Does castor oil help eyelashes grow?

DIY lash-care tips are gold dust, so when everyone started talking about the benefits of using castor oil on eyelashes, our ears immediately pricked up. After all, castor oil isn’t too expensive, and you’ll find people who say it’s an amazing moisturiser, it boosts growth, it prevents damage... and frankly, who wouldn’t want all of that?!  

But before we ran out and started hoarding pallets of castor oil (we’re looking at you, toilet roll hoarders) we wanted to do some digging.  

Is castor oil really all it’s cracked up to be? 

Read on to find out! 

What started the castor craze?

Castor oil built its reputation as a hair supplement, thanks to its ability to give hair extra gloss and nourishment. How? Well, castor oil is something called a fatty acid, and fatty acids provide your hair follicles with essentials proteins and nutrients which they ned to thrive, as well as helping to prevent inflammation. The fact that it’s an oil also means it’s able to coat your hair strands, which is what gives them more shine.  

So naturally, once it seemed to have benefits for hair, people started to wonder what it might do for eyelashes (which are just smaller hair follicles).  

What does it do for eyelashes? 

Despite some of the claims made for it, there is no scientific evidence that castor oil can boost lash growth. Much like with regular hair, it can have a moisturising effect which will give you more shine and the appearance of a fuller lash line, but it’s not actually speeding up your growth.  

Where it can have an impact is on preventing damage, ensuring your lashes don’t dry out, become brittle and break. And if you reduce damage, you’re going to end up with a fuller, healthier lash line.  

Is it safe? 

Castor oil is generally safe, but as with any product going near your eye, it’s best practice to do a patch test on the area of neck below your ear before you think about using it regularly. 

How do I apply it? 

Take a cotton swab, dip it briefly into the castor oil, and then very lightly run it along your lash line, being careful not to get any oil in your eye. Leave it on overnight and then wash off the oil when cleaning your face in the morning.  

You can also think about using castor oil on your eyebrows if you want to give that brow an extra bit of energy.  

TIP: don’t go crazy when you’re applying the oil to your lash line, you only need a very small amount. 

Is it better than growth serum? 

As we explained above, there’s no proof that castor oil actually promotes lash growth. If you’re looking for faster growth, serums are still your best bet. They’re clinically formulated to stimulate the hair follicles along your lash line and some (like ours!) will give you best results after just 6 weeks. For more information, check out our Lash Growth Serum page. 

We hope that has answered all of your castor oil queries, if you want some more information on other ways to grow those lashes check out our dedicated blog: "What helps eyelashes grow?”