Castor Oil: A Time-Honored Remedy
Castor Oil: A Time-Honored Remedy
One of the most popular products right now in the natural products industry as well as here at Evergreen is a time-honored remedy for just about anything one can think of. For thousands of years castor oil has been used for everything from relieving menstrual cramps to easing childbirth, from alleviating constipation, liver congestion, and inflammation, to healing arthritis, skin cancer, and hepatitis. Its role in the beauty area is exploding due to viral videos on TikTok and other sites extolling its ability to moisturize skin and hair and help hair and eyelash growth.
What Is It?
Castor oil (Ricinus communis) is also called Palma Christi, or “hand of Christ,” which may be a reference to its healing abilities, or possibly due to the shape of the plant’s leaves. Castor oil has been used therapeutically and described in ancient texts going back four thousand years, in ancient India, China, Persia, Egypt, and Africa. It figures prominently in many healing traditions. Physicians in 17th century Europe recommended it for both internal and external use. The American trance healer Edgar Cayce had over 500 readings recommending castor oil packs for 30 different purposes, mainly for increasing eliminations from the gastrointestinal tract, stimulating the liver/gallbladder and other organs to improve assimilation and general system functioning, healing lesions and adhesions, relief of pain, reduction of inflammation, increasing circulation of the lymphatic system, and drawing acids out of bodily tissues.
Methods For Use
Massage:
Dr. Harold Reilly suggests placing an infrared lamp about 12-18 inches above the part of the body to be massaged, rather than heating the oil itself. Apply the castor oil to the painful area, letting the lamp’s warmth penetrate and warm the oil for 5-10 minutes. Then begin rubbing the area until the oil is working in well. This process can be repeated for a maximum of one hour per session.
Castor Oil Packs:
The most commonly prescribed and most successful method of using castor oil is the pack. In addition to the purposes listed above, castor oil packs may dissolve gallstones, relieve headaches and nausea, and dissolve and remove lacteal duct adhesions. Use of the packs has been shown to stimulate lymphatic circulation as well as the immune system. In one study, a group treated with castor oil showed significant results in the total production of lymphocytes and T-11 cells. T-cell lymphocytes originate from bone marrow and the thymus gland and are small lymphocytes that identify and kill such invaders as viruses, fungi, and bacteria.
What We Have For You
Evergreen carries organic cold-pressed castor oil in dark glass bottles from Heritage and we have just brought in a new line which specializes in castor oil products.
Queen of the Thrones offers a complete line of organic, expeller-pressed golden castor oil products as well as many targeted packs for different areas of the body. This company has decided to use expeller-pressed oil as the low-heat exposure process helps to extract more oil from the castor beans, meaning a higher yield is produced, and less of the plant is wasted. While the heat generated in this method is higher than in cold pressing, it is still relatively low and the castor oil’s make-up of fatty acids is highly stable and heat-resistant. Queen of the Thrones has third-party tested their expeller-pressed oil and found it to contain all of the beneficial compounds and range of standards for high quality cold-pressed oil.
Castor oil packs are offered for areas including liver, thyroid, pelvis, and breast (two size options available). There is also a kids pack. The castor oil itself is certified organic, non-GMO, and extra virgin. In addition to the classic bottles offered, Queen of the Thrones has a lovely rose quartz roller bottle available for easy application to hard-to-reach areas of the body.
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