RICINUS COMMUNIS SEED OIL

Name of the plant

Castor Oil Tree; Castor; Castor Bean

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Used plant parts

Seeds (kernels)

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Type of preparation

Fat or essential oil

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Function(s) of this ingredient in cosmetic products

FRAGRANCE FUNCTIONAL

Functional ingredient (excipient) of perfume oils and / or flavours

SKIN CONDITIONING

Maintains the skin in good condition

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Origin

plant

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Occurrence in cosmetics

Skin creams, haircare products, lipsticks, bath oils

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Background information on use in cosmetics

Castor oil (INCI: RICINUS COMMUNIS SEED OIL) is obtained from the seeds of the miracle tree. It contains a lot of Vitamin E which acts as an antioxidant. Moreover, castor oil has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties so that it is also used for skin blemishes and in the medical field for wound healing. In the event of scars it improves skin elasticity. Castor oil brings about a gloss on the skin and is, therefore, also preferred for lip gloss and lipstick preparations. At the care of the scalp, castor oil supports the development of a natural protection layer and helps in the event of itching scalp and against dandruff. It is included in hair tonics and the blood circulation can be supported through rubbing in. In haircare the oil supplies the hair with sufficient moisture and makes it more elastic. Castor oil is characterised by a very high content of a special fatty acid: ricinoleic acid, a C18 fatty acid which has at C-12 a hydroxyl group and at C-9 a double bond. The oil is in many cases processed further semi-synthetically to solubilisers, surfactants, emulsifiers and consistency enhancers. Fragrances or mixtures of fragrances are often referred to in the cosmetics area as "perfuming agents" or "perfume oils" or "parfum oils". On the cosmetic products they are declared with the INCI name "PARFUM". These are undiluted individual substances or their mixtures which originate from natural raw materials or can be produced (semi-) synthetically. They are starting materials for the production of perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne and other perfumed cosmetic products. The average content of fragrances amounts in perfume to 15-30 %, in eau de parfum to 10-14 %, in eau de toilette to 6-9 %, in eau de cologne to 3-5 % as well as in skin creams, shampoos, hair and deodorant sprays to approximately 0.2-1 % and approximately 1-3 in deodorant sticks. The perfume oils include essential oils, resinoids and absolutes. The sources are, amongst others, flowers, leaves and stems, fruits and fruit peels or roots of plants; woods, grasses or herbs, needles, resins and balsams. Moreover, only compounds isolated from natural products such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols etc. are used (geraniol, citronellal, citral, eugenol, menthol) as well as semi-synthetic (citronellol, geranyl acetate, jonone) and synthetic scents (eg phenylethyl alcohol and linalool) are used. Scents of animal origin such as musk and ambra are only rarely used. Vegetable oils are characterised by a high share of (poly) unsaturated fatty acids, which are characteristic for the liquid consistency. As an admixture many vitamins, carotenoids and free fatty acids are present.

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Belongs to the following substance groups

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Regulating cosmetics

Cosmetics Ingredients are subject to regulation. Please note, different regulations may apply to cosmetic ingredients outside the EU.