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For years, it was hard to read any kind of beauty article without hearing about the wonders of coconut oil. Beauty influencers, celebrities, YouTube stars, makeup artists, skin care experts, and beauty editors spent countless hours raving about all that it could do, from fixing dry skin, to acting as a healthy alternative to olive oil, to making your hair shiny and smooth. It was only a matter of time before coconut oil experienced a swift fall from the top of the trend list. But now, there’s a new magic ingredient to get perfect hair. It can also be found in your kitchen cabinet. We’re talking about castor oil, which is made from pressing the seeds of the castor oil plant.
According to Refinery29, castor oil might just be the new coconut oil… at least when it comes to hair. It’s an ingredient that’s been appearing in many new hair products out there, and beauty experts say that it can improve hair growth and make hair shinier and softer. Sounds pretty great to us!
Castor oil even has its fair share of celebrity backers. Earlier this year, SZA did an interview with Refinery29 in which she declared that she swears by castor oil. She said had been using coconut oil, because of all the hype around it, but found that it dries her hair out. She explained, “Castor oil is the only thing that gets me right. I have 4c hair, so my sh*t is porous.” (4c hair generally refers to tightly coiled, kinky hair.) She added that she uses castor oil and hemp oil on her scalp whenever she does a “protective style.”
Of course, castor oil has been around for a long time.
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Refinery29 points out that Jamaicans have been using it for years as an “all-purpose healer.” Zoë Passam, a hair and scalp health expert at Philip Kingsley, told Elle that it traps “moisture in the hair, smoothing the cuticle” and that it adds shine. Guy Parsons, stylist and founder of My Hair Doctor, also told Elle that it has “anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties so it’s good for scalp maintenance and balance…It could play a part in improving blood flow and blood circulation in and at the scalp.”
As for the popular claims that it helps with hair growth, that isn’t something that can be confirmed. Cosmetic chemist and author Perry Romanowski told Allure, “Castor oil will not grow hair. There is no evidence for it and no scientific theory supporting that it would work.” He did say, though, that it isn’t damaging and can provide conditioning that could improve the flexibility of the hair fiber.
That said, it definitely seems like something you should try if you have thick, coarse curls that seem to be constantly dry.
You can even buy it on Amazon Prime. This one is only $8.
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Who knows? This could be the perfect secret ingredient to your best hair yet.