I've Put Castor Oil on My Face for 40 Years — The Old British Trick My Mum Swore By AI

I've put castor oil on my face every night for 40 years and in all that time I've not bought a single jar of face cream. And I don't mean I've not got a line on me, love. I've earned every one of them. I mean my skin has stayed soft and supple all these years while I've watched so many women my age go the other way. Not the skin that feels tight and dry as paper the minute you've washed it. Not the fine little lines round the lips that your lipstick bleeds into by lunchtime. Not the powder that settles in every crease so you look older with makeup than without it. Half the women I know have a dressing table full of creams at 50 pounds a jar and their skin still feels dry by tea time. Not me. And here's the strange part. I've never bought an anti-aging cream. Never had a facial. Never had anything injected. A good part of what's in those jars is water and perfume and the rest is the price of the advert. Everything the magazines tell you that you need I've never spent a penny on because my mum never did either. She raised six of us through some very lean years and at 70 she still had the softest cheeks I've ever kissed. Now you'll know castor oil. It's the brown bottle our mothers spooned into us when we were poorly and we hated the sight of it. But one night when I was a girl I watched her at the bathroom mirror and I asked her what she was doing with it. It wasn't the oil that did the work. It was the way she put it on. I'm your Nan Margaret and today I'm going to hand you the whole of it. The old British trick my mum swore by and the 20 things I still do to keep my skin soft. Stay with me because the one that does the most work is the one nearly everyone gets wrong. Number 20. Press it into damp skin under a warm flannel. Here it is. The very heart of it. The thing my mum told me that night at the mirror. She never put castor oil on a dry face. First she washed her face with warm water and left it damp. Then she put two or three drops of castor oil in the palm of her hand, warmed them between her palms and pressed them into her face and neck. Never rubbing. Just pressing with flat hands. Then she wrung a flannel out in hot water, not scalding, and laid it over her face for a minute while she sat on the edge of the bath. The warmth and the damp help the oil sink in and hold the water in the skin all night. Castor oil is thick and heavy so on its own on dry skin it just sits on top and feels sticky and that's where most folk go wrong. That's the heart of it and every trick after only helps that one along. So give this a like and hit subscribe so I can keep these old ways coming and let's get on with the rest. Number 19 Only two or three drops following straight on from that. Less is more with castor oil. It's so thick that a few drops is all you need for the whole face and neck. My mum often mixed it with an equal amount of olive or almond oil in the palm of her hand to thin it and make it spread more easily and that's how I do it too. And before we go on hold this in your head for it's the whole of what follows. Skin ages mostly for two reasons. It dries out and the sun gets at it. Keep the moisture in and keep the sun off and be gentle with it and your skin will do the rest. Number 18 Try a little first. Now I know what you're thinking won't it make me break out or leave me greasy and some skins don't take to it. I'll not pretend otherwise so don't put it all over your face the first night. Dab a little on the inside of your arm or behind your ear and leave it a day. If it goes red itchy or spotty it's not for you and that's that. If it's fine start on your face with just two drops and there's a couple coming up I'd hate for you to miss. There's an old trick from the kitchen drawer that sounds daft till you try it that's at number 12 and the one thing nearly everyone gets wrong every single night that's at number 6. Test it first and you'll never be sorry. By the way everything I show you here all the mixes and the old ways of running a house for less I've written a lot of it down in one place it's on my website nanmargret.shop and the link's right below the video. If you're watching on the telly hold your phone up to the little square on the screen and it'll take you straight there. Go and have a look if you fancy it that's all I'll say about it. Right now where were we? Number 17 warm water and a gentle soap here's one that catches nearly everyone hot water and strong soap strip the skin of its own oils and then it's tight and dry and looks older so wash your face in warm water never hot with a mild unperfumed soap or just a soft flannel and water in the morning. My mum washed her face with a plain bar of soap and a flannel gently never scrubbed at it and no rough scrubs or harsh toners for the skin at our age is thinner and needs a lighter hand treat your face like the good china not the saucepans. Number 16 pat and press never rub here's the plain truth every time you rub your face hard with a towel or drag your cream across your cheeks you're pulling at the skin and over the years it all adds up so when you dry your face pat it gently with a soft towel when you put anything on press it in with flat hands or use gentle upward strokes from your chin to your cheekbones my mum always said never pull your face down only ever up your skin remembers every tug so be gentle Number 15 a tiny dab round the eyes the skin round the eyes is the thinnest on the whole face and it's where the lines show first so after the rest of your face take the tiniest bit of oil on your ring finger the weakest finger and tap it gently round the bone under the eye and the crow's feet of the corners just a tap no rubbing and mind you keep it out of the eyes themselves for it'll blur your sight and sting a light touch round the eyes is all they ever need Number 14 don't forget your neck and your hands here's a thing folk never think of we look after our faces and forget that our neck and the backs of our hands show our age just as much so whatever you put on your face take it down your neck with upward strokes and rub what's left on your hands into the backs of them my mum did her neck and her hands every night and she had lovely hands right into her old age your neck and hands tell your age so look after them too Number 13 a hat and a bit of shade here's the plain truth and it's one the cream counters never make much of the sun ages the skin more than anything else more than the years themselves my mum never sat out in the sun without a straw hat and she wore a headscarf on a bright day and stayed in the shade when the sun was at its highest these days I wear a sun cream on my face every morning even in the winter and a hat in the garden no oil on earth can undo what the sun does so keep it off your face Number 12 a cold spoon for puffy eyes here it is the one I teased you with and it sounds daft till you try it my mum kept two teaspoons in the fridge overnight and in the morning if her eyes were puffy she laid the backs of the cold spoons on her eyelids for a minute or two while the kettle boiled the cold takes down the puffiness and wakes the face up cold wet tea bags from the pot do the same it costs nothing at all and you'll look fresher than any eye cream could make you keep two spoons in the fridge and you'll never look tired in the morning Number 11 sleep on your back here's one that surprises folk if you sleep with your face squashed into the pillow on the same side every night over the years it leaves creases down that side of your face so try to sleep on your back or at least change sides and use a smooth pillowcase a cotton sateen or a bit of silk if you've got it rather than a rough one and get your proper sleep for tired skin looks grey and lined by the morning your face does its mending while you sleep so give it a good night Number 10 a splash of rose water here's a proper old British one and folk still argue over whether it does anything my mum kept a bottle of rose water from the chemist in the bathroom cabinet and after washing she splashed a little on her face with cotton wool to freshen it before the oil ladies had done it since Victorian times now true or not she swore by it and so do I at the very least it does no harm it costs very little and it smells like a summer garden some of the old ways just want doing Number 9 oats for dry itchy skin when the skin goes dry and flaky in the winter my mum reached for the porridge oats a handful tied up in a bit of muslin or an old stocking soaked in warm water and squeezed gently over the face or dropped in the bath the milky water soothes dry skin and takes away the itch chemists sell creams made from oats now at a very dear price a handful of porridge oats in a stocking does the same job for pennies Number 8 feed your skin from the inside your skin is made from what you eat so what goes on your plate shows on your face so have oily fish like mackerel sardines or salmon once or twice a week an egg plenty of greens and fruit for the vitamin C and drink enough water through the day in the lean years we ate plain but we ate properly and it showed in our faces feed yourself right and your skin is fed right along with you Number 7 give it six weeks going back to the castor oil here's why so many women try it for a week and give up your skin takes about a month or more to renew itself so whatever you start today you'll not see the real difference in the mirror for a while you might feel it softer within a few nights but the proper change takes time so do it every night before bed like brushing your teeth and give it six weeks before you judge it slow and steady is how skin changes Number 6 take your makeup off gently here it is the one nearly everyone gets wrong so many women go to bed in their makeup when they're tired or scrub it off in a rush with those face wipes dragging them across the eyes and the cheeks both are hard on the skin my mum took her powder and lipstick off every single night and she did it with the very same oil a few drops of castor and olive oil on a warm damp flannel pressed on the face for a moment then gently wiped away and the makeup lifts off with it then a splash of warm water never go to bed in your makeup and never scrub it off Number 5 get your eyes tested here's one you'd never connect with your skin if you're forever squinting to read the paper or the telly or screwing your eyes up in the bright sun you're folding the skin round your eyes and between your brows thousands of times a day that's where the deep lines come from so get your eyes tested and wear your reading glasses and a pair of sunglasses on a bright day stop squinting and you'll stop those lines getting any deeper Number 4 a walk every day my mum walked everywhere to the shops to the market to see her sister across town and she always had colour in her cheeks a brisk walk in the fresh air gets the blood moving to the skin and brings a healthy glow that no blusher can copy so get out for a walk every day even just round the block even in the winter with your hat on fresh air and a bit of exercise are the best makeup there is Number 3 show the doctor any spot that changes and that brings me to the one I most want you to hear our skin changes as we get older and most of it is nothing to worry about but if a mole or a spot changes shape gets bigger bleeds itches or doesn't heal don't put oil on it and hope for the best go and show your GP caught early these things are usually simple to deal with my mum's old ways are for keeping good skin soft not for ignoring what your body's telling you the next one ties the whole lot together Number 2 keep the moisture in and the sun off it isn't really a trick it's the whole of it in one every single thing on this list comes down to two simple ideas keep the moisture in with a few drops of castor oil pressed into damp skin each night gentle washing and good food and keep the harm off with a hat and sun cream no scrubbing no pulling and no sleeping in your makeup get those two right and give it time and your skin will thank you do that and the 50lb jars and the counters at the department store become things you never need again and that brings us all the way to Number 1 Number 1 your lines are nothing to be ashamed of it sits above all the rest and it's this when you look after your skin the old way you never have to hide your face under a thick layer of powder never have to dread the mirror in the morning never have to hand over a small fortune for the next jar that promises the earth and here's what I really want you to hear love every line on your face is a laugh you had a worry you carried for someone you loved a summer you enjoyed there's nothing to hide there and if your skin has been feeling dry and tired and it's been quietly getting you down that isn't vanity either it's simply that nobody ever taught you the old ways how to keep the moisture in and how gentle a hand your skin needs that knowing was never lost and it isn't hard and it's every bit yours now press a few drops of castor oil into damp skin each night under a warm flannel wear your hat in the sun and treat your face kindly and you'll keep soft skin for years to come the way I have and never buy another face cream again so do me a favor this week pick just three buy a little bottle of pure castor oil from the chemist and try a drop on your arm first pop two teaspoons in the fridge for the morning and take your makeup off with oil and a warm flannel tonight and give them a proper go then come and tell me down in the comments how you get on because I read every single one and tell me this too what did your own mum or nan put on her face to keep her skin so lovely because that's how we keep it alive we pass it on right that's your lot for today give this a thumbs up if it set your mind at rest and subscribe so you don't miss me next sunday now put the kettle on wrap up warm and I'll see you next sunday tara for now