Tried and tested: Jojoba

I am a self-confessed facial oil nut. Actually, scratch that. I’m not impartial to a body oil or hair oil either, so let’s leave it as a self-confessed oil nut. 

But in all my travels over the years I have yet to try jojoba. While technically not an oil – it’s a wax ester plant extract – the liquid that comes from the jojoba plant looks and feels just like one, which is why so many people assume that jojoba is an oil. Anyway, technicalities aside, I was more than game when The Jojoba Company 100% Natural Australian Jojoba was put on my desk and I was tasked with trialling it.

If you don’t know anything about jojoba let me give you some background: first of all, it’s pronounced ho-ho-buh (no joe-joe-buh), and it’s the only known plant that produces a wax ester instead of oil. The rich formulation works to mimic your skin’s natural oils to not only replenish and rejuvenate skin, but it has also been known to help with eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, rosacea, acne, stretchmarks, scars and a whole slew of other skin concerns. 

So, here’s what I thought after trialling The Jojoba Company 100% Natural Australian Jojoba for a couple of weeks. 

#1 / My dry winter skin felt amazing

As soon as autumn set in, my skin took a turn. No longer plump and glowing, it felt dry and tight and was looking a little lacklustre. I started using the jojoba at night (after cleansing and using my glycolic serum) in place of my night cream, smoothing it down my neck and across my chest. Did my skin feel oily to the touch? Yes, but it absorbed fairly quickly and I’d describe the feeling as being similar to after you walk out of a facial. Hydrated, but still lightweight. 

After a few days I noticed my skin started to look and feel so much better. No more tightness, no more dullness. And my makeup was looking better for it, too. 

While there are plenty of skin care options that can help fight winter dryness, the one thing that sets jojoba apart is that it can actually penetrate deeper under the skin’s surface than most ingredients. I imagine that’s why it didn’t take that long to notice a change in my skin, and why I saw more of a change than when I was using some of my other facial oils.

#2 / It did not cause any breakouts

Most people would look at the jojoba formulation and think that the oil-like formula would leave skin oilier and lead to pimples and breakouts. It’s the absolute opposite. Jojoba can help rebalance your skin and actually help control natural oil production and reduce breakouts. 

It sounds counter-intuitive – I know. I have had many suspicious glares from oily-skinned, pimple-prone friends when I suggested using jojoba, but I really am not trying to lead anyone astray. It works. In fact, I had a really nasty pimple on my forehead (pre-100% Natural Australian Jojoba, I swear!) that I was dying to pop but instead I put jojoba’s healing powers to the test. Not only did the pimple completely disappear without a trace, but there weren’t any new surprise pimples to deal with in its place. 

So there you go – jojoba is 100 per cent oily skin friendly. And dry skin friendly. And sensitive skin friendly… I think you get my drift.

#3 / It was a wonderful little multitasker

I have an awful winter habit of putting my skin through hot showers followed by sitting in close proximity to a gas heater. It’s really bad for my skin, I know that. So what I did to counteract this abuse of my limbs was slather them in the 100% Natural Australian Jojoba post-shower – when my skin was still a little wet. I found this left my once-scaly and flaky skin looking and feeling so much better.

Final verdict

I’m already quite accustomed to the texture of an oil, so using the 100% Natural Australian Jojoba wasn’t a huge jump for me, but I did really love what it did for my complexion. It was softer, smoother, more plump, and overall more even and glowing – a major plus when I do love a makeup free weekend.

Did you know jojoba wasn't actually an oil? Have you tried jojoba before? Please share with us in the comments section below

Image credit: Sevak Babakhani