If you mean the popular DIY castor-oil beauty treatment for lashes, brows, and hair, here’s a detailed, safer version.
DIY Castor Oil Beauty Treatment
What you’ll need
- 1 teaspoon cold-pressed castor oil
- 1 teaspoon jojoba oil or sweet almond oil
- A clean, small glass container
- A clean mascara spoolie for brows/lashes
- A clean cotton swab for the lash line
For fuller-looking brows
- Wash your face and make sure your eyebrows are completely clean and dry.
- Mix the castor oil and jojoba oil.
- Dip a clean spoolie into the mixture and wipe off excess.
- Brush a very thin layer through your brows, following their natural direction.
- Leave it on overnight if your skin tolerates it.
- Wash your brows and face in the morning.
For lashes — extra caution
- Use a fresh, clean cotton swab and apply only a tiny amount.
- Keep the product on the lashes themselves, rather than putting oil directly into the eye or along the inner eyelid.
- Avoid getting it in your eyes.
- Don’t use a mascara wand that has been repeatedly dipped into a shared container, because that can introduce bacteria.
- If your eyes become red, itchy, swollen, painful, or watery, stop using it and rinse your eyes.
Important: Castor oil is widely promoted online for lash growth, but there isn’t strong clinical evidence that it actually makes eyelashes grow longer. It can condition the hairs and make them appear shinier/fuller, but that’s different from proven growth.
For softer hair
Mix:
- 1 tablespoon castor oil
- 1 tablespoon jojoba, coconut, or argan oil
Then:
- Apply a small amount to the mid-lengths and ends of damp or dry hair.
- If your scalp tolerates oils, you can massage a small amount into the scalp as well.
- Leave it for 30–60 minutes.
- Shampoo thoroughly, possibly twice if your hair feels greasy.
- Follow with your normal conditioner.
Use the hair treatment once or twice a week rather than coating your hair heavily every day.
Patch test first
Before using the mixture on your face, put a tiny amount on a small area of skin (such as the inner forearm) and wait about 24 hours. Don’t use it if you develop significant redness, itching, burning, or swelling.
One important distinction: there isn’t a DIY oil recipe scientifically proven to simultaneously grow lashes, grow brows, and permanently make hair fuller. Oils are much better thought of as conditioning/moisturizing treatments than guaranteed growth treatments.