Oil Cleansing With Castor Oil – My 30 Day Experiment + Video Demo & Tips

Oil Cleansing With Castor Oil? Read This Before You Try

I’m regularly asked about oil cleansing with castor oil, and my response is usually not to go near it (there’s plenty of other oils that are SO much easier to use for oil cleansing). I love using castor oil as a nightly eyebrow and eyelash treatment (makes your eyelashes and eyebrow hairs stronger and shinier, and for some people it can even help stimulate hair growth). I also like using castor oil as an overnight under eye treatment as well.

But oil cleansing with pure castor oil? It’s so thick and sticky, it’s not my ideal oil cleansing product.

Recently I’ve had quite a few people ask me about oil cleansing with castor oil. It started to make me wonder if there’s something I’m missing? Could there be a great benefit to oil cleansing with castor oil I don’t know about?

And with that, I decided to do an oil cleansing castor oil experiment. For one whole month, day and night, I cleansed my face with pure castor oil to see what would happen. I’ve tried oil cleansing with castor oil a few times in the past, but it’s always been a one off try, never have I cleansed with castor oil daily, and certainly not for an entire month.

I was actually REALLY surprised what castor oil did to my skin – both good and bad.

So before you run to the bathroom to try the oil cleansing method using pure castor oil – please watch today’s video demo and read my instructions and experience below.

Washing your face with castor oil is very different than using any other oil, and there’s certain things you can and can not do with castor oil. I don’t want you to mess up your skin – so make sure you follow all my instructions.

Also, just to be clear, my experiment was using 100% pure castor oil, not an oil blend containing castor oil, or castor oil mixed with another ingredient. If you mix castor oil with other oils or ingredients the results and application will be completely different. This blog post and video is just about using pure castor oil as a one-ingredient oil cleanser.

Oil cleansing with castor oil – My impressions

To oil cleanse with castor oil, you’ll be doing the regular oil cleansing method of applying castor oil to your face and neck, and removing it with a damp warm wash cloth (see the video demo & full written instructions).

If you’ve ever used castor oil before, you know how thick and sticky it is. Castor oil is very different than any other oil (most oils are a lot thinner, lighter, easier to apply, and slick on the skin). Since castor oil is so sticky, it’s a little harder to apply to your skin and remove.

Even though castor oil is so thick and sticky, it’s actually non-comedogenic, meaning it won’t clog your pores. When cleansing with it, it won’t make your skin feel oily or greasy either (which is really nice!).

I will say the biggest benefit of the stickiness of castor oil, is when you apply it to cleanse, you can give yourself a deep facial massage. The stickiness of  castor oil gives you a good grip on your skin, so when you massage your face with it, it can improve circulation and help to reduce any water retention or puffiness in your face. This is especially good if your skin is looking a little tired, puffy, sagging, or dull.

On the other end of things, if your skin is sensitive or inflamed, cracked and flaking, or if you’ve got a lot of active pimples and breakouts – oil cleansing with just castor oil might not be the best choice. The stickiness of the oil might tug too much at your already fragile skin. If this is the case for you, you’re much better off oil cleansing with a lighter and slicker oil like grapeseed oil or jojoba oil, or mixing castor oil with one of these oils to make it more gentle on your skin.

Also, removing castor oil is a little more difficult than other oils. Because it’s so thick and sticky, you need a texture cloth to lift and remove it from your skin. Personally I much prefer oil cleansing with a super soft wash cloth, like Grovia Cloth Wipes. But unfortunately, the soft wash cloths don’t grip and remove the castor oil very well. To remove castor oil, you’ll need a coarser wash cloth. For best results, I recommend using a muslin wash cloth to oil cleanse with castor oil, or a cotton washcloth. For this experiment I tried a bunch of different wash cloths and the best one I found is Pai Skincare Organic Muslin Face Cloths. Since you are using a coarser washcloth, make sure to use it very gently on your skin.

Once you have the right washcloth and get use to the texture of castor oil and cleansing with it, it will quickly become very simple and straight forward to use. But, I will warn you now, there is a little bit of a learning curve of prepping your skin for other skin care products following the castor oil cleanse, and what skin care products and ingredients are compatible with castor oil. This is what surprised me the most.

First, after removing the castor oil from your skin with a damp washcloth, there will always be a little residue left. That’s fine, don’t panic and don’t go trying to rub it off more. It will feel slightly tacky/sticky on your skin. If you leave it be, you’ll see after 10-15 minutes all the residual castor oil will absorb beautifully into your skin. Unlike other oils, once castor oil is fully absorbed into your skin, your skin won’t be overly shiny, glossy, or have an oily appearance – instead the castor oil will give your skin added hydration and a bright glow.

Since there’s a little sticky residue left on your skin after washing with castor oil, you’ll have to wait 10-15 minutes to let it absorb fully before applying other skin care products or makeup. Once the castor oil is fully absorbed into your skin, it’ll no longer feel sticky and your skin will be prepped and smooth for whatever products you want to use next.

I will warn you now, I have found that pure castor oil isn’t compatible with skin care products containing essential oils or exfoliating acids like AHAs and BHA. Whenever I’ve applied a toner, facial oil, serum, or moisturizer containing essential oils or exfoliating acids after oil cleansing with castor oil, my face turns bright red. I’m not sure why, maybe because the castor oil locks the product in? One way or another, I’ve tried different products and brands, and this always happens. My skin doesn’t get itchy or irritated, just turns bright red.

The only products that works well after cleansing with castor oil, is using a few drops of a plain oil like jojoba oil, squalane oil, grapeseed oil, or rose hip seed oil to moisturize. So knowing that, if you’re washing your face with pure castor oil, be careful what you apply on your skin afterwards (and the plainer and simpler the product is, the better).

So, for those of you who really love using a bunch of skin care products with active ingredients, oil cleansing with pure castor oil won’t be good for you.

But, if you are into a minimal skincare routine, this can be a great option for you. I really enjoyed using it, and I found the big standout for me was how hydrating castor oil is. And when I say hydrating, I don’t mean “oily moisturizing.” Instead, it has a way of locking water/moisture into your skin, so your skin is plumped, bright and youthful looking.

Castor oil has a beautiful way of balancing your skin without having to have an elaborate skin care routine or using too many products.

This is especially good for oily and combination skin, because it will give your skin the hydration it needs without making your skin oily or being too heavy. Plus, castor oil is non-comedogenic, so you don’t have to worry about it causing breakouts or issues.

For maturing skin, it will gently cleanse the skin, improve circulation and can help plump up areas where you have fine lines and wrinkles. Castor oil is known to stimulate collagen and elastin which are key for preserving the youthfulness of your skin. I can definitely say that I saw a difference in the overall hydration of my skin just from cleansing with castor oil. What I liked most was my skin was soft and supple without having to use heavy or oily products to achieve that.

The only skin type oil cleansing with castor oil might not be suitable for is very dry flakey skin. Castor oil is hydrating, but not extremely moisturizing. I would even go as far as saying it’s slightly astringent. If you’ve got super dry, flakey skin, you’re much better off oil cleansing with grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, avocado oil, or mixing castor oil with one or two of these oils which would give your skin the extra moisture and nourishment it needs.

For acne prone skin, cleansing with castor oil can be very balancing as long as you don’t have a lot of active pimples, and your skin isn’t cracked, irritated or inflamed. If it is, I would recommend oil cleansing with grapeseed oil or jojoba oil and a very soft wash cloth like the Grovia Cloth Wipes which will be a lot gentler on your skin (see my blog post and video demo for Oil Cleansing Acne Prone Skin).

These days my skin is normal-oily/breakout prone/aging; and for me, during the day I was fine just washing my face with castor oil, and leaving it be. At night I would wash again with castor oil and put a few drops of plain argan oil on my skin to moisturize. If I wore sunscreen during the day I would double cleanse with the castor oil at night. Cleansing with castor oil didn’t give me any breakouts, and in fact I found it really soothed and brightened my skin. My main concern these days are fine lines and wrinkles, and I was surprised how hydrating castor oil is, and how I could go all day without needing to use an extra moisturizer (and for a 41 year old, that’s REALLY good!).