castor oil / almond oil
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free skin care · Wed Oct 27, 2010 2:02 pm

HI everyone,

does anyone use castor oil or almond oil as a moisturiser? I know some use then for cleansing, but just wondered how they measured up for moisturising?

thanks

Jackie xx

free skin care · Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:25 pm

Jackie284 wrote:

HI everyone,

does anyone use castor oil or almond oil as a moisturiser? I know some use then for cleansing, but just wondered how they measured up for moisturising?

thanks

Jackie xx

Hi Jackie,

Almond or any Botanical Oil that is ok to apply straight is fine as a moisturizer, many do use oils for that (me included).

Castor Oil is very thick and heavy so I wouldn't suggest it, also it can be a bit drying so it's not a good choice for moisturizing. Smile

free skin care · Wed Oct 27, 2010 7:10 pm

Jackie284 wrote:

HI everyone,

does anyone use castor oil or almond oil as a moisturiser? I know some use then for cleansing, but just wondered how they measured up for moisturising?

thanks

Jackie xx

You actually need to apply a 'humectant' for moisturization, (sodium pca, hyaluronic acid, glycerin etc), but then you can use lovely carrier oils to *seal* in the moisture... (silicones + petrolatum will also seal in the moisture, but the oils are so much lovelier.)

These oils are lovely, nourishing and not too heavy or greasy;

Macadamia
Jojoba (technically a wax ester, but behaves like an oil in every way)
Grapeseed
Wheat Germ

free skin care · Wed Oct 27, 2010 8:03 pm

I agree about using a humectant first, I was about to edit to add and the site went wonky on me. I apply my oils over homemade hydrosols, or moisturizer! Smile

free skin care · Wed Oct 27, 2010 8:48 pm

Well, I am glad this has appeared as I use my oils thinking they themselves act as humectants! I apply them on humid skin, guess this is not enough. Shall try with a glycerin based lotion and then the oils then. Thanks! Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Oct 27, 2010 8:50 pm

Rosehip oil is great and so is Wheat germ oil; they wont leave skin oily, completely sinks in, at least in my skin!

free skin care · Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:00 am

Hi girls,

thanks for the replies. So we need to apply some sort of mosituriser first?

The reason I was looking at castor oil, is that this seems to be ok for use around the eyes, and almost every oil I use gets in my eyes and stings them, - they are red every morning following use of oils. I just noticed the almond oil also irritates them,

so castor oil is no good as a moisturiser?

Jackie xx

free skin care · Thu Oct 28, 2010 4:05 am

Here's an interesting find:

Castor Oil is a type of vegetable oil that is manufactured from castor seeds. It is rich in fatty acids and is known to act as a humectant by drawing moisture to itself.
http://www.babyboomercaretaker.com/fashion/Erase-Wrinkles-With-Castor-Oil.html

I just Googled "does Castor Oil moisturise" and allot of info came up, so have a look.

I was also of the belief that oils moisturise by themselves but just lately I've been spritzing my face with Rose Water before and after applying an oil - a tip I learned from RileyGirl. But oils are always best applied to a damp skin.

BTW, I use Castor Oil as a cleanser along with Olive Oil and it DOES sting my eyes. Have not had that trouble with Rosehip Oil.

I would give the Castor Oil a try though - it's one of those old fashioned things that has allot of followers.

free skin care · Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:40 am

THanks for the info about the moisturizer and oil. I did not know. Is there any ingredients in a moisturizer and oil(s) that might clash?

free skin care · Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:50 am

oranges wrote:

THanks for the info about the moisturizer and oil. I did not know. Is there any ingredients in a moisturizer and oil(s) that might clash?

The hydrosol is just water with some EO's thrown in or you can add rosewater and glycerin to a spray bottle that really gives enough humectant prior to the oil you choose.
I still wouldn't use Castor Oil alone, all I have ever purchased would be like spreading Karo syrup on your face! JMHO

free skin care · Thu Oct 28, 2010 6:14 am

ooh, I never thought of mxing glycerin with a liquid, - does it not clog pores or anything?

Also, how many parts water to glycerin ?

many thanks
Jackie xx

free skin care · Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:38 pm

FWIW, I applied castor oil to half of my face and half of my chest for 3+ months to experiment (I applied a different oil to the other halves), and to my surprise, castor oil did not dry my skin out and my skin was completely normal. In fact, it was quite good, though it is certainly not my favorite oil. I do find castor oil far more drying when used at high concentration in OCM when the pores are steamed open, but I don't find it to be drying when using it normally as an oil to seal in a moisturizer/humectant. I'm not entirely sure why the difference. HTH Smile

free skin care · Sun Oct 31, 2010 3:51 pm

I can't see why it would be more drying when used in a cleanser - after all, it's being washed off. But thanks for posting your "experiment" - reassuring if you're going to use it as a moisturiser.

free skin care · Sun Oct 31, 2010 4:39 pm

Keliu wrote:

I can't see why it would be more drying when used in a cleanser - after all, it's being washed off. But thanks for posting your "experiment" - reassuring if you're going to use it as a moisturiser.

Yes, it is unusual.

I chalk difference up to the fact that when I use it in OCM, I'm steaming open my pores, allowing the castor oil to penetrate much more deeply into the skin. Because castor oil has more 'polar' (as in the technical chemistry term) lipids than any other carrier oils that I know of, I assume that the pore opening and deep pore cleansing might be slightly stripping to the skin, as castor oil is non-selective/non-specific (technical term) and hence is removing some good oils from the skin's surface, along with all the crud it removes.

This would explain why castor oil is more drying when used for deep pore cleansing as opposed to simply applying it to trap a humectant into the skin. I hope what I am trying to say makes sense. But this is only a best guess and of course, others may have different results Smile

free skin care · Sun Oct 31, 2010 5:11 pm

cm5597,

You always make sense, and that may be the difference! Smile

Question, You don't find it really thick and heavy on your skin? That's my only issue with using it alone. I have cold pressed organic Castor oil and it's super thick?

free skin care · Sun Oct 31, 2010 6:13 pm

DarkMoon wrote:

cm5597,

You always make sense, and that may be the difference! Smile

Question, You don't find it really thick and heavy on your skin? That's my only issue with using it alone. I have cold pressed organic Castor oil and it's super thick?

Thanks, DarkMoon Smile

And oh, yes, that is an excellent point! It is super-sticky and gooey on the skin. It is very heavy and seems to sit on the skin for a while, though maybe that's because it's very hard to spread it thinly over the skin?? I applied it *only* at night for that reason, and it did slightly stain/gum up a handful of tiny places on my PJs. So it does get a huge negative in those two areas from me. I was mostly chiming in to say that it didn't seem to dry out my skin (when used regularly and not as part of OCM)...oh, and it didn't break out my skin either, so I guess that is good. Overall, I think most people would not like it, but things like texture and stickiness don't bother me as much as they bother most normal people Wink

so I almost forgot to mention those things! Thanks for reminding me, DarkMoon. Smile

free skin care · Sun Nov 07, 2010 3:08 pm

I know jojoba is good, but what about avocado? I use a mix of jojoba, avocado and castor oil for daily moisturising. I apply it after a morning shower or before bed.

free skin care · Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:04 pm

Vor wrote:

I know jojoba is good, but what about avocado? I use a mix of jojoba, avocado and castor oil for daily moisturising. I apply it after a morning shower or before bed.

Avocado oil is a great oil also. I have many different botanical oils and switch around as my mood dictates! Smile

I don't get blemishes or blackheads so I can use pretty much any oil I choose. Smile

free skin care · Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:08 pm

Vor wrote:

I know jojoba is good, but what about avocado? I use a mix of jojoba, avocado and castor oil for daily moisturising. I apply it after a morning shower or before bed.

I *love* avocado oil. It's one of my favorites Smile

I find it to be awesome for my skin, and when I eat large quantities of avocado, I notice my skin is more hydrated the next day.

Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:21 pm

I use castor oil for my eyelashes, and it works a treat. They seem to be thicker, stronger, longer. Sometimes I also use it when I want to give myself facial massages. It's anti-inflammatory so if I have any redness on my face it goes away.

I recently went to the pharmacy to buy castor oil, and the pharmacist looked at me funny and asked if I have any questions regarding the use of it. Do you think she was under the impression that I wanted to induce labour? I'm 19! Embarassed

free skin care · Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:29 pm

Elika wrote:

I use castor oil for my eyelashes, and it works a treat. They seem to be thicker, stronger, longer. Sometimes I also use it when I want to give myself facial massages. It's anti-inflammatory so if I have any redness on my face it goes away.

I recently went to the pharmacy to buy castor oil, and the pharmacist looked at me funny and asked if I have any questions regarding the use of it. Do you think she was under the impression that I wanted to induce labour? I'm 19! Embarassed

LOL, I think more likely because it's used as a laxative! Laughing

You never know my mom had a cousin who had 4 kids (ages ago) and when she hit 8 months she would get a milkshake with Castor oil in it to bring on labor!

free skin care · Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:20 pm

Castor oil is amazing! I used it over my nose few times and I am free of almost all the black heads! Before washing my face I massaged castor oil for few minutes and thats was it............

free skin care · Mon Nov 15, 2010 11:46 am

Elika wrote:

I use castor oil for my eyelashes, and it works a treat. They seem to be thicker, stronger, longer. Sometimes I also use it when I want to give myself facial massages. It's anti-inflammatory so if I have any redness on my face it goes away.

I recently went to the pharmacy to buy castor oil, and the pharmacist looked at me funny and asked if I have any questions regarding the use of it. Do you think she was under the impression that I wanted to induce labour? I'm 19! Embarassed

I think it's the opposite for me. I get red dry patches and blisters on my face after using too much castor oil. I'm pretty sure this is the cause. Though, I can't 100% rule out avocado and jojoba.

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