(and 3 more you probably should)

1 – Castor Oil Can Be Used as a High Performance Engine Lubricant

Ever heard of a British oil company named Castrol? They’re still going strong today, and believe it or not, they got their name directly from the common Castor Oil. Castor oil has a long history of use in high performance engine lubrication. The reason for this is its chemical nature, which allows it to reach temperatures of 445 degrees Fahrenheit (229 Celsius) before hitting what is called “the flash point”.

If you’re thinking this all sounds great, and wondering how much Castor oil your own car would need to work properly, let me just stop you right there. The sad reality is that castor seed oil gets gummy pretty quickly. That means a sticky engine in a short time. This is okay if you’re driving a Formula 1 race car, since the engine will be rebuilt every other week or so, but it’s less practical for those of us who just want to drop the kids off at school.

2 – Moles (the ones in your garden) Hate Castor Oil More Than Your Kids Do

If you see mole hills in your backyard or garden, there are a few different ways to get rid of them. Most of those options include harming the animal, but if you’re not a fan of violence toward small cute furry things, then you can always encourage them to leave on their own.

Castor oil doesn’t have a very strong scent for humans, but there’s something about it that these blind backyard pests just cannot stand. Pour some castor oil into every mole hill you find, and they’ll be packing up their imaginary mole luggage in no time.

3 – Castor Oil is a Great Insomnia Treatment

Here’s one you won’t hear every day. Castor oil, if applied directly (and carefully) to the eyelids can relieve insomnia. Just a little bit will bring such calm that sleep is quick to follow. That’s all there is to it.

One thing to mention though is that you probably don’t want castor oil in your eyeball. It stings really good and won’t be any help for a quick sleep, so take it easy and use just enough to cover the eyelid.

4 – Castor Oil Will Provide Arthritis Relief

Applying castor oil topically to a sore joint can bring great relief. To increase the effectiveness, you can soak a rag in castor oil, apply the rag to your sore joint or muscle, cover the rag with a plastic film, and apply a hot water bottle for extra heat. This kind of therapy is called a castor pack. Easy home therapy!

5 – Castor Oil Will Support Strong Hair Growth

If you’re starting to feel self-conscious about lost hair, castor oil just might be one of your new best friends. Applying a few drops to the scalp, and massaging it in topically can do wonders to restore hair growth.

This is not limited to just the scalp either. Feel free to use it on your eyebrow line, beard, or anywhere else you might want to encourage thicker hair growth.

Here are 3 Things Everyone Should Know about Castor Oil

1 – Castor Oil is a Strong Oral Laxative

The most famous quality of Castor oil is its ability to work as a moderately safe natural laxative. We say moderately safe, because you really don’t need to take a lot of it for it to do its thing. Castor oil is made of almost 90% ricinoleic fatty acid, and when this fatty acid hits our small intestine, it finds a receptor to cling on to. This causes the spasm that make it such an effective laxative.

2 – It is an Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Fungal, Anti-Bacterial, and Anti-Viral

Okay maybe this isn’t an obvious fact, but we still think everyone should know about this. The reason castor oil works so well as a muscle relaxing, hair growing, skin cleansing agent all comes down to these properties.

When you can get all of this from the oil in a seed, it’s no wonder castor oil has been used for centuries in medicine.

3 – There’s No Evidence of Castor Oil Effectively Inducing Labor

We’ve covered a lot of the miraculous things that Castor oil CAN do, but now it’s time to remind you what it cannot do. Although castor oil has been taken traditionally for years as a way to induce labor in pregnant women, there is no scientific basis to this.

Swallowing castor oil will absolutely increase your cramps, but it won’t be the right kind. In some cases, the laxative effects of castor oil could dehydrate the mother, and leave her vulnerable to complications. We love natural and alternative remedies as much as anyone, but using castor oil to induce a pregnancy is not something we (or any doctor) could ever recommend.