# Does Castor Oil Smell?



## vtoodler (Dec 28, 2011)

My sister told me that castor has an unpleasant smell. 

Is that true? What does it smell like?


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## FoxxyLocs (Dec 28, 2011)

I get mine from the drug store. It has no smell at all.

ETA: I only use a tiny bit so I guess it's not enough to smell. If I stick my nose in the jar it does have a scent.


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## Anne26 (Dec 28, 2011)

Mine is pure castor oil and I don't like the smell...you can use essential oils to mask it, it works.


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## LaidBak (Dec 28, 2011)

The Jamaican kind smells like cigarette ashes.


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## Harina (Dec 28, 2011)

Anne26 said:


> Mine is pure castor oil and I don't like the smell...you can use essential oils to mask it, it works.




Like the Jamaican kind?


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## empressri (Dec 28, 2011)

Castor oil does have a scent to me, it always did. My SO HATES it, and I tend to ply it liberally on my hair.

I love its scent on the other hand. It's nothing I can describe, you have to smell it to know as it has its own unique scent.


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## Klearli (Dec 28, 2011)

It does have a yucky kind of smell. Kind of like how most oils have one, like canola oil or peanut oil. I just add a few drops of essential oil to mask it

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using T-Mobile G2


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## AnjelLuvs (Dec 28, 2011)

*My JBCO has no smell, or a very faint smell... #kanyeshrug..

ETA: I have the lavender one... 
*


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## Bublin (Dec 28, 2011)

Yes, it has a smell.  
Sounds stupid but it smells like it's consistency - thick and oily.  Lightly pungent . 
Adding a few drops of essential oils will cut the smell.


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## mg1979 (Dec 28, 2011)

It does smell to me, but its different from like how some oils just stank (like Amla or Brahmi oil) and nothin' can cover it up. I think with castor oil it just takes a little essential oil to make it more fragrant.


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## Ann0804 (Dec 28, 2011)

I use the Now Castor oil and it does have a slight woodsy scent to it, but it's very subtle and I don't even notice it anymore.


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## Anne26 (Dec 28, 2011)

Harina said:


> Like the Jamaican kind?



No, it's just regular pure castor oil from my own country.

Some people might not mind the smell, but others will notice. I can stand it for an overnight treatment (I mix it with EVOO so isn't so thick), but I wouldn't leave the house wearing it.


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## prettypithy (Dec 28, 2011)

Mine smells nasty but the odor disappears when mixed with some fragrance. I mix mine with Hot Six Oil which is a mixture of oils with some fragrance. I get the JBCO benefits without the nasty smell.


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## prettypithy (Dec 28, 2011)

Bublin said:


> Yes, it has a smell.
> Sounds stupid but *it smells like it's consistency - thick and oily*.  Lightly pungent .
> Adding a few drops of essential oils will cut the smell.



Bublin  Actually, your description is perfect!


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## AnjelLuvs (Dec 28, 2011)

Bublin said:


> Yes, it has a smell.
> Sounds stupid but it smells like it's consistency - thick and oily.  Lightly pungent .
> Adding a few drops of essential oils will cut the smell.


*I am thinking the lavendar in the JBCO (Jamacian Black Castor Oil) I have is adding the pleasant smell needed, as I the smell really doesnt effect me... *


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## Nonie (Dec 28, 2011)

@vtoodler, Castor oil has the sort of smell you'd expect to smell in a plain oil used to lubricate machine parts. It's not strong that it would make you jump back but it's not pleasant that you'd want to keep your nose inhaling it. It's a heavy smell that isn't disgusting but it does smell like it tastes. (Yes, Castor oil is a laxative that is gross to swallow--well, much like any other oil really  but Castor is so viscous that it's just ugh!) @Bublin is right; when you smell it, you'll agree that it couldn't smell any other way. It's like its consistency determines  that it has to have that smell and nothing else. 

But your sis would not call the smell of Castor oil bad if she smelled Neem Oil.  Now that's just on a-whole-nother league of its own.  To respond to this thread, I sniffed Castor oil a few times trying to figure out how to describe the smell. You CANNOT do that with Neem. 

Years ago, I bought Neem oil to use it on my nails as had been suggested to me by that lady at Whole Foods (apparently it's good for nails) and opened it ONCE to use it. Girl, I still can't tell you how I was able to get through the application before realizing that hell is an option and I didn't have to live in it yet--not when I still have time to repent.  And it's stubbornly "clingy" and doesn't take well to breakups: I had to wash my hands so many times I lost count trying to get the smell off.   But you know what? I NEVER opened that bottle again and after staring at it for years, I put it in the trash because clearly there was no counseling or prayer that could bring that relationship to a place of understanding and mutual tolerance. You hear of phobias of living creatures or heights/tight spaces? I have a debilitating phobia of Neem Oil bottles. I don't approach them...and I will never open them. I don't remember the smell but I can tell you, if I was given the options to inhale a fart by a stranger or take a whiff of Neem oil, I'd actually have a dilemma.


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## MsDes (Dec 28, 2011)

JBCO smells like cigarette smoke to me but it's not loud and it doesn't bother me.


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## SkySurfer (Dec 29, 2011)

I kinda like the smell...sort of smoky....


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