This month, the first natural ingredient I’m going to cover in this series of natural ingredient reviews is Jojoba oil. This is my favorite oil (though technically it’s not an “oil” which I’ll explain in a minute) because it really is the closest thing to your skins own natural sebum.

A popular ingredient in shampoos and conditioners back in the 1970s, this valued skin care ingredient is now mostly found in high-end skin care, spa, and aromatherapy products. It is considered the best type of carrier oil for blending and diluting essential oils because its relatively neutral smell and low viscosity (thickness) –when compared to the odor profile and consistency of other carrier oils– do not interfere with the smell of the aromatherapy blend or diluted essential oil. But that is only one of its numerous benefits.

Jojoba oil is naturally rich in antioxidants so it’s both moisturizing AND protective of the skin, but its not greasy, will not clog pores, and leaves no oily after-feel. In fact the benefits of this ingredient are so substantial, I’m surprised that it isn’t more prevalent in skin and body care products, but that’s another topic more suited for a future post!

Let’s look at some of the specific benefits. Jojoba oil:

• Helps moisturize extra dry and flaky skin, making it an excellent ingredient for face and body moisturizers.
• Will not block pores, cause blackheads or promote acne –making it a good ingredient to have in your facial cleanser.
• Prevents wrinkles and minimizes lines due to dry or aging skin — making it an obvious choice for dry skin and anti-aging treatments.
• Assists in lubricating the skin and reducing moisture loss, making it more supple, smoother and softer, and improving its appearance over time.
• Has very high stability and will not turn rancid, giving it an excellent shelf life, which minimizes and often eliminates the need for preservatives.
• Doesn’t stain. It easily washes out of clothing and linens with hot water and detergent.

So what is Jojoba oil? Even though Jojoba looks and feels like an oil and is usually referred to as an oil, it’s actually a liquid wax ester, which is what 25 – 30% of our skin’s surface layer is made of (i.e. sebum).

As we age, our skin produces less and less lipids (fats and wax esters), resulting in wrinkles and more fragile, drier skin. This is especially true for women. Jojoba’s rapid absorption just deep enough into the skin’s surface layer (stratum corneum) provides all-day moisture that leaves skin feeling soft and smooth.

The seed from which Jojoba oil is extracted contains alpha, delta, and gamma tocopherols, which represent all the known forms of vitamin E. In fact, the extractable liquid content of matured jojoba seeds can be as high in vitamin E content as 50% to 54% –that’s what makes this ingredient’s anti-aging effect is so strong.

In addition to its excellent moisturizing properties, the other cool thing about Jojoba is that it can actually be used to treat excessively oily and acne prone skin, substantially slowing down sebum production. Because of it’s almost interchangeable nature with human sebum, it’s suspected that by mimicking sebum, Jojoba oil “tricks” the skin into stopping the further production of sebum. This also means that it will assist in breaking down sebum in plugged-up pores.

In my opinion, the versatility of this oil along with its many benefits, make it one of the best, if not the best, natural plant-derived skin care ingredient available.

Posted November 7th, 2009 under Health and Beauty, Ingredients. Tags: Ingredients, jojoba, moisturizer, natural, organic, Skin Care, skincare
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