Jojoba oil: benefits and uses in natural cosmetics

Originally from the deserts of South America, Jojoba vegetable oil has been used for centuries for its very interesting virtues. It is used exclusively in cosmetology for skin care, promoting the beauty of the skin tissue. Moisturizing, it can be used for both oily and dry skin because of its ability to regulate and maintain a perfect balance. In the same way, it will constitute an intense capillary care for all types of hair. Latin name: Simmondsia chinensis Link. Part used : Nut.

Main properties

  • stabilizer : Jojoba vegetable oil greatly improves the stability of cosmetic products that include it in their composition.
  • Skin pH regulator : this vegetable oil maintains the balance of the skin's acidity. It increases the too low pH of dry skin and decreases the too high pH of oily skin.
  • sebum regulator : this vegetable oil regulates the production of sebum. Depending on the type of skin, it reduces or increases its production. It therefore improves the appearance of oily or acneic skin (excess sebum) and revitalizes dry skin (lack of sebum). It is also an intense care for oily, dry and brittle hair.
  • assouplissant : this vegetable oil restores suppleness and elasticity to the skin. It acts by activating the metabolism of elastin and slowing the loss of water in the cells. It can therefore fight against skin aging and wrinkles.
  • non-occlusive: via its composition in cerides, Jojoba oil allows to moisturize the skin without clogging its pores. Its comedogenic index is very low. This property also interests automotive manufacturers to create an additive for industrial lubricant renewable.
  • skin protector : this vegetable oil protects the skin cells. It contains a sun filter (protection 5) and also provides protection against pathogens by strengthening the hydrolipidic film of the skin.

Characteristics and composition

Cosmetic characteristics
  • Skin type: all skin types, oily, acneic, combination.
  • Type of hair: oily, hair loss, dull, dandruff, dry, brittle.

Organoleptic characteristics
  • Appearance: oily liquid
  • Color: light yellow to orange
  • Odor: soft, pleasant, reminiscent of hazelnut.
  • Touch : dry.

Characteristics for the formulation
  • Unsaponifiable and active ingredients : vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin H, vitamin K, vitamin PP.
  • Comedogenicity index : 0 (=non comedogenic)
  • Average saponification value: 92
  • Oxidation stability: excellent
  • Stability at high temperatures: good
  • INCI name: Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil

Fatty acid composition
  • erucic acid (omega 9 MUFA): 10 à 22 %
  • oleic acid (omega 9 MUFA) : 5 à 15 %
  • palmitic acid (SFA): ≤ 3 %
  • eicosenoic acid (omega 9 MUFA) : 65 à 80 %
  • behenic acid (SFA): ≤ 1 %
  • nervonic acid: ≤ 3,5 %
  • palmitoleic acid (omega 7 MUFA): ≤ 1 %

Physical characteristics
  • Density at 20°C: 0.863 à 0.873
  • Flash point : 175
  • Peroxide index : 10
  • Acid number : 2.500

Botanical characteristics
  • Botanical family: Buxaceae
  • Country of origin: Peru.
  • Distilled part: nut
  • Production process : first cold pressing
  • Latin name : Simmondsia chinensis Link

Precautions for use

Authorized use of the product

Dermal route

Authorized users

Adults and Teens Children under 6 years old Pregnant and nursing women Babies under 3 years old

Storage

Preferably stored in a cool place, away from light and heat.

Against greasy hair

Efficiency : ++++

Sebum-regulating and non-greasy, Jojoba oil is used in many hair care products for oily and dandruff-prone hair. Lipolytic essential oils (such as Atlas Cedar or Grapefruit) should be used as a back-up, but Jojoba can already do the job well.

  • Application Tip: 30 minutes before your shampoo, massage your scalp with the equivalent of one tablespoon of Jojoba oil.
  • Complementary essential oil(s): use in synergy with essential oils: essential oils for oily hair.

As a make-up remover

Efficiency : ++++

Jojoba softens and cleanses the skin with a double action:

  • It softens the skin by forming a lipidic layer, with very little occlusion, and it diffuses into the intercellular spaces of the stratum corneum (stratum corneum). In experiments, it was shown that the suppleness of the skin of controls was improved by 45%, for more than 8 hours! An excellent daily skin care product for skin that lacks suppleness. Jojoba vegetable oil is said to be highly emollient.
  • Jojoba oil is also said to be non-greasy thanks to its biochemical composition that is very close to some of that of human sebum. This particularity makes it very easily absorbed by the epidermis. It penetrates easily and does not grease the outside of the skin. The pores of the latter thus remain open and keep their precious functionality. We say therefore of Jojoba vegetable oil that it is non-occlusive and non-comedogenic.

The combination of the 2 properties previously mentioned, emollient and non-greasy, make Jojoba oil the ideal candidate for a deep cleansing of the epidermis: by applying it regularly, you will unclog your skin's pores of everything that can clog them, including excess sebum.

In case of Acne, Acneic skin

Efficiency : ++++

Can you fight acne with Jojoba oil? Yes and no. Let's be clear, no vegetable oil fights effectively against acne alone, essential oils will be necessary: Tea Tree, True Lavender, Lemon Eucalyptus, etc. But these essential oils often have to be diluted, and this is where Jojoba comes in. As a non-greasy vegetable oil and sebo-regulating, it is very indicated. Here is an effective mixture against acne, based on Jojoba.

  • Application advice: Only for 6+ years. To be repeated twice a day for 10 to 15 days. Put 3 to 4 drops of this mixture on the inflamed pimples : 35 drops of Lemon Eucalyptus essential oil 35 drops of Tea Tree essential oil 50 drops of essential oil of Lavender Fine 120 drops of Jojoba vegetable oil More details or other users: essential oils and Jojoba for acne.

As Deodorant (manufacturing), Perfume (manufacturing)

Efficiency : ++++

To make your deodorants or natural perfumes, you will need essential oils, but also a good base. Jojoba oil is perfectly indicated, for 2 reasons:

  • Jojoba's molecular configuration allows it to significantly reduce trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), without completely blocking perspiration: the perfect balance for an effective, yet non-harmful deodorant base.
  • Its great stability will allow it to last over time, without the risk of the peroxide level skyrocketing.

To learn how to create your perfumes on a Jojoba base, follow this guide: creating your perfume with essential oils

In case of oily skin

Efficiency : ++++

Jojoba oil is also suitable for oily skin care, being a non-comedogenic oil. It will allow to nourish the skin, which will reduce the secretion of compensatory sebum, without suffocating it and promote the formation of acne pimples or blemishes. Moreover, Jojoba oil is non-greasy and easily absorbed by the skin.

  • Application advice: massage the skin with 2 to 3 drops of Jojoba, morning and evening, every day.
  • Complementary essential oil(s): essential oils of Rose Geranium or even Green Mandarin can be added (1%) as a complementary care to the HV.

Against dandruff, dull hair, dry hair, brittle hair

Effectiveness: ++.

Yes, Jojoba oil is suitable for oily hair and dry hair, but not for the same reasons. Regarding dry, brittle and dull hair, it is the properties related to the cerides that compose it that interest us, including:

  • Protective power: just as the plant cuticle protects the leaf, jojoba protects the hair. It is thus very appreciated in the lengths and on the ends to strengthen and soften them.
  • Shine enhancement: Jojoba has an incomparable keratoplastic effect that reinforces the natural color and shine of the hair.

Jojoba is therefore going to be particularly interesting on the ends and lengths of dry hair.

  • Application advice : Similarly to oily hair, 1 to 2 tablespoons of pure Jojoba will suffice, 30 minutes before each shampoo, except that here you spread it on the hair, on the lengths especially, and not massaged on the scalp.
  • Complementary essential oil(s): if you want to strengthen these effects, feel free to add a few drops of essential oil of Fine Lavender and Ylang Ylang Complete (15 drops of each for 2 tablespoons of Jojoba) to make you a natural and powerful anti-dry and brittle hair care.
  • Other suitable vegetable oils: Argan, Avocado, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Coconut, Blackberry

To fight against hair loss

Effectiveness: ++.

Of course, it depends on the cause of the hair loss in question. Many scalp problems are related to a buildup of hardened sebum that clogs the hair follicles and can interfere with their normal function, which can lead to follicle death.

  • Jojoba penetrates easily (thanks to the penetrating properties studied above) into the scalp, loosens and dissolves this hardening.
  • The scalp and hair follicles are left clean and free (jojoba is non-occlusive).
  • Application Tip: 30 minutes before your shampoo, massage your scalp with the equivalent of one tablespoon of Jojoba oil.

To fight against wrinkles

Efficiency: +.

Jojoba vegetable oil cleanses, softens, even disinfects the epidermis. As a result, Jojoba is excellent at preventing and fighting skin aging. According to laboratory tests, Jojoba can reduce fine facial wrinkles. After a single application of Jojoba, in a sample of 20 women, these wrinkles were reduced by 26% after one hour, 18% after 4 hours, 11% after 8 hours. A temporary effect? Certainly after only one application, probably not in the case of a regular application.

  • Application advice: massage the skin with 2 to 3 drops of Jojoba, morning and evening, every day.
  • Complementary essential oil(s): against wrinkles, you can add a few drops of rose geranium essential oil into your Jojoba to increase its effectiveness.
  • Other suitable vegetable oils: Hemp, Rose Hip, Apricot Kernel or Prickly Pear Seed.

In case of Wound

Efficiency: +.

Some tests have shown that 5 of the most common skin bacteria (including staphylococcus and pseudomonas bacteria) could not survive in Jojoba oil, as well as some fungi. However, this is really too weak an indicator to speak of an antibacterial and antifungal oil: only essential oils are really powerful for these applications. So do not disinfect a wound with Jojoba alone. Jojoba will, however, be an excellent base for diluting your Tea Tree essential oil if needed.

Scientific basis for the properties of Jojoba

For the record, Jojoba oil is the historical cosmetic replacement for... whalebone (or spermaceti for friends)! It's true. We thank this surprising oil for saving the few remaining sperm whales on earth. But what is so special about jojoba and whalebone that it is so sought after? How can we explain the properties that we have highlighted in the previous paragraphs?

UNIQUE COMPOSITION OF CERAMICS

The cerides are esters of fatty alcohol and a fatty acid, and it is them which made the interest of the white of whale quoted above (the white of whale contains palmitate of cetyl, a very useful ceride). Jojoba, it is 60% of cerides. It is these very long esters (C40) that give Jojoba oil its inimitable texture (velvety, waxy), stability (as seen above), protective properties, and non-greasy lubricant. Jojoba is today the only known plant to produce cerides!

EXCEPTIONAL OXIDATION AND HIGH TEMPERATURE STABILITY

It may not seem like a big deal, but the main problem with natural cosmetics for the mass market is the poor shelf life of natural products. And jojoba oil solves this problem brilliantly thanks to two factors:

  • Its particularly stable molecular configuration: the long ester chains that make up jojoba are much less reactive to oxidation than those that make up most HVs, which are composed mainly of conventional fatty acids.
  • And the presence of antioxidants. So, on this point, scientists still don't quite understand what's going on: the level of tocopherols, the free radical scavenger usually found in HVs that keep well, is quite classic (50ppm - part per million). This alone does not explain the extraordinary oxidation stability of Jojoba vegetable oil. Scientists are therefore leaning towards the presence of a very powerful antioxidant, still unknown to this day.

As a result... Jojoba vegetable oil greatly improves the stability of cosmetic products that include it in their composition: a scoop for a natural product, no?

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CLOSE TO THAT OF HUMAN SEBUM

Everywhere in books and on the internet, the chemical proximity between Jojoba and human sebum is touted. But what is it really? Human sebum is composed of triglycerides and fatty acids (57.5%), wax esters (26%) and squalene (12%). Jojoba, on the other hand, is composed almost exclusively of wax esters. And indeed, the esters of Jojoba and sebum are almost identical! To be precise, we can say that Jojoba is almost identical to 25% of sebum.

This similarity gives jojoba oil excellent emollient (softens and relaxes body tissues), moisturizing (penetrates the skin very well) and non-occlusive properties... just like sebum, whose production it can regulate if necessary.

Jojoba Organic Virgin Vegetable Oil

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