Summary
Katie from Wellness Mama welcomes back Dr. Marisol Teijeiro for a focused conversation on using castor oil specifically for hair, lashes, and brows. Katie shares her own decade-long journey with castor oil, which began when she was researching ways to restore eyebrows lost during thyroid issues. Dr. Marisol busts the popular myth that castor oil grows hair, explaining that it actually deeply hydrates and nourishes hair, scalp, and follicles, preventing breakage and dryness so hair can naturally thrive. She details the difference between golden castor oil (for skin and lighter hair types) and black castor oil (for darker skin tones and coily hair), and emphasizes that less is more when applying to hair. The conversation also covers castor oil as a safer alternative to chemical lash serums that can change eye color and cause redness, using it as an eye makeup remover and mascara primer, weekly hair wrap treatments, and the soothing, self-care benefits of the traditional castor oil pack practice. Marisol connects it all back to the energetic body, explaining that castor oil packs help people embody themselves and achieve the relaxation state needed for true healing.
Key Points
- Castor oil does not grow hair; it deeply hydrates and nourishes hair, scalp, and follicles, reducing breakage so hair can naturally grow without being compromised
- Castor oil is low on the comedogenic scale, so unlike coconut or sesame oil, it will not block hair follicles or cause pore issues on the scalp
- Use golden castor oil for skin, face, brows, and lashes regardless of skin tone; use black castor oil for hair on darker skin tones with kinky, curly, or coily hair
- Less is more: a dime to quarter-sized amount is sufficient for a full head of hair
- Castor oil is a safer alternative to chemical lash serums that can change eye color and cause redness; apply nightly with a spoolie brush
- Weekly hair wrap treatments trap body heat like a heatless hot oil treatment from the 80s and 90s
- Castor oil packs provide a soothing, self-care practice that helps people embody themselves and achieve the relaxation state needed for healing
- Castor oil can be used as a pre-swim hair protector when applied lightly before entering salt water
Key Moments
Busting the myth that castor oil grows hair
Dr. Marisol clarifies the widespread misconception that castor oil grows hair. It actually deeply hydrates and nourishes the hair root, shaft, and ends, preventing dryness and breakage so hair can do its natural thing.
"There's a lot of misconception with castor oil and everyone is claiming that it helps to grow the hair. That really isn't necessarily the case. What castor oil does do is it deeply hydrates and richly nourishes the hair, the root follicle, the shaft, the tips and the ends."
Why castor oil is safer than chemical lash serums
Katie and Marisol discuss how chemical lash serums can change eye color and cause redness, while castor oil offers a natural alternative. The glues used in fake lashes are acrylic-based plastics that absorb directly into the eye and nervous system tissue.
"The eye is nervous system tissue and directly into the brain."
The castor oil pack as a tool for self-soothing and embodiment
Marisol describes how the castor oil pack was the first thing that allowed her to meditate after years of failed attempts, providing a profound sense of relaxation, connection, and embodiment that she compares to the sky opening up and angels singing.
"And then when I put the castor oil pack on, that is exactly the feeling that I got. So that opened up my ability to like then learn how to meditate. And what I didn't realize is there are all these skin benefits. And, you know, for me, I never had babies, but I went up and down in weight when I was a child because I was put on pregnazone. So as a child, I was actually quite heavy. And so I and it was a rapid weight gain because of the pregnazone that I was put on for a"
