We know castor oil is all the rage when it comes to translating age-old homeopathic wisdom to beauty. It’s beneficial to your skin and hair health in so many ways, from soothing a dry scalp to nourishing cuticles and chapped skin. But you can also pair it with 100% wool flannel to create a health pack to help with your joints and muscles. Topically, castor oil deeply penetrates the skin to moisturize and condition, leaving it feeling soft and supple. All good stuff, right?
So we checked in with Home Health Influencer Adrienne Urban, founder and owner of WholeNewMom.com — a blog on healthy, non-toxic living — for her best DIY castor oil advice. She recently wrote a blog about incorporating castor oil packs into her family’s healthcare routine, saying it’s most important to use a 100% pure non-synthetic castor oil. “I like that Home Health’s castor oil is cold pressed and hexane-free,” Adrienne says. “It’s important to keep the integrity of the oil as close to nature as possible.”
So snag a bottle of Certified Organic Castor Oil and follow along to get started. Here’s the 411 on making and using your own castor oil health pack. Plus, get our downloadable PDF to study up on more castor oil benefits, here.
WHAT YOU NEED:
Home Health Cold Pressed, Organic Castor Oil
Home Health Wool Flannel
Small heating pad or hot water bottle
Old towel (note: castor oil permanently stains, so use a towel you don’t care about)
HOW TO MAKE A CASTOR OIL PACK
- Place the piece of flannel in a large glass dish or food storage container and drizzle castor oil over the cloth until it’s fully saturated.
- Plug in your heating pad next to your bed or couch, or fill up your hot water bottle.
- Make sure your supplies — the dish with the flannel, re-sealable wool flannel bag, heating apparatus and old towel — are by your couch or bedside.
- Lie down and place the oil-soaked cloth on the area of the body that needs comfort. Then place the plastic re-sealable bag on top of the cloth.
- Grab your heating pad or hot water bottle and layer that on top of the re-sealable bag and flannel. Place the towel over the heating apparatus to keep everything put.
TO USE: Lay still (ish) letting the castor oil pack do its work for 30 minutes to an hour. Remove and wipe the area with your old towel to get rid of any access castor oil. Repeat as necessary up to 2-3 times per week.
CASTOR OIL BONUS TIPS FROM WHOLE NEW MOM
#1 Watch your wardrobe
“I thought it was messy–that was the hardest part for me,” says Adrienne. “Wear clothes that you don’t care about!” Using plastic wrap or a re-sealable bag on top of the flannel helps control the oil, but, “it’s kind of inevitable that some oil leakage or a mess will happen,” she says. “It’s best not to wear your favorite clothes when doing a pack. I put on the grubbiest thing I have and don’t worry about the mess.”
#2 Add Aromatherapy
“I just love aromatherapy for so many reasons,” says Adrienne. She recommends adding 2-3 drops of lemon essential oil to your flannel cloth as you drizzle the oil (step one) for added aromatic flare.
