Castor oil is one of those ingredients that arrives wrapped in a lot of noise, and the gurus who have actually dug into it come away with some sharply different conclusions depending on what people are hoping it will do. The Guru Score sitting at 43% reflects that honestly. There are genuine fans here, but also some experts who think most of the enthusiasm has outrun the evidence.
The consensus
Where the experts who like it tend to agree is on its value as a sealing, occlusive oil at the end of a skincare routine, particularly in winter, with some noting it works in a similar way to heavier slugging products without the mess of a thick balm. That means for people who want to lock moisture in overnight, it may be worth trying in small amounts as a final layer. However, the gurus are much more cautious about the hair and lash growth claims that have made castor oil so popular online, with one expert pointing out that no scientific studies have actually shown it improves hair or eyelash growth. There is one narrow exception the experts flag: a small ophthalmology study suggested castor oil may help with blepharitis, which is inflammation along the lash line, and one expert notes that reducing that irritation could indirectly allow lashes to grow better.
In their words
"Thicker oil such as castor oil is a great way of getting the benefits of slugging without getting the unwanted side effects of thick, heavy, destroyed pillow side. Use castor oil in place of a usual slugging balm and I think you're going to see some absolute next level results. I'm happy to crown it the world's best facial oil of 2025 because for me, it's been a true game changer. I've been on a real journey with castor oil, but I did have to fight through a lot of that overblown hype to truly realize where the benefits lie. Give castor oil a go. Fight through the hype, know what it can actually deliver and I think it could be a game changer for your skincare routine."
"The best facial oil is going to shock you. Castor oil. I discovered this a year and a half ago. I didn't believe in it. I thought it was all hype. I now have gotten rid of all my facial oils and I just use a few drops of this to seal the deal in the evening. Perfect for your winter skincare routine. I love it for reducing inflammation. I've been very surprised how well it's done on my cuticles. The number one facial oil I can recommend in 2025."
"But the castor oil is like magic"
"It's gentle, it doesn't strip my skin but it does a really good job to cleanse. I like to put a few drops of Castor oil in with my cleanser. Since I'm in the winter months right now this is just a great way to add more moisture to my skin. I take maybe one or two drops, put it in with my cleanser and then cleanse my skin that way and then rinse my skin off. My skin isn't left greasy or sticky or anything, I just have this nice moisture layer. I do this morning and evening."
"I got this cold pressed castor oil really affordably on Amazon. This ingredient is actually a common remedy used to treat dry eyes so it can be applied safely to the eyelids and the lash line at night to protect the tear film of the eye. It is also thought to improve blood flow to the eye which can help with lash growth and the health of your lashes. The good thing about castor oil is that it is really affordable. I have this $10 option linked for you. It comes with two types of wands, so this one is great for brows and this one is great for applying it to the lash line. It's a really affordable solution to protect your lashes and help them grow more strong and full."
Where they disagree
This is a genuine split, not a small quibble. Two experts are enthusiastic about castor oil as a facial oil and rate it highly for reducing inflammation and sealing in moisture, with one calling it their top facial oil recommendation right now. On the other side, two experts are dismissive of it for skincare, with one saying it has almost no place in a routine at all, and another arguing that for hair health specifically, coconut oil is far better studied and better proven. The mixed takes sit somewhere in between, acknowledging specific niche uses while not buying into the broader hype.
"Castor Oil is not helpful. It doesn't exist, it doesn't exist. Castor Oil really in my mind has almost no place for skincare. It's not as harmful, it's not as bad as olive oil which is the true trashiest oil for all of skin in its pure form, but Castor Oil has no utility."
"Castor oil is something that has traditionally been used in a lot of cultures to aid in hair softening and hair growth, but there are no scientific studies that show that it actually improves hair growth or eyelash growth. As an oil it can make a nice coating on the hair that can maybe improve the luster of the hair a little bit, and it might be able to soften brittle eyelashes a bit, but it's still never been shown to actually help with those things. There is a small ophthalmology study that shows that Castor oil might help with blepharitis, which is inflammation along the lash line, so if you're struggling to grow your eyelashes because you have chronically irritated red itchy eyes, using Castor oil might help reduce that inflammation and allow you to grow better lashes, but I feel like that is a very niche use of this oil. As much as TikTok would like you to believe that Castor oil is the miracle oil when it comes to hair care, it's just not. When it comes to hair health and helping with hair brittleness, by far and away the most studied and most proven oil is coconut oil."
The bottom line
What the gurus would steer toward is this: if someone is curious about castor oil, the most defensible use based on what experts actually support is as a small-amount occlusive layer at night to help seal in moisture. Anyone hoping it will grow their lashes or transform their hair should know that the experts say the evidence simply is not there for those claims, with coconut oil being the better-supported choice for hair brittleness. Given how polarised the expert takes are, those with sensitive or acne-prone skin may want to patch test first, since even the fans note it took some trial and error to find where the benefits really lie.
The gurus who weighed in
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This guide reflects what 9 skincare experts said about Castor oil across their videos, aggregated by The Guru Index. The Guru Score is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it. It is general information, not medical advice.