The Wonder Oil - Jojoba
How many of you know about the wonderful properties of a nut that grows in the deserts of the southwest and Mexico? Since I don’t see many hands raised, allow me to elaborate. This super nut is called Jojoba (pronounced ho ho bah) and its skin care properties are many and varied. When pressed, this nut produces the common form of jojoba oil that can be store bought and applied directly to skin and hair. On its molecular level it is technically not an oil but a plant wax.
Apply jojoba directly to the skin to enjoy its moisturizing properties by sealing the skin with a protective barrier that keeps it from losing moisture. This property also aids in the prevention of bacterial invasions and even acne. Acne can raise its ugly head when the skin creates too much sebum, an oily substance produced in dermal glands. Jojoba’s chemistry is very similar to sebum and applying to the skin assists the gland into reducing formation, thus stunting the oiliness that often precedes acne formation.
Jojoba also has antioxidant properties that will protect skin from harmful pollutants and everyday toxins. We humans, as a whole, are all too familiar with the dangers of unseen emanations from factories, chemical plants, etc.
One of the most important benefits of jojoba is that it can help the body produce collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and provides our skin with structure. As we age our body produces less and less collagen giving rise to wrinkles. Why in the world wouldn’t anyone use a harmless product to stave off father time? Its use in many organic moisturizing creams, as opposed to a petroleum based mineral oil, provides a panoply of assistance to aid in repair the skin.
Other benefits of jojoba include the speeding up of wound healing and sunburn, can minimize the appearance of scars, soothe eczema, psoriasis and other dry skin conditions.
Jojoba also shows proven benefits for the hair and scalp. It contains 98% monosaturated fats which deeply penetrate into the hair shaft and moisturize and nourish it. Before shampooing use jojoba as a deep conditioner for hair and scalp. Tame frizzy hair by using jojoba between hair washes.
When buying jojoba it is best to use an organic version that employs the cold press method to extract the oil from the nut. Cold pressed varieties retain a greater number of antioxidants than the hot pressed variety which is much more commercial.