If you’ve been reading HairBoutique.com or my Blog (thank you for both) you probably know I have been growing my own hair long since the 1980s.

A long time but during the period I have experienced period of time when my growth stalled.

There are so many reasons why hair growth stalls including:

1.  Change in weather.  Some people report hair growth stalls when weather becomes significantly hotter or colder.
2.  Periods of life stress including emotional, physical, mental or a combination. 
3.  Extended physical illness can cause hair to actually stall in growth during its natural growth cycles.
4.  Change in diet, especially poor diet habits such as overcompensation in sugar, caffeine, alcohol, junk foods.
5.  Skipping hair growth supplements, vitamins and nutrients.
6.  Not drinking enough water. (more…)

Castor Oil For Your Hair? – Image of Heritage Castor Oil – Available From Amazon.com – All Rights Reserved

Castor Oil For Your Hair?

Do you know about the benefits of castor oil for your hair?

When I was a teen I had a horrendous hair experience with {{asin=B000BNRKPY,text=Castor}} oil. I used the old fashioned kind you buy at the corner drug store.  It came complete with a little cross on it because Castor oil can actually be poisonous if not consumed appropriately.

For me the Castor oil turned my naturally wavy hair into a major oil slick. It took many days to finally get the slick oily mess out of my hair.

Although I never tried Castor oil on the roots of my hair, I did play with applying it to the middle and ends of my hair. Used very sparingly, it did work to temporarily bind any split ends together.

The Problem With Castor Oil For Your Hair

The biggest problem I had with Castor oil is how thick, sticky and slimy it is. Some of hair consumers, especially those with very dry hair or those transitioning to “natural” are using what is known as {{asin=B003COAFPQ,text=Jamaican Black}} Castor Oil (JBCO).

The reason for the new popularity of the Black Castor oil is that it’s completely unrefined. The good news is that it contains virtually no chemicals of any kind. The bad news? It has a very pungent aroma.

If you want a special type of Castor oil and don’t want to go as far as the Jamaican Black, opt for a lighter organic Castor oil.

Castor Oil For Your Hair? Female (top) & Male Castor Oil Plant – Wikipedia – AlvesGaspar – All Rights Reserved

Heritage Oil is considered to be one of the very highest quality Castor oils.  It’s also lighter than the Jamaican Blacks.

A Thick Oil – Castor Oil For Your Hair

Castor oil is a thick oil. Hair does not absorb thick oils like Castor Oil which is why it’s great when used as a sealant.

If you wish to use Castor oil, it’s best when blended with other oils which are designed to penetrate into the hair.

What Is Castor Oil For Your Hair?

Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean (technically castor seed as the castor plant, Ricinus communis, is not a member of the bean family).

Castor oil (CAS number 8001-79-4) is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is 313 °C (595 °F) and its density is 961 kg·m-3.

It’s a triglyceride in which approximately ninety percent of fatty acid chains are ricinoleic acid. Oleic and linoleic acids are the other significant components.

Castor Oil For Your Hair? Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil – Amazon.com

Advantages To Using Castor Oil For Your Hair

Although the jury is still out andthere’s no scientific proof, some users of Castor oil claim it will help to encourage hair to grow.

To encourage hair growth the Castor oil would need to be applied on or near the roots.  Unfortunately this would potentially clog the roots. Therefore, its unknown whether this belief has any validity or not.

There is lots of indications that Castor oil does help to soften new growth, especially on “natural” hair which is wiry, kinky or exceptionally coarse.  Many swear to the benefits of Castor oil helping to keep their hair soft and moist.

Would this work for all types of hair? Definitely not.

Castor Oil Not Recommended For Thin Or Fine Hair

I would never recommend Castor oil for fine, thin or even medium hair but then some hair consumers with that type of hair might find it helpful for them.

Anyone wanting to experiment with Castor oil should go slowly unlike my original and disastrous attempts to slather it all over my head.

Castor Oil For Your Hair? Honey – All Rights Reserved

Should you use regular Castor oil or the Black variety? It’s a matter of personal preference that only the individual hair consumer can decide how to select.

Although Castor oil is advertised to cleanse toxins from the scalp, this is open to interpretation. Will it nourish and thicken the hair?

Again, there are no proven claims.

It definitely does work to add moisture and to help repair slit ends. Depending upon the type and texture of hair it may definitely provide more body and bounce.

Castor Oil And Hair Myths? – Can Castor Oil Help Grow Hair?

There is a lot of misinformation regarding Castor oil. Some people swear Castor oil will help grow back lost hair or thinning hair.  There is no proof of this.

In fact, because Castor oil can be so heavy and thick, it’s dubious whether or not it can actually even penetrate the hair roots to encourage growth.

Castor Oil For Your Hair? Hair Oils – Olive & Sesame – All Rights Reserved

If you believe Castor oil can help regrow lost hair, improve thinning hair or add thickness and body, there’s no harm in experimenting with the mixture to determine your own results.

If you decide to test the treatment, be sure to follow uniform testing methods while keeping careful notes.

While some people swear by Castor oil treatments for helping to generate growth and thickness, others see no results.

If you decide to try the treatment consider doing a challenge with some of your friends to determine the pros and cons of using this oil.

How To Use Castor Oil For Your Hair

Some of the most common uses of Castor oil include:

1.  Applying it to the scalp or around the hairline before applying chemicals such as relaxers, straighteners or hair color.
2.  To seal the ends to help hair retain moisture and/or temporarily bind split ends.
3.  As a special sealer to help hold moisture on relaxed or chemically straightened strands.
4.  As a heavy scalp massage oil and moisturizer.

Castor Oil For Your Hair? Jojoba Hair Oil – All Rights Reserved

5.  Combined with white or brown sugar as a scalp scrub.
6.  Added to normal rinse-out, deep, or leave-in conditioners to amp up moisture.
7.  As a hair mask used with a heating cap.
8.  Mixed with honey or other deep conditioning ingredients to form a hair conditioner.
9.  As a pre-treatment conditioning pack to soften strands.
10.  Mixed with hair oils such as jojoba, coconut, Extra Virgin Olive Oil or others.
11.  As a post conditioning oil applied to damp tresses.

Organic Castor Oil – All Rights Reserved

Castor oil is definitely a matter or personal taste and preference.  Some people love it and others don’t see the desired results.

Summary – Castor Oil For Your Hair

While some people swear by Castor oil treatments for helping to generate growth and thickness, others see no results.

Ultimately castor oil can be used for many things including as a scalp scrub, as a conditioner or even as a sealant.

Terms of Use

Hairboutique.com including all of its contents and programs, is provided for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice nor is it intended to create any physician-patient relationship.

Please remember that this information should not substitute for a visit or a consultation with a health care provider.

There’s been a lot of media buzz lately around rats.  First there was the news that Mr. Xian, a Rat Catcher in China caught a “whale of a rodent” with his bare hands.  Now you may not think catching a rat with your bare hands is all that scary, although I do, but the key to this story is the size of the rat.

The rat caught by Mr. Xian in the streets of Fuzhou in southern China was a six pound rat with a full inch of teeth.  Thought to possibly be a Sumatra bamboo rat, this species can grow to be as big as eight pounds.

One noteworthy fact, the smaller rats caught by Rat Catchers in China are commonly sold for meat and often used in food.   Mr. Xian caught the rat by grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and throwing it into a bag.

At first I was a little suspicious that the idea of eating rat meat was an urban myth.  I did a little checking on the Web and found photos of rats being cooked. (more…)

Asha Mandela has spent the last 20+ years growing her hair into the recently crowned Longest Dreadlocks by The Guinness Book Of Records.

The 46 year old women from Davenport, Florida started growing her current dreadlocked hair in 1988, four years after moving to the United States from Tinidad/Tobago while she was living in Brooklyn, New York.

(Image of Asha Mandela from UTube and Guinness Book of Records Attempt)

At one point while in New York she cut all of her naturally curly hair very short and decided to go “natural” meaning the abstinence from all hair related chemicals.

As her hair grew in she started twisting it and eventually it formed tangles and then dreads.  She loved the look as it evolved and allowed it to grow into a full set of dreads which has been growing nonstop for the past 21 years.

There are many methods for creating dreadlocks and one is to let hair become Naturally Tangled although some dread lockers refer to that method as The Neglect Method where the hair is just neglected allowing it to eventually evolve from tangles to dreads. (more…)

Monistat 3 Cream

Monistat & Miconazole Nitrate For Hair Growth

Over the years I have been constantly asked about the underground long hair world belief that Monistat cream, used internally by women for vaginal infections, can grow hair when applied to the scalp.  This product is also known as monistat/miconazole nitrate.

There is no scientific proof or recent published evidence that using this treatment method will actually work.

Miconazole Nitrate (MN) pronounced as (mye-KON-a-zole) is the key ingredient in any topical formulations generally available for treating other kinds of suspected external yeast overgrowth problems such as jock itch, ringworm and athlete’s foot/itch also known as tinea pedis.

Some of these creams have been tested as other optional hair growth creams.

The most common brand names for MN include Lotrimin AF, Micatin and Monistat Derm.  Generic brands are also available with different names. When in doubt talk with your pharma expert.  Medical doctors may also prescribe Clotimazole (1% or more) Econzaolve, Ketoconazole and Betamethasone Dipropionate Cream for related yeast problems and/or chronic psoriasis of the scalp. (more…)

Hair Loss Stories Help Give Hope To Those Who Suffer

Hair loss is something that affects more than 50% of men and believe it or not, almost the same number of women, at some point in their lives. But how can we believe there is anything that can actually prevent and reverse it? If you Google ‘hair loss’ you will be presented with a wide range of different solutions for the problem, but do any actually work, and if so which ones?

The Belgravia Hair Loss Centre has recently launched its ‘Hair Loss Success Stories’ blog. It’s updated almost on a daily basis and displays first-hand reports from former hair loss sufferers explaining their experiences from the use of specially combined medically proven treatment courses for hair loss which are based primarily on the proven hair loss treatments; Propecia, minoxidil and the HairMax LaserComb.

Most importantly, with each report photos taken before the person’s treatment, and then at intervals during their treatment duration, are displayed so that readers can see exactly how well these people responded and what can be expected from the use Belgravia’s hair loss treatments. (more…)

Bikaner, June 17 (ANI): Doctors found a 600-gram lump of hair inside the stomach of a 12-year-old Kausar Parveen from Bikaner after her family asked for a check up on complains about stomach ache.

According to the doctor, this was a rare case in the world.  Parveen, who was in a critical situation, has pledged not to eat hair again in life.  “I have been eating hair for the past seven years because I liked it. It was my habit but I won’t eat it again,” said Parveen.

Doctor Tanveer Malavat said, “The hair got collected in the food bag of her stomach. The quantity of consuming hair rose gradually with time.

In medical terms, it is called as trichobezoar and such cases are rarely reported in the world. Kausar Parveen is the only example to have consumed hair in such a large quantity.”

Her family members were fed up of this habit of her’s and despite several warnings, she did not deter. Kausar used to lock herself inside a room and used to eat hair, said Moinuddin, Kausar’s uncle.

“She used to hide from us and eat hair. One day she had a pain in her stomach and we took her to Doctor Tanveer. He told us to get her operated after seeing a lump of hair in her X ray. Nobody could believe she had so much of hair inside her stomach,” he added.

Kausar’s mother has now preserved the lump of hairs and hopes that her daughter never repeats such a deadly act again.

More Information

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