monistat and castor oil

[wectmall]

Hi all!
What does monistat and castor oil do for your hair/scalp?
I keep reading people's references to them on here, but cannot find the info!
thanks

[katiekittycat]

I'm not sure about the Monistat, but I know castor oil is a really beneficial oil for growing your hair out! It supposedly helps your hair grow faster and thicker and is a great deep treatment.

[calmyogi]

I think the monistat helps your scalp produce oil if you have a very dry scalp. I'm not positive on this though.

[Nique1202]

The active ingredient in Monistat encourages hair follicles to not shed when they otherwise would, and if I recall it's the same medicine that's in stuff like Rogaine but in a lower concentration. The catch is that you have to keep using it, or all the follicles that WOULD have shed while you were using it will shed when you stop.

Castor oil supposedly encourages hair thickness and growth, but the studies aren't as clear because most of the ones I can find were done on rats or rabbits and not people. As for first-hand anecdotes, the thickness and stickiness mean it may just be coating the hair and making dust and lint stick to itself and giving the illusion of thicker hair for most people.

[TR]

The active ingredient in Monistat encourages hair follicles to not shed when they otherwise would, and if I recall it's the same medicine that's in stuff like Rogaine but in a lower concentration. The catch is that you have to keep using it, or all the follicles that WOULD have shed while you were using it will shed when you stop.
.

They aren't the same active ingredients; Monistat contains the antifungal miconazole while Rogaine's active ingredient is the vasodilator minoxidil. I think the people who experience hair growth with Monistat are those who may have an overabundance of scalp yeast. If your scalp doesn't have that problem then Monistat won't do anything for you.

[Nique1202]

They aren't the same active ingredients; Monistat contains the antifungal miconazole while Rogaine's active ingredient is the vasodilator minoxidil. I think the people who experience hair growth with Monistat are those who may have an overabundance of scalp yeast. If your scalp doesn't have that problem then Monistat won't do anything for you.

The number of things I've seen recommended around here, it's not surprising I'd make a mixup eventually. I usually double check my sources before I post, too. :lipssealed:

Either way, yeah, anything you see recommended, even if it were some miracle cure that science has ignored (which doesn't happen, I promise) won't work for everyone, and some people experience more problems than any treatment solves, which goes double when using something like Monistat for an off-label use that hasn't been studied rigorously.

[Llama]

Castor oil supposedly encourages hair thickness and growth, but the studies aren't as clear because most of the ones I can find were done on rats or rabbits and not people. As for first-hand anecdotes, the thickness and stickiness mean it may just be coating the hair and making dust and lint stick to itself and giving the illusion of thicker hair for most people.


I have been reading the castor oil thread for a while now, on page 190 and I have seen MAYBE one or 2 people saying they think dust/lint is making their hair thicker from the castor oil. You saying it does that for "most people" sounds inaccurate.
I personally haven't noticed a coating from castor oil but I do wash it off after a couple hours. I just started it a couple weeks ago however and haven't seen any differences one way or another yet.

[banglaminerva]

A few weeks back, I started using this mix in my hair overnight. I was it out with oil shampoo every morning. I have a balding spot that I was concentrating on. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before picture so I have nothing objective to compare. But I do think the spot is less obvious now. Not sure what the triggers are. If it were dust/lint/cat hair, I trust I would have seen that against my black hair. Prior to this latest application, I had tried them individually, but this combo seems to be making the most difference.

[calmyogi]

Can any be more elaborate how this combo works, I'm curious?

[wectmall]

wow, thanks! this is so interesting! I would love to hear more success stories with either one or a combination of both. I may massage some castor oil into my scalp!

[HeartofHaleth]

Ooh, ooh! I'm starting my third week of using castor oil! I mixed up a blend of castor oil along with basil and peppermint EOs (not original, just a modified version of somebody else's recipe). I put it on my scalp at least four nights a week (more if possible), and massage using Snowymoon's technique. This method spreads some of the oil down the length of my hair, which seems to have a nice conditioning effect! It's a bit too soon to tell, due to possible inaccuracy of measurements and whatnot, but I seem to be getting a definite increase in growth rate. I probably won't know for certain until I've been doing it for a few months. I was concerned about shedding, but it seems like my shedding has increased very little, if at all. I tend not to shed much anyways. As Nique1202 said, everybody's hair is different; this method is working well for me (so far), but may not work at all for others.

ETA: The oil blend is based off of Dragon Faery's post in this thread:http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=84887&page=2

Also, I only wash once a week, so I just leave the oil in my hair. I use two drops at a time, maybe three if I'm going to wash soon and don't really care what I look like :).

[Mzteaze]

I've never used Monistat. I've read many reviews of it and most come down this basic conclusion, it works because it has the ability to clear your scalp of yeast and other basic inhibitors of growth. The downside tend to include the potential for headaches and a few other unpleasant effects. You can simulate the effects using essential oils like tea tree. This video does a decent job of discussing why Monistat works for some.

Regarding castor oil, I've had great success with it in the past and recent started another challenge to use it to counteract some new issues. Back in 2009, I had two silver dollar sized bald spots on the right and left side of my head, a thinning area down the mid line of my head leading back to an even larger thinning area at my crown. With regular use of castor oil, I was able to grow hair back in all areas within 6 months. Definitely not lint/dirt or cat hair (no animals in the house). I will say, with initial use, there was a shedding period. However, during that period, I always checked my shed hairs and it was really clear that the hairs were fine to very fine almost sickly looking hairs. Once the "big" period of shedding stopped a few weeks later, I lost hairs that were completely shed hairs. Analysing those, it was clear that my hairs were definitely thicker and better formed. Over time, my overall hair condition improved which I attribute to the cumulative effect.

I do have some basic suggestions if you choose to use castor oil. But the biggest ones are apply to damp hair (or lightly misted) and LESS IS MORE. It's a very thick oil so a few drops can do the trick. My hair absorbs it pretty well with just a slight bit of surface oil of left on overnight.

[Mzteaze]

Here is the video I mentioned in the post above:

http://youtu.be/9fW2p5AO6vw

[TR]

I've been experimenting with castor oil as part of my seborrheic dermatitis and acne issues. Previously I'd gotten both the SD and the facial acne under control with salicylic acid products, but when winter arrived my face and scalp and hair all became quite dry. I'd read that some people actually have success in treating their SD by massaging the scalp with castor oil, leaving it on for a few hours to overnight, then washing it away. Some people have found that this can help break up the SD scales and flakes, and unclog the follicles that sometimes develop pustules. Others have found it to be a disaster for their SD. My experience has been good so far, though I can't oil my scalp too often or my hair gets too limp. I noticed when I started using castor oil on my scalp that my facial acne seemed to be better, so I decided to try using a castor oil face cleansing method to see how it compared to salicylic acid for acne control. It turns out that castor oil does as good a job, or maybe better, at controlling my acne without drying out my skin. So I'm definitely in favor of castor oil, but I don't notice any hair growth rate increase. I don't measure my hair though, so I can't say for sure. There's definitely been no dramatic growth though.

[chen bao jun]

Yea, some swear by monistat for speeding up their hair growth, insofar as this can be explained 'scientifically' (I use the term extremely loosely), it does seem that it is killing fungus on people's scalps.
Jamaican black castor oil (which is not all the same stuff you get in the drugstore or health food store) is supposed to bring back hair that you had before. I never heard that it would make your hair thicker if your hair never was thick (obviously it can't add more folicles than you had), but it is supposed to stimulate the follicles you have to grow hair again faster than they otherwise would, if your hair has thinned or even if it actually has bald spots (not bald spots caused by genetics like pattern baldness, but bald spots caused by poor hair practices like hairweaves, tight ponytails and too much brushing). If the situation has not gone too far, that is. so it wouldn't do a darn thing for Naomi Campbell.

My mother had a lot of luck with thinning spots (actually some were bald)f illing with hair again that grew in fast, after a few months of massaging with JBCO. I don't know if its something about the JBCO, which is made from burned castor beans in backyard in Jamaica and Haiti (at least it used to be, I'm sure there are factories now). If some chemical has been created that helps the hair to show up again faster. I know of no studies, its all anecdotal evidence. But there is a lot of anecdotal evidence, especially from black women (the women mostly likely to have burned their hair off down to the bare scalp). It could be the act of massaging, or it could be that the hair was going to grow back anyway, once the abusive practice stopped. I don't know. but I think its worth trying in those situations and certainly won't hurt you (castor oil is good stuff medicinally). If people think their hair got thicker from it though when they just don't have thick hair, I also would guess that that's probably lint (or wishful thinking, not that there's anything wrong with that if it makes you happier with something you were dissatisfied with.

[bunneh.]

Not really hair related (haven't been using castor oil on my scalp long enough to notice anything significant), but after about 3 weeks+ of using a mixture of castor, olive, jojoba oil on my eyelashes I noticed a small part in my lashline with significantly shorter, scarcer lashes, get fuller and now blends perfectly with the rest of the eyelashes.

[ko6kin]

Not enough scientific studies and no proof that the castor oil is working- well- maybe not, but there is a good reason for this- they cannot patent simple oil, they rather sell you a patented expensive stuf- as they can make money on it - my opinion anyways. Here what i've found on monistat, interesting! http://www.xovain.com/hair/monistat-hair-growth-results