Castor oil VS Jamaican black castor oil

misskris wrote:hmmmm....I see that the JBCO is a bit pricier than the regular. think i'll stick to the regular!! LOL

If the regular works for you, why change? The JBCO is so good for my troubled skin, it beats any steroid cream for eczema any day! I also love how light it is on my hair.

well I'll try the regular and see how I like it. It's been forever since I used it but I do remember that it is kinda thick and sticky. But if it's in my scalp I guess that won't bother me too much. I read that the only difference btw the 2 is that the JBCO has boiled water added to it. I wonder if I added boiled water to mine would it be the same thing?? LOL Probably not cuz they have machines and stuff to do all that!!! lol

@ Curlista, thanks for the website, I may check it out.

I've never tried the JBCO...but I do love the Palma Christi castor oil. I've used it a lot in my TWA days to seal my hair and loved the results. I've been using it right out of the bottle (AND in several spray mixes) for the last two months, and I'm STILL loving the results. I can get a pretty large bottle (16oz?) for roughly $9 at my local health food store.

On the most basic level, JBCO is the unrefined version of castor oil. The regular, clear castor oil is usually refined to some degree.

JBCO is also lighter and less sticky than regular castor oil, but it also has a nutty, smokey scent because of the fact that it's unrefined (think of the scent of unrefined shea butter compared to the lack of scent of refined shea). JBCO is also light enough to be used alone (you don't have to mix it with other oils, like the regular castor oil), and it will absorb into the hair and skin easily.

If you're looking for something to just seal and keep in the moisture longer, then I'd suggest regular castor oil. But if you're looking for something to nourish your hair and scalp (but not necessarily seal in the moisture), then I suggest the JBCO, because it's so light and absorbent compared to the regular castor oil.

If your JBCO is authentic, it shouldn't contain any water whatsoever in the finished product. Water may be used in the extraction process, depending upon the company who makes it, but the final product should only be oil.

HTH.

Mykurls, I will piggyback off what JSM said. If you want something that is what I call "a happy medium," there is a brand of castor oil made by "Heritage." They make an organic castor oil and non-organic, but the good news is both are certified hexane free). I noticed many smaller pharmacies and compounding pharmacies carry it. I have not seen it in the big name chains like CVS, but who knows in your area. Vitacost and Lucky Vitamin both frequently have sales on it Unrefined castor oil is the way to go since refinement decreases the valuable properties of the oils and many companies use hexane in the extraction process--a big no no for me as I steer away from petroleum based products in my hair. Hope this helps.

@ naturalnola...that is the brand I just ordered last nite off of vitacost. i believe i got the non-organic cuz it was a few bucks cheaper, but yes it is hexane-free. which i didn't know the purpose of until reading your comment!! so thanks! i just came back from kroger to see if they had any castor oil and they didn't!! they had mineral oil which i am trying to stay away from as well. this was all in the laxative aisle!!! lol so i was surprised they had no castor!! lol

thanks for the info!

MissKris, Glad you found the info helpful. FYI - I have searched a bit (not saying it was an exhaustive search, but several places) and have not located any places selling the JBCO or organic castor oil in ATL. WF doesn't carry it and Sevananda doesn't carry it. I expected these 2 health food stores to carry organic. Home Health seems to be the brand I have seen most, even Walmart carries this one. You may try some of the natural beauty salons for the JBCO. I don't expect any of them to carry "regular organic" though.

Never heard of Sevananda. Where is that? I may be making a trip to Trader Joe's today so maybe they will have something. i'm going to get that tea trea tingle conditioner. also want to see if they have any aloe vera gel or juice. I hear that's super moisturizing.

Sevananda is in Little Five Points on Moreland near Euclid. Its a local co-op oriented store, not "big business" like WF. Just be careful about the aloe vera. All aloe is not created equal. I have heard people complaining about dryness from some brands like "Fruit of the ? something or another. I mostly hear this comment from people purchasing from walmart. Vitacost carries aloe also. I get mine from WF. I personally buy the gel. Never purchased the juice. I like the consistency and flexibility of the gel. Plus, I use it to slick my edges too. I never used Trader Joe products. I know many have. I would just say exercise caution with anything having tea tree as an ingredient from any product line. Tea tree oil is beneficial, but can be drying with persistent and frequent use. Happy shopping!

@misskris No problem

On the most basic level, JBCO is the unrefined version of castor oil. The regular, clear castor oil is usually refined to some degree.

Pure castor oil is a very pale yellow. At least one of the JBCO manufacturers, On its website, Sunny Isle, refers to a two processing steps that involves heat, roasting and boiling. The beans are heated enough to emit an odor and change the color of the oil.
Here's a portion of their text:

"Authentic Jamaican Black Castor Oil is dark brown in color accompanied with the traditional burnt smell......
Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil is processed the “old fashioned “Jamaican way. Our Organic seeds are roasted and grounded by a manual grinder, after which the beans are boiled to extract the 100% pure, dark brown organic oil. Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil is the best quality oil on the market. Why you may ask? Over the last ten years it is an established precedent that Jamaican Black Castor Oil is more effective than the clear Pharmacy Castor Oil because of the Ash Content in Jamaican Black Castor Oil due to roasting of the beans. Therefore it stands to reason that the more Ash Content the more effective the Oil. This is not a myth, it is evidence based FACTS. Compared to other brands, it is the darkest Jamaican Black Castor Oil because we roast our beans longer, which produces more Ash Content in Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil than any other oil on the market. More Ash content increases the effectiveness and the color of the oil. Therefore, the Sunny Isle brand will strengthen and increases hair growth faster than any other brands on the market today. Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor is imported from Jamaica, inspected by the FDA and approved for distribution and it is the ONLY Jamaican Black Castor Oil that comes in a safety sealed bottle for your safety protection."

The cold-pressed versions are not heated to extract the oil and the color remains pale yellow. JBCO is heated twice during processing and the color and odor change.

I have not read anything that was not an anecdotal testimonial from a user or marketing hype written by a vendor to prove that JBCO is better than organic cold-pressed castor oil. I'm not saying that it isn't, just that I have not seen any science to back up the claim. Until I see some data, I will not assume that cold pressed is inferior to JBCO . (the last 3 sentences are taken from my comment under the Battle of the Castor Oils article that I wrote using the name CH).

Thought I would throw this in the mix:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/237617-why-is-castor-oil-good-for-hair-loss/

This is a good one too!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/305410-castor-oil-for-dry-hair/

Qhemet Biologics is mentioned...