When it comes to my hair, Jamaican black castor oil and I definitely have a love/hate relationship. I’ve done the research. I know that it’s jam-packed with minerals, protein, omega-6 and 9 fatty acids and even vitamin E. I also know that since Jamaican black castor oil is more potent than regular castor oil, it’s supposed to be able to strengthen tresses, make hair thicker and stop breakage in its tracks.
Image by iStock/David-Prado
That’s all well and good, but the reason why I wanted to give it a shot was because I also heard that it was one of the best ways to “seal my ends” (you know, coat my hair so that it will stay well-moisturized in between shampoo days”>. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, because every time I’d attempt to seal mine with this kind of oil, it only weighed my hair down. (Sigh.”>
I’ve been trying to make castor oil work for about five or so years now. It became so frustrating that I almost gave up. That is, until one day, while in a local beauty supply store, I saw a small bottle of Jamaican Mango & Lime Vitamins A, D and E.
Honestly, I had tried a couple of their other formulas before (the peppermint and ungurahui with citrus spice one”> and I still wasn’t super-impressed. Both seemed too thick for my hair (although if you want to thicken your eyebrows, they are awesome for that!”>. But what caught my attention with the Vitamins A, D, and E one is it claimed to help to prevent split ends. Since it was roughly around eight bucks, I thought “Just one more try of this thing…”
You know what? I loved it! The texture is lighter, and whenever I used it to braid my hair and—ahem—seal my ends, it works. It literally helps to hold my ends in place without any stickiness or residue. I’ve been using it for a few months now, and I’ve also noticed that I don’t have nearly as many split ends as I once did.
Since things went so well with that particular oil, I decided to take a leap of faith and test out the rosemary version that they have (since rosemary has a great reputation for slowing down premature greying and alleviating dandruff”>. For my hair alone, it’s a bit too thick. But on my scalp? It gets a total thumbs up. Sometimes I do get flakes (especially during winter”>, but the rosemary oil is very soothing. Plus, I’ve noticed more elasticity since I’ve been using it as well (roughly two months or so”>.
I guess the moral to the story here is that not all products from a particular brand are made alike—even brands within a brand. So my personal recommendation? If you haven’t given Jamaican Mango & Lime a try, you definitely should. From what I can see on their site, they’ve got 12 different varieties of black castor oil. You should be able to find at least one that will do your hair—and your face and body—good.
As for me, I’m glad I didn’t give up on my quest to find the right castor oil. Now that I’ve found what works for me, the Vitamins A, D and E product is a part of my daily regimen. I’ve got four bottles sitting in my bathroom cabinet right now to prove it!
If you haven’t already, check this product out! Do you have any favorite type of castor oil? Share your intel with us in the comments below!
