August 1996: It is the last day of the summer holiday and Bridgette is hiding out at the back of her grandmother’s half acre farm, hoping to stay away long enough for the matriarch to forget to give her a dose of her famous home remedy; the one she feels strengthens young bones and gives them clean, healthy looking skin – castor oil. While granny swears by the stuff, 7-year- old Bridgette would rather spend all day cleaning out the pig pen than swallow that horrible concoction, as the taste leaves a lot to be desired.
Fast forward twenty years and Bridgette is now a mother of two and is trying to ‘reason’ with her own child to sample a teaspoon of castor oil. Oh, how the tables have turned! Now an adult, Bridgette sings the praises of this wonder oil that is a Jamaican tradition in many households from Morant Point to Negril Point and many places in between. So what makes castor oil so popular? And, why should no decent housewife be caught without a bottle in her cabinet?
Castor Oil dates back thousands of years and was a wonder drug in ancient India, China, Persia, Egypt, Africa, Greece and Rome. By the 17th century, Europe and the Americas discovered its medicinal properties but it was the 20th century American prophet, Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), who made up castor oil packages for usage.
Known as the “Hand of Christ” or “Palma Christi”, the castor oil comes from the seed of the castor bean plant (Ricinus Communis). Historically, castor oil has been used for everything from relieving constipation and itching, to treating cancer. Egyptians used it to fight off skin infections. It was also used by ancient civilisations to preserve food, due to its strong antimicrobial properties. In India, it was a popular folk medicine used as a laxative and memory booster.
The secret to good castor oil is its rich ricinoleic acid and undecylenic acid content—both highly effective, immune-specific and anti-infective fatty acids. Today, it is popularly used to relieve gallbladder and liver ailments, eliminate kidney infection, aid in killing off parasites; and rapidly heal infections, as it is ideal for gentle, deep-seated organ and gland cleansing.
In Jamaica, castor oil usage dates back to slavery, as midwives gave it to pregnant women to ‘jumpstart’ labour, if they believed the process was taking too long or the expected due date had passed. Children got it for the dreaded ‘worm-out’ or ‘wash-out’ to purge them of all the unhealthy and sugary food they ate during the summer. Safe to sip in small doses, a spoonful of this extremely unpleasant tasting liquid was thought to expel all the “evils” from the stomach.
For the elderly it is used to relieve arthritis and other body aches and pains as a piece of cotton flannel can be saturated with castor oil and applied to the pain site, preferably with a hot water bottle. For young women wanting that healthy, beautiful glow with as little hassle as possible, it cures dry scalp and dandruff problems, if heated, applied to the scalp and covered with a plastic cap for about 10 minutes. To exfoliate the skin, there is even castor oil soap.
When it comes to ‘tried and tested’ beauty regime, look no further than the wonders of castor oil since it contains a wide variety of the minerals and fatty acids essential for growing strong and healthy hair. Saturated with rejuvenating properties, it can help stimulate the growth of hair by increasing circulation in your scalp; the increased blood circulation will improve the flow of nutrients, causing hair to grow.
Recently there has been a surge in demand of quality castor oil for skin and hair care products and Jamaica has become a good source for this product, with the Jamaican Black Castor Oil earning rave reviews worldwide due to its natural ability to both prevent hair loss and promote hair growth.
Made from a different processing system than regular castor oil, the Jamaican Black Castor Oil is manually roasted and then grounded. Beans are later heated and the oil distilled from the crushed beans. The distinct black colour of the Jamaican Black Castor Oil is due to the roasting process, which produces chemical and slight structural changes in the oil itself while adding a strong, ash-like smell which distinguishes it from other oils.
To continue reading, purchase Vol.8 #9, 2016 Issue.
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August 1996: It is the last day of the summer holiday and Bridgette is hiding out at the back of her grandmother’s half acre farm, hoping to stay away long enough for the matriarch to forget to give her a dose of her famous home remedy; the one she feels strengthens young bones and gives them clean, healthy looking skin – castor oil. While granny swears by the stuff, 7-year- old Bridgette would rather spend all day cleaning out the pig pen than swallow that horrible concoction, as the taste leaves a lot to be desired.
Fast forward twenty years and Bridgette is now a mother of two and is trying to ‘reason’ with her own child to sample a teaspoon of castor oil. Oh, how the tables have turned! Now an adult, Bridgette sings the praises of this wonder oil that is a Jamaican tradition in many households from Morant Point to Negril Point and many places in between. So what makes castor oil so popular? And, why should no decent housewife be caught without a bottle in her cabinet?
Castor Oil dates back thousands of years and was a wonder drug in ancient India, China, Persia, Egypt, Africa, Greece and Rome. By the 17th century, Europe and the Americas discovered its medicinal properties but it was the 20th century American prophet, Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), who made up castor oil packages for usage.
Known as the “Hand of Christ” or “Palma Christi”, the castor oil comes from the seed of the castor bean plant (Ricinus Communis). Historically, castor oil has been used for everything from relieving constipation and itching, to treating cancer. Egyptians used it to fight off skin infections. It was also used by ancient civilisations to preserve food, due to its strong antimicrobial properties. In India, it was a popular folk medicine used as a laxative and memory booster.
The secret to good castor oil is its rich ricinoleic acid and undecylenic acid content—both highly effective, immune-specific and anti-infective fatty acids. Today, it is popularly used to relieve gallbladder and liver ailments, eliminate kidney infection, aid in killing off parasites; and rapidly heal infections, as it is ideal for gentle, deep-seated organ and gland cleansing.
In Jamaica, castor oil usage dates back to slavery, as midwives gave it to pregnant women to ‘jumpstart’ labour, if they believed the process was taking too long or the expected due date had passed. Children got it for the dreaded ‘worm-out’ or ‘wash-out’ to purge them of all the unhealthy and sugary food they ate during the summer. Safe to sip in small doses, a spoonful of this extremely unpleasant tasting liquid was thought to expel all the “evils” from the stomach.
For the elderly it is used to relieve arthritis and other body aches and pains as a piece of cotton flannel can be saturated with castor oil and applied to the pain site, preferably with a hot water bottle. For young women wanting that healthy, beautiful glow with as little hassle as possible, it cures dry scalp and dandruff problems, if heated, applied to the scalp and covered with a plastic cap for about 10 minutes. To exfoliate the skin, there is even castor oil soap.
When it comes to ‘tried and tested’ beauty regime, look no further than the wonders of castor oil since it contains a wide variety of the minerals and fatty acids essential for growing strong and healthy hair. Saturated with rejuvenating properties, it can help stimulate the growth of hair by increasing circulation in your scalp; the increased blood circulation will improve the flow of nutrients, causing hair to grow.
Recently there has been a surge in demand of quality castor oil for skin and hair care products and Jamaica has become a good source for this product, with the Jamaican Black Castor Oil earning rave reviews worldwide due to its natural ability to both prevent hair loss and promote hair growth.
Made from a different processing system than regular castor oil, the Jamaican Black Castor Oil is manually roasted and then grounded. Beans are later heated and the oil distilled from the crushed beans. The distinct black colour of the Jamaican Black Castor Oil is due to the roasting process, which produces chemical and slight structural changes in the oil itself while adding a strong, ash-like smell which distinguishes it from other oils.
To continue reading, purchase Vol.8 #9, 2016 Issue.
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