Treatments. It’s reasonably priced and goes over castor oil and it’s healing benefits from the position of a physician. Very useful!

Lastly, it’s important that if you’re looking to use castor oil for home health remedies (see below) that you use a pure and organic supplier. I found that NOW has a good quality Castor Oil and I’ve been using NOW vitamins and supplements for years and have had them recommended by my natural health nutritionist Margaret Wright.

20 Frugal Uses for Castor Oil

1. Constipation: Relieve constipation (be careful it’s powerful stuff)
2. Daily bowel health: Use 1 tsp castor oil mixed in orange or cranberry juice each morning to keep bowel health regularity
3. Hair: Apply oil to hair ends to reduce brittle breakage and restore health
4. Skin health: Apply oil directly to wrinkles to promote youthfulness
5. Calluses: Apply directly and massage in daily until relieved
6. Lip Health: You probably don’t realize it but castor oil is already added to many lip health and chapped lip helper products but you can use it directly on your lips too.
7. Ringworm (fungal infections): Apply directly to fungal infections or ringworm
8. Skin Scratches: Apply directly to minor skin scratches and abrasions
9. Dark eye circles: Apply oil directly to under eyes to treat dark eye circles
10. Arthritis (joint pain): Make a paste with castor oil, cayenne or turmeric powder to create a natural warming ointment and apply directly to skin where joints ache. (Careful of cayenne in eyes so use common sense when handling)
11.  Intestine detox: Take castor oil straight even if you aren’t constipated to do a natural plant based intestinal detox (side effects may be abdominal cramping during the clean out process)
12. Scalp treatments: Have an itchy scalp or extremely dry scalp? Apply castor oil directly to scalp and massage in
13. Stimulate hair growth: Apply to balding areas once a day and massage for 6 minutes to promote hair growth and increase scalp circulation that promotes the return of natural hair growth
14. Dandruff treatment: Apply to scalp areas that are affected, massage for 2 minutes then shampoo as normal
15. Hot oil Hair Treatments: Warm oil lightly in microwave (test temperature to make sure it’s not too hot) then apply to hair and scalp for a replenishing hot oil treatment. Leave on hair for 20 minute. Shampoo twice then style as usual
16. Sore Muscles: Apply oil directly to muscles and massage in
17. Massage oil: Use directly on skin as a lubricant for massage
18. Increase Skin Elasticity: Apply directly to skin to promote elasticity during pregnancy
19. Thicken eyebrows: Apply a light amount of oil to eyebrows every day. Massage 1 minute
20. Corns: Apply directly and massage in daily until relieved

Note: Castor oil beans are toxic, so the beans should not be consumed. You may only use the oil and I suggest you use an organic source as I noted above to reduce possibility of pesticides in your oil.

More Thrifty Household Hacks:

• 20 Ways to Use Honey
• 20 Frugal Uses for Salt
• 20 Ways to Use Lemons
• 7 Ways to Use Avocados
• 20 Frugal Uses for Borax
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• 20 Ways to Use Tea Tree Oil
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• 20 Frugal Ways to Use Coconut Oil
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• 30 Frugal Ways to Use WD-40

Maggie is a stay at home mom. She runs Family Frugal Fun with her best friend Beth. She’s addicted to savings, s’mores and ice cream! You can also find them on Facebook.

References for my research: Webmd, Articles Mercola, MyYogaOnline, stylecraze, UCC Biology Department, ii Cyberlipid.org, iii MedicineNet.com, iv International Journal of Toxicology May 2007, v International Castor Oil Association Inc, vieHow, viiCochrane Database Syst Rev. 2001, viiDr. David Williams November 28, 2011, ixAust N Z J Obstet Gynecol. October 2009, xAmerican Cancer Society, xiInternational Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research February 11, 2011, xiiComplimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice May 19, 2010, xiiPhytother Res October 2009, xiv UterineFibroids.com 1999, xiv Mediators of Inflammation 2000, xvi Int J Toxicol 2007, and xviiLymphNotes.com.