Beautifully thick, healthy brows are a beauty ideal that everyone strives for. So, in order to transform sparse or overplucked brows and stimulate their growth, many people have turned to expensive eyebrow growth serums.
Luckily, there are more affordable solutions for regrowing your brows on the market, and they come in the form of natural oils, or more precisely, castor oil. But, can castor oil truly affect the rate at which your eyebrows grow?
Read this article to discover all the benefits of castor oil for eyebrows, how to use it correctly, and which products to try out.
What Is Castor Oil?
Castor oil is a natural oil made from pressed castor beans. It is rich in ingredients like omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin E, plus many other beneficial minerals that moisturize the skin and support healthy hair growth.
Essential castor oil has been used for years to treat a variety of health conditions and is a common ingredient in many cosmetic products available on the market.
Generally speaking, castor oil for eyebrows is a safe and effective solution for nourishing hair follicles, but like many natural oils, it can be a potential irritant for people with sensitive skin.
To avoid irritation, always check that the product you’re using is 100% pure, essential castor oil. Some castor oils are blended with preservatives like grapeseed extract, which can be an irritant.
We also recommend doing a patch test before you start using the product.
Image source: Freepik
Does Castor Oil Work for Eyebrow Growth?
Although using castor oil has been the go-to beauty hack for regrowing lashes and eyebrows on a large number of social platforms, there is no scientific evidence that indicates its effectiveness.
However, there has been scientific research that proves that ricinoleic acid, which is an essential ingredient in castor oil, has the potential to treat hair loss.
Other than a distinct smell that can be quite strong, especially when using black castor oil for eyebrows, there are no downsides to using it.
Just make sure your eyebrows are clean and free of makeup before you start applying the oil and be careful not to get it into your eyes.
What Are the Benefits of Castor Oil for Eyebrows?
Castor oil may not be the miracle cure for skinny, overplucked eyebrows, but it’s a highly beneficial product to add to your skincare routine. To truly enjoy the benefits of castor oil for eyebrows, you must apply it on a daily basis and stay consistent.
Essential oils like castor oil are natural conditioners that prevent eyebrow hairs from breaking, drying, and shedding prematurely. By using castor oil regularly, you will keep your eyebrows looking full and healthy for extended periods of time.
Castor oil is also good for eyebrows that are damaged and overprocessed due to brow lamination and brow bleaching treatments that have gone wrong, because it restores hydration and creates a protective barrier around the brow hairs.
It’s also effective at treating the skin beneath your brows – it prevents dandruff and acts as a great natural moisturizer for the skin.
What Is the Best Castor Oil for Eyebrows?
The best-quality castor oil for eyebrows can be tricky to find since most often there are no regulations regarding label contents.
We only recommend purchasing 100% organic castor oil or Jamaican black castor oil, depending on your preferences, in order to avoid eye irritability.
Clear or cold-pressed castor oil is the most common organic castor oil on the market. It is produced by crushing the castor seeds and extracting the oil without any heat or chemicals.
As the medicinal and healing properties of castor oil remain unharmed throughout the extraction process, this is the purest type of castor oil that you can purchase.
Jamaican black castor oil is extracted by pressing roasted castor seeds.
This type of castor oil has a higher pH level than regular castor oil because of its alkalinity, and due to the presence of ash. It also has a stronger, smokey scent, often compared to that of tobacco.
Here’s a list of high-quality castor oils for eyebrows.
The Best Castor Oil for Eyebrow Growth
The Best Jamaican Black Castor Oils for Eyebrows
How to Use Castor Oil For Eyebrows
Applying castor oil to your eyebrows is easy, quick, and effortless. Let’s take a look at the step-by-step process:
Step 1 – Pick the Right Time to Apply Your Oil
Sticking to a routine when applying castor oil is essential for achieving noticeable results.
You can do this in the morning while getting ready for the day, but we would recommend doing it at night, before bedtime.
This way, the oil has enough time to remain on your eyebrows while you sleep and recover damaged brow hairs.
Step 2 – Prep Your Eyebrows
Before you apply castor oil, make sure your eyebrows are completely makeup-free. Use a gentle skin cleanser to rid the eyebrow area of sebum and impurities.
Step 3 – Apply the Oil to Your Brows
Use a cotton swab to wipe a small amount of castor oil over the eyebrows. Take a clean spoolie brush and brush your brows thoroughly to evenly distribute the oil and cover every brow hair.
Be careful not to allow any castor oil to come into contact with your eyes, if it does, wash it out immediately.
Image source: Freepik
Step 4 – Wash It Off After a While
Whenever you decide to apply your castor oil, keep in mind that it needs at least a couple of hours to sit on top of your brow hairs to actually nourish them.
Wash the castor oil off whenever you’re done with water and a gentle cleanser.
How Long Does Castor Oil Take to Grow Eyebrows?
If you stick to your regular routine of applying castor oil before bedtime, you’ll be able to see results in 3 to 4 months. However, the growth of your eyebrows doesn’t depend on castor oil alone.
In general, eyebrow hairs have a growth cycle that lasts about 3-4 months, and there’s not much that you can do about it. Still, when you apply your castor oil regularly, you will notice new eyebrow growth to be stronger and healthier.
So, castor oil won’t exactly speed up the natural growth cycle of eyebrow hair, but it will affect its quality.
To Sum Up
When trying to find an answer to questions like Is castor oil good for eyebrows or How often should I put castor oil on my eyebrows to stimulate their growth, you will probably stumble across a lot of conflicting information.
Castor oil for eyebrows is a great natural moisturizer full of beneficial properties for hair and skin, but studies are inconclusive about whether it truly affects the rate at which eyebrow hairs grow.
Cover image source: Freepik
