Sparse eyebrows and thin lashes can be frustrating if you want to have fuller features, but you don't want to spend money on expensive treatments or put on makeup every morning. Across social media, you'll find dozens of before-and-after photos from users who swear that castor oil gave them thicker brows and longer lashes in just a few weeks. Beauty influencers love this old-school remedy, and they bring it up all of the time in their videos and posts. But most dermatologists stay pretty quiet about it.
Beauty blogs and social media love to talk about castor oil as some miracle treatment for facial hair growth. But the science on it paints a very different picture. Millions of users give it a try every year. But the research on castor oil for facial hair specifically is pretty thin. Success stories and personal testimonials can sound pretty convincing. But they don't match up with what the clinical studies are showing us. It's worth remembering if you're looking to commit your time and money to it.
Here's what the science actually has to say about castor oil's lash-growing claims!
What the Research Says About Castor Oil
The research on castor oil and lash growth is actually pretty limited. Scientific studies that look at eyebrows or eyelashes in particular are hard to find, and most of what gets cited tends to be anecdotal instead of controlled clinical trials.
Castor oil gets most of its power from ricinoleic acid - it's a fatty acid that accounts for about 90% of what's actually in the bottle. Medical research has shown that ricinoleic acid does have anti-inflammatory properties, and it's been applied in quite a few different medical contexts over the years. Anti-inflammatory benefits sound promising on paper, and they work for some conditions. Cutting down on inflammation won't automatically make your hair grow faster or thicker.
A handful of studies look at what castor oil does for the hair on your head, and beauty articles love to cite these same studies as proof that it'll work for your lashes and brows too. Scalp hair follicles work differently from facial hair follicles, though. The growth cycles aren't the same between them, and the follicles aren't built in the same way. What helps scalp hair grow won't automatically do the same for your eyelashes.
Most of the excitement you'll find about castor oil for lashes comes from beauty bloggers and testimonials scattered across the internet. The stories are very persuasive - before and after photos, routines and accounts of what happened after weeks or months of use. Testimonials aren't the same as clinical trials, and this gap is a big deal. If you don't have a controlled study, there's no way to pin it down.
The shortage of research matters quite a bit when picking the right product. If you don't have strong clinical studies, anyone who wants to try castor oil is working off of anecdotal reports and testimonials from other users - this doesn't mean that castor oil is dangerous or a waste of money (not at all), it just means there isn't much science to support trying it for facial hair growth and in my experience, customers deserve to know this from the start before they try something new.
How Castor Oil Works on Hair
Castor oil is supposed to help your eyebrows and eyelashes grow thicker - and there are a few theories about how it might actually work.
One of the main ideas is that it increases blood flow to the hair follicles. More nutrients can reach the follicles where your hairs are growing from. Circulation is better in that area. Castor oil also has omega-6 fatty acids in it, and these fatty acids can feed and nourish the follicles directly.
Castor oil can create a coating over the hairs you already have, and this layer keeps them from breaking off or falling out before they're supposed to - this might not sound quite as fun as the idea of brand new hairs popping up out of nowhere. But when the lashes and brows you currently have can last longer and stay in better condition, the end result is that they'll look noticeably fuller and thicker anyway.
The health of your existing hair and the growth of new hair from dormant follicles are two very different processes, and you'll have to know the difference. Your hair goes through cycles where it grows for a while and then rests for a while. A product that helps your existing hair stay strong throughout its normal growth cycle won't necessarily do anything to wake up follicles that have already shut down and stopped making new hairs.
Prostaglandin activity is another topic that tends to come up when castor oil and hair growth are talked about. Prostaglandins are part of the biochemical process that controls how hair follicles grow and cycle at a cellular level. A few scientists have looked into how some compounds in castor oil might affect these pathways. Most of this research is still pretty theoretical at this point, though.
How to Use for the Best Results
Castor oil works for eyebrows and lashes - how you apply it matters. Always make sure that your face is clean - remove your makeup and wash away any dirt or oil first. A clean spoolie brush works best for eyebrows since it coats each hair evenly, and a cotton swab is better for lashes because it gives you more control over where it goes.
You should apply a very small amount right before bed each night. Just a thin layer will do the job because if you use too much, you might wind up with irritation around your eyes, or you could clog up the hair follicles (it works like a facial moisturizer in this way) and just a little bit will go a long way and cover quite a bit more of the area than it seems like it should.
Cold-pressed castor oil is the only version I recommend, and make sure it doesn't have any hexane in it. The cold-pressed process preserves the natural compounds in the oil, and those are what make it work the way it should. Hexane is a chemical solvent that some manufacturers use to extract the oil faster and cheaper, but it can leave residue behind. You don't want any traces of industrial solvents anywhere near your eyes.
To see results with castor oil, you're going to need to stick with it. That means you'll have to put it on every night for a few months before you'll actually start to see any difference - it's usually going to be somewhere around 3-6 months at least. Putting it on just a couple of times a week here and there won't work the way you want it to.
One mistake that happens all of the time is to put on the oil before you've taken off all your makeup or washed away the dirt from your day - this ends up trapping the bacteria right against your skin, and you might wind up with breakouts or irritation around your eyes. The other big issue is using way too much product - you don't want to wake up with oil all over your pillows and blurry vision first thing in the morning.
Keep an eye on how your skin reacts during the first few weeks of use. After you've applied it every night, the hair that you already have might start to look a bit healthier or feel softer to the touch. Just remember that your existing hair looks better; it's very different from actually growing new hair. Any redness or itching on your eyelids means the oil probably isn't a great match for your particular skin type - stop immediately!
What You Can Actually Expect
Castor oil for lashes and brows has become very popular online in the past couple of years, and those dramatic before-and-after photos sure do make it look like a miracle product. Sparse, barely-there lashes turn into full, beautiful ones in just a few weeks - or at least that's how it seems. What castor oil can do for you is a bit harder compared to what those images make it look like.
Castor oil works as a conditioner and moisturizer for the hair that is already there on your lash line and in your brow area. If your lashes get enough hydration and the nutrients they need, they'll look shinier, have more fullness, and just be healthier. Use it day after day, and your lashes will have a much better appearance.
Whether it can grow brand new hairs in areas where none existed before is a bit harder to answer - it might help to compare this to your normal hair conditioner on your scalp. Apply a quality conditioner to the hair on your head, and each strand is going to look healthier and feel way softer - it might even appear to be thicker just because the hair is in great condition. Of course, we all know that conditioner isn't actually creating new follicles or magically adding extra hairs to your scalp.
This distinction actually explains why castor oil works wonders for some users and does almost nothing for others. You'll probably see some improvement if your lash and brow growth is already decent, but the hairs are dry, brittle or damaged. But putting oil on them won't fix what's going on if your hair follicles just aren't very active or you've lost hair because of a medical condition. Genetics and age also play a big part in how your hair grows as you do.
Confirmation bias can also affect what you see (or think you see), and psychologists have done plenty of research on how this works. Checking on your eyebrows in the mirror each day when you want to see growth can lead your brain to convince you that you're seeing changes that might not be happening at all. Or you could give the credit to the castor oil if your lashes were just going through their normal growth cycle anyway and would've grown back on their own.
Most dermatologists have a balanced opinion about castor oil for hair growth. The product itself is safe to use, and it could help with hair-related problems. But it's not going to give you the dramatic, transformative results that some marketing materials and social media posts promise. What dermatologists do agree on is that castor oil can improve the appearance and texture of the hair you already have. If you go ahead and try it, you just need to have realistic expectations about what the oil can accomplish for your own situation.
Safety and Side Effects
A patch test with castor oil should always be your first step before you put it anywhere near your eyes. Allergic reactions can happen with any natural product - castor oil included. Dab a small amount on the inside of your arm and give it a full 24 hours to make sure that your skin responds well.
Castor oil that gets directly in your eye won't cause any bad or permanent damage to your vision. Your vision will probably get a bit blurry for a short period, and the eye itself is going to feel irritated and uncomfortable as the oil stays there. Your best move is to flush it out well with clean water, and the irritation should go away without any problems.
Too much can create its own problems. Castor oil is pretty thick and heavy. Putting too much around your eyes tends to block those small pores in that delicate skin. When this happens, you could wind up with milia (those are the little white bumps that form under your skin) or a stye, and neither one is pleasant to work with. These usually take a few weeks to go away completely.
Castor oil comes in two different forms, and you'll have to know which type you have. The oral version works as a strong laxative and works on your digestive system in a very particular way. The topical castor oil does something different since it's only designed for external application on your skin. They each have their own particular use, so you can't swap one for the other and expect it to work the way you want it to.
Make sure to talk with your doctor before you use castor oil if you're pregnant or nursing. We don't have much research yet on topical castor oil during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and your doctor can tell you if it's actually safe for your goals.
And if you start to see bumps show up on your skin, or if the pain just won't let up, the same advice applies. Mild irritation might go away on its own if you stop the product. But anything that gets worse or sticks around past a few days - contact your doctor about that.
Keep It All Natural
Castor oil is usually considered safe, and it helps the lashes and brows you already have stay in great condition. The claims that it grows brand new hairs where none existed before just don't have any strong scientific proof to back them up yet. Users claim they've seen improvements after they use it on a regular basis. But it's hard to say if the castor oil did the heavy lifting or if something else in their care habits contributed to the results. Anyone who wants to give it a fair shot should use it every day for at least 3 to 6 months before they can tell if it works for them.
FDA-approved treatments with clinical studies are going to be your best bet if you need results and want to be sure about what you're paying for. But then again, maybe you don't mind a little bit of experimentation and want to try out something that won't cost you much - in that case, castor oil could be worth a shot. Just know what you're signing up for and be honest with yourself about what matters to you when you use any lash or brow product.
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