Castor oil is the latest weight loss 'hack', but here's what experts want you to know.

In other news, people are now rubbing castor oil on their stomach to lose weight. And friends, how did we get here?

Because it's 2024, and we've suddenly found ourselves in an age of weight loss drugs. Slimmed-down celebrities. 'Ozempic face'.

And now, viral diet trends like TikTok's 'oatzempic' method, berberine, chia seed drinks and celery juice cleanses are being touted as alternative weight loss tools.

The most recent 'hack'? Castor oil.

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For the uninitiated, influencers on social media are touting castor oil as the new 'natural' alternative to weight loss. Applied to your stomach (often, together with a 'stomach wrap' or a compression band) or rubbed into your belly button before bed, it's become something of a nightly beauty routine you'll often see as part of those viral 'morning shed' videos.

For example, influencer @jade.here told her followers about the trend, saying: "This might be the natural Ozempic. I don't know about this stuff but the craziest things are happening when people are putting this in their belly button."

Sigh.

"Other girls have said it cured their PCOS — they hadn't had their period in like a year, they put castor oil in their belly button and they got it within a week. It's also supposed to help with cysts," she added.

And if it sounds like oil curing PCOS is an insane call — that's because it is.

In another TikTok, @thrivewithcandice shared with her followers: "I love to apply mine with the wrap and keep it on all night whenever I'm in my menstrual phase or when I'm experiencing digestive discomfort. Castor oil benefits are no joke."

Of course, experts are recommending anybody who is considering this hack to approach with caution and consult a medical professional — because as with many of these viral trends, it's essentially just toxic diet culture rebranded. And the expectations can be really bloody dangerous.

As KIC founder and Australian fitness influencer Steph Claire Smith shared on her TikTok, "Social media is flooded with quick fixes and so-called 'miracle' weight-loss hacks, many of which promise instant results with minimal effort. But trust me, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. While they may seem tempting, especially with the constant influx of before-and-after photos, these trends can be incredibly misleading and, in most cases, harmful."

"Diet culture has convinced so many of us that there's an easy way to a 'healthier' body, but true health doesn't come in a jar or with a one-night transformation. Unfortunately, many quick fixes — like the latest castor oil belly button trend (which is absolutely wild) — don't just lack real results; they perpetuate a toxic cycle of unrealistic expectations and even dangerous behaviours."

What are the benefits of rubbing castor oil on your stomach?

KIC's dietitian and nutritionist, Olivia Morrison, also shared her thoughts with Mamamia, calling the trend 'ridiculous'. And for good reason.

"Putting castor oil on your stomach or in your belly button before bed isn't necessarily bad, because it doesn't do much of anything. At best, it'll hydrate your skin. The claims that sleeping with castor oil in your navel causes weight loss are absolutely ridiculous."

"From what I've seen online, people doing this trend are performing a type of abdominal massage when applying the castor oil. Abdominal massage is a proven and effective technique to improve digestive symptoms like bloating and constipation." 

"The castor oil packs being sold with this trend are essentially a strap that wraps around your stomach to keep the oil in your belly button, these do a similar thing. The pressure applied to the abdomen can reduce gas. Both the abdominal massage and stomach packs are creating an illusion of 'overnight weight loss' but they're actually just ways you can improve digestion and gut motility." 

So, will it actually do anything besides possibly hydrating your skin and maybe making you fart?

"Applying castor oil onto your skin isn't going to create a drastic caloric shift needed for fat loss, nor is it a 'gateway' to your gastrointestinal tract. Adult belly buttons aren't connected to an organ, it's just a scar. There are numerous layers of skin, fat, connective tissue and muscle before reaching the intestines and lucky for us, our body isn't permeable enough to have oils or similar topical substances absorb right through."

Touché

What are the dangers of the castor oil trend?

While there's little danger in applying castor oil to your skin, Morrison told us several aspects of this trend are promoting disordered eating behaviours. 

"Firstly, almost every social media post promoting it is doing a 'fit check' to show their audience a drastic before and after transformation. The medical term for this is 'body checking' and is heavily linked to body dysmorphia and creating disordered eating behaviours," she explained.

"The viewer doesn't have the full picture of these 'fit checks' so [the video] can easily deceive people into believing a weight loss fad works, when in reality the before and after video/picture was taken a long time apart or there are other facts at play e.g. diet modification."

There's also the fact people online are not only just applying it to their skin — but also ingesting it for weight loss.

As castor oil is classified as a stimulant laxative, Morrison said this is concerning. "It's like we're stepping back to 2013 with the laxative 'detox' teas all over again."

"The laxative abuse is common in the eating disorder community, often used as a way to hide restrictive eating behaviours and malabsorb food, so the promotion and normalisation of consuming castor oil online is very worrying as vulnerable people are most likely to see this content."

Read: It's a slippery slope.

"Research shows that using stimulant laxatives like castor oil doesn't increase fat loss and isn't an effective strategy to lose weight; they predominately cause dehydration and can irreversibly damage your gut," she said.

While castor oil is one of the oldest types of laxatives, Morrison said it's not recommended by health professionals anymore for good reason — the adverse effects are plentiful. "It's important to note that castor oil laxatives are not safe for people with kidney or liver issues and can interact with medications."

Of course, this 'quick fix' trend when it comes to weight loss isn't anything new. In fact, it joins a slew of many, many other questionable health and wellness challenges found on social media. But while the 'castor oil' hack might sound quite harmless, there's a reason experts (like Morrison) are warning people to avoid it at all costs.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," said told us. "It's important to question who you're getting weight loss or health advice from online… are they a trusted source? Is this backed up by any health professionals? Is there a monetary motive behind telling me this?"  

"Unfortunately, what works for sustainable, healthy weight loss isn't something you can purchase on Amazon."

What are your thoughts on the castor oil trend? Share them with us in the comment section below.

Feature image: TikTok/@jade.here, @thrivewithcandice.