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What is castor oil?
Castor oil is a vegetable oil made from castor beans. It can also be used on the skin. To find out whether you need this lovely oil in your skincare routine, take our skin quiz now!
What is it best for?
Castor oil is excellent at hydrating and moisturizing skin. It has humectant properties, so it can draw moisture from the air into your skin, and its moisturizing properties mean it can reduce dryness, flaking and itchy from dry skin, sunburn, or eczema. Additionally, it can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
When applied to the scalp, it can boost blood flow and speed up hair growth by as much as five times the usual rate.
It can also be used as a simple makeup remover that does not cause acne flare-ups.
What is the drawback?
Some people may experience rashes and skin irritation after applying castor oil. In addition, it is not absorbed as easily into the skin, and may make your skin feel oily and sticky. Avoid using it if you have oily skin, and don’t apply too much or leave it on for too long.
Pores are itsy-bitsy openings in the skin—and there are millions covering every millimeter of skin. There are two types of pores with different functions: sweat pores and oil pores. The sweat pore allows moisture, produced by sweat glands, to exude out to the surface of the skin, where it helps to cool the body in response to heat, exertion or fever. Sweat pores are so tiny, they are mostly invisible to the human eye.
The oil pore, on the other hand, is a bit larger. Oil pores are also known as hair follicles because these pores produce oil from the sebaceous glands, but they are also the openings from which hair emerges. The oils help to keep our skin and hair healthy. It is the oil pores that can get clogged with sweat, debris and other gunk, causing acne, blackheads and whiteheads. Sweat pores rarely get clogged, as they are so tiny.
Benzoyl peroxide is a topical agent for fighting bacteria and unclogging pores. It is one of the longest-used medications to keep pores clean and healthy. Jojoba oil and rosehip oil are also good for reducing inflammation, fighting bacteria, and keeping in moisture for healthier skin. Ingredients that help exfoliate dead skin cells and increase new skin cell production, such as Vitamin A/Retinol, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid, are good for keeping pores unclogged as well.
Castor oil may be effective for clogged pores, but there are many other factors that may affect whether this ingredient would work on your skin or if there are better ingredients that may work for you. Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skincare routine.
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