Jojoba oil

Liquid wax obtained by cold pressing from the ripe seeds of Simmondsia chinenesis, the jojoba shrub.

Called "jojoba oil", it is an almost odorless, oily, clear to yellow liquid at room temperature, becoming viscous or solid at lower temperatures. It is soluble in acetone, miscible with ethers, fatty oils and kerosenes. Jojoba oil, unlike most vegetable oils, is not a fat but is composed of wax esters (1 mole of a long-chain alcohol is esterified with 1 mole of a long-chain fatty acid). This composition of wax esters leads to special characteristics of jojoba wax, especially to a high resistance to oxidation (rancidity). Jojoba oil is mainly used for cosmetic and skin care purposes.

gadoleic acid, erucic acid, oleic acid

Jojoba oil contains provitamin A and vitamin E and has a pleasantly caring character due to its favourable fatty acid composition (long-chain wax esters). Thus "Jojoba oil" does not leave an oily film on the skin when applied. It has a "non-occlusive effect (Patzelt A et al. 2012)" and because of these properties it is often used as massage oil.

Jojoba oil has an anti-inflammatory effect and can be used for a number of skin diseases (skin infections, skin aging, wound healing). A demonstrable effect of pure jojoba oil can be demonstrated in a mild Ache vulgaris (Meier L et al. 2012). It is also used in cosmetic formulations. Jojoba oil has a natural sun protection factor of about 3 and is therefore also used as base oil for sun protection products (Pazyar N et al. 2013; Touitou E et al. 2008).

1. Burger A et al. (1993) Hunnius Pharmazeutisches Wörterbuch 7th edition Walter de Gruyter Berlin-New York pp. 1295-1296.
2. Meier L et al. (2012) Clay jojoba oil facial mask for lesioned skin and mild acne--results of a prospective, observational pilot study. Forsch Komplementmed 19:75-79.
3. Patzelt A et al. (2012) In vivo investigations on the penetration of various oils and their influence on the skin barrier. Skin Res Technol 18:364-369.
4. Pazyar N et al. (2013) Jojoba in dermatology: a succinct review. G Ital Dermatol Venereol 148:687-691.
5. Touitou E et al (2008) Skin nonpenetrating sunscreens for cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations. Clin Dermatol 26:375-379.