Jojoba oil is a MUST in any skincare regime but more so in the natural skincare industry. It is no surprise it is highly sought after for formulations given its unique chemical properties. It is a versatile oil and has many uses beyond skincare. This post looks at why jojoba oil has enjoyed a longevity in many industries, particularly the skincare one and why new possibilities are opening up for this amazing oil.
Skin health is maintained by an oily (waxy) secretion called sebum; 25-30% of the skin's sebum is made up of wax esters. The prime role of wax esters is to hold moisture in the skin, which keeps skin looking and feeling firm. As we hit our early 20's, our production of wax esters starts to decrease, allowing moisture to escape from skin cells. This begins the ageing process of skin. Jojoba is the only plant known to produce wax esters similar to those in our skin. Jojoba is naturally hypoallergenic and contains powerful antioxidants, Omega 6 & 9 fatty acids, and Vitamins A, D and E. Remarkably, when applied to skin, the wax esters in jojoba provide similar nurturing and moisturising properties as our own sebum. Skin recognises jojoba as its own and lets it in to deliver active ingredients into the deeper layers of our skin.
A Remarkable Molecule
The natural wax esters found within jojoba are similar to the wax esters found in our skin. This can be seen when you compare the molecular structure of jojoba with the wax esters found in our skin. Pure jojoba provides the same protective a nd nurturing benefits to our skin as it does to its own plant cells.
The seeds (nuts) of jojoba that come from the jojoba plant contain up to 60% of their weight in oil, which is best isolated by cold pressing of the seeds. The golden ‘jojoba oil’ obtained is really not an ‘oil’, but a ‘ liquid wax’. Its structure is devoid of glycerine, the backbone in the structure of all oils and fats. Jojoba liquid wax is called an oil only because it is a liquid.- Jojoba oil is a clear, golden-colored, unsaturated liquid wax with no scent or greasy feel. Jojoba oil gives little or no calories when consumed as it does not have any large amounts of the fatty acids which are normally in the structure of fats and oils. This liquid wax remains a lubricant in the digestive system and definitely has no cholesterol. However, the word oil is used because it is simpler to accept due to the fact that it looks like an oil, and the word liquid wax is not as easy to accept for the consumers
- Different than jojoba oil, plant oils and solid fats are triglycerides with a glycerine backbone from which different fatty acid branch out – like a tree. To emphasise further the differences, jojoba oil is only called an oil because it is a liquid-like. Jojoba oil is a straight 42 carbon atom chain unsaturated ester of fatty acids and fatty alcohols, each of which is made up of 20-21 carbon atoms and thus the fatty acids in jojoba oil are not 16-18 carbon atoms of the fatty acids commonly found and known in various oils and fats.
Jojoba oil uses may be summed up in three main categories:
- Natural cosmetic uses by using it "as-is", as if it is a liquid cream, a hair oil, or massage oil.
- Industrial cosmetic uses, by using it as an improver and constituent of shampoos, conditioners, body lotions, creams, soaps, lipstick, etc.
- As an industrial oil, as an improver of lubrication oils of cars, aeroplanes and various machines, and also as a surfactant improver of paints, varnishes, plastics, waxes, etc. In waxing, it can be used "as-is" or mixed with other waxes.
The uses of jojoba oil were initially limited for its use as-is for treatment and beautification of facial complexion and hair and then it was included in the various cosmetic industries. The jojoba oil which is obtained as a second grade oil from the remaining by-products of the jojoba seed pressing using chemical extraction by hexane or cyclohexane solvents of jojoba cake residue (called jifit) is used only for industrial uses, mainly lubricants. These uses include waxing of materials, and the improvement of car oil as jojoba oil withstands high motor oil temperature. This is so because of the high boiling point of jojoba oil which is 389 degrees Celcius. It has a great capacity to prevent oil oxidation and it is effective in preserving car motor oil's viscosity and that of other motors for a long period which in turn increases the motor life, and its efficiency under the high temperature and pressure uses. About 50 ml of jojoba oil per litre of the car's motor oil or transmission oil is generally used to extend the use of car oil to 20,000 kilometres of driving before it has to be changed.
Jojoba oil use as a cooking oil remains limited because of its high cost and it seems it will remain relatively expensive for some time because the quantities produced worldwide from jojoba trees are very limited.
Q. Why should one use Jojoba Oil, and what are its benefits?
Q. What are the general scientific benefits?
There is a justified trend world-wide to use natural products because of the fear of introducing carcinogenic changes in the human body and on the skin through synthetic chemicals. Jojoba seed oil is natural and when produced organically is safe for the human body. Its major use "as-is" for facial and hair cosmetic products is desired as an effective and good selling point for such products because of the following:
Because it penetrates into skin rapidly without leaving any oily traces within only a few seconds as it is a straight unsaturated ester chain of fatty alcohols and fatty acids which is unlike the branched fatty oils. Also, jojoba oil resembles the oil of the skin known as sebum. It is so immediate in this rapid penetration that one may think it evaporated, but really it did enter the skin – and what enters the skin is what really gives a true benefit. Thus, this oil keeps the skin and hair from drying. It is a reliable remedy against nappy rash for babies.
- Jojoba oil prevents chapping and rash, and prevents wrinkle formation if used as a night cream.
- For the hair, it keeps it smooth and silky with a slight shine and prevents hair fall-out.
- For massage, it is soothing and relaxing and helps in the relief of pain.
Jojoba: A Potential Desert Oil Crop
Jojoba is a new oil-producing industrial crop that has attracted much attention in recent years. Jojoba oil is unique in nature. No other plant is known to produce oil like jojobas. It is used in the cosmetic, medical, pharmaceutical, food products, manufacturing, and automotive industries (as lubricant). And it is a renewable energy resource. It is remarkable to note that, in spite of the variability in size or where grown, each jojoba seed contains an average of 50% pure oil by volume. Jojoba is native to the semiarid regions of southern Arizona, southern California and northwestern Mexico. Now Jojoba is being cultivated in Israel and Rajasthan, India to provide a renewable source of unique high-quality oil. Much of the interest in jojoba worldwide is the result of the plant's ability to survive in a harsh desert environment. Jojoba can be grown as an oil-producing cash crop. Jojoba is very drought-resistant and can be grown on marginal lands without replacing any existing crops. Fully mature shrubs or trees can reach a height of 15 feet with a potential natural life span of 100 to 200 years depending on environmental conditions. For optimum production, the crop needs irrigation, care, and a good cultivar.
The arid lands of Rajasthan are all set to usher in a revolution in Indian agriculture, with planned large-scale cultivation of the exotic jojoba plant. Rajasthan government has allotted 110 hectareof wastelands including 70 hectares at Fatehpur in Sikar district and 40 hectares at Dhand in Jaipur district for jojoba plantation. Jojoba plantation project was formulated in 1995 for a period of five years, with a revised financial outlay of around 670000 USD to be met by central assistance. Jojoba in the country is now being grown in an estimated area of about 500 hectare and the area is increasing every year. The production estimate for this plantation is 25 million tonne. About 90% of the jojoba cultivation is in Rajasthan.
Technologists and scientists believe that jojoba oil shows a lot of promise as an alternative source of fuel. It releases a lot of energy when it burns. The driving force to find such fuel source stems from the need to find an alternative fuel to petroleum oil. In addition to this, the renaewable nature of jojoba is a very attractive prospect indeed and it can produce less pollution. Jojoba oil also appears to be promising with regards to its cultivation in the relatively hot weather. Considering Jojoba’s potential as an oilseed feedstock for biodiesel, it is possible to establish this untapped resource as an alternative source for the biodiesel industry of future.
The History of Jojoba
Jojoba began receiving serious attention in the early 1970’s, with the enactment of the Endangered Species Act. The Sperm Whale, considered an endangered species under the parameters set up by this Act, became protected to the extent that no sperm whale oil could be imported into the US. Up until then we had been importing 55 million gallons of the oil each year. Sperm whale oil is currently stockpiled, for use in national emergencies. The head of the Sperm Whale contains vast quantities of sperm oil (actually an unsaturated wax) and a solid white wax called spermaceti. The Sperm Whale’s blubber contains ever more sperm oil. A large Sperm Whale can yield several tons of the oil and the
wax.
Without the Sperm Whale as a source of these materials, a search for substitutes began. Synthetic substitutes are difficult to produce, so other natural sources were investigated. A fish known as the Orange Roughy makes a similar oil, but it has been so overfished that it could not be counted on as a long term solution. The Jojoba plant was considered too. People have been using Jojoba for a long time. Early Spanish explorers found Native Americans roasting the seeds for a coffee-like beverage, and observed them squeezing oil from the seeds for use as a hair dressing and medicine. Mexican historian Francisco Clavijero was the first person to write about the species in 1789, and used the word “Jojoba”. It probably is a corruption of the Native peoples’ name for the plant. It has been known since 1933 that its seeds contain an oil (50% by weight) almost identical in chemical composition to sperm whale oil. Prior to the Endangered Species Act, however, it was more economical to get the oil from the Sperm Whale. Interestingly, Jojoba was seriously considered as a source of oil earlier. Experimental plantings were established at the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum in Superior Arizona in 1925, and Jojoba oil was used during WW II in motors and transmissions for military equipment. After the war ended, petroleum became plentiful, and Jojoba oil use declined. Jojoba is the only plant known to produce this oil, composed of fatty alcohols and fatty acids instead of glycerol and fatty acids like most oils.
Today there are an amazing number of potential uses for Jojoba oil. They include: cosmetics, lubricants for everything from artificial hearts to watches, motors, and transmissions, low-calorie cooking oil that does not become rancid, antifoaming agents in fermentation, candle wax, polishes, coatings for fruits and pills, insulation for batteries and wires, varnishes and paints, detergents, plastics and resins, leather softeners, transformer coolants, and more. Despite all these potential uses, almost all the Jojoba oil produced goes to the cosmetics industry for use in lotions and shampoos. At hundreds of dollars per gallon, few other uses are economically feasible. In fact, even the cosmetic industry uses other natural oils and petroleum products as substitutes for Jojoba oil. Petroleum is very inexpensive by comparison. Many believe that if the price of Jojoba oil would drop, many new markets for it would open.
Native Americans extracted the oil from jojoba seeds to treat sores and wounds centuries ago. Collection and processing of seed from naturally occurring stands in the early 1970s marked the beginning of jojoba domestication. In addition, the ban on the importation of sperm whale products in 1971 led to the discovery that jojoba oil is in many regards superior to sperm oil for applications in the cosmetics and other industries.
Today, 40,000 acres of jojoba are under cultivation in the southwestern U.S. Much of the interest in jojoba worldwide is the result of the plant's ability to survive in a harsh desert environment. The utilization of marginal land that will not support more conventional agricultural crops could become a major asset to the global agricultural economy. The oldest commercial jojoba plantings in the U.S. were established in the late 1970s, and present production of jojoba oil is in the range of thousands of tons per year. The major world producers are the United States and Mexico, with considerable quantities of oil being exported to Japan and Europe.
Why is Jojoba oil so expensive?
Collecting the seeds from wild stands is very time consuming, and the harvest is unreliable from year to year. The commercial growing of Jojoba began in earnest in the 1970's. Native Americans (Apaches, with Federal subsidies) and traditional farmers started the first Jojoba plantations. But, get-rich-quick schemes attracted a wide assortment of individuals into the Jojoba growing business. Most efforts failed, and that put a damper on the whole industry. There were several reasons for the failures in what could have been a successful industry. There was limited information on the cultivation techniques necessary to make large-scale plantations profitable. Insect and disease control, fertilization and irrigation needs, harvesting strategies and frost damage prevention had to be learned on a trial and error basis as the crop grew. The single most limiting factor, however, was the low yield of Jojoba plants grown from seeds collected from wild stands of the species. There were no cultivars selected for agricultural production available to those early growers. A bit of Jojoba botany will illustrate the problem. Jojoba shrubs are dioecious, meaning there are male and female plants. Breeding and selecting superior male plants (that produce abundant pollen) and superior female plants (that produce abundant seeds) has been a slow process. Once superior plants are identified, they can be cloned by vegetative propagation and planted on a large scale. A field ratio of one cloned male for every 10-20 cloned females would significantly increase the yield as compared to a seed grown field with a male to female ratio of 1:1. An improved yield could earn more profits for the growers, and reduce the cost of the oil for the buyers. There is still a dire need for research on crop production and improvement. There is some activity in this area at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and the University of California at Riverside. Jojoba oil production is nevertheless increasing. In the 1970’s, several thousand acres were being cultivated in the US. In the 1980’s, 25,000 acres were being grown. In the 1990’s that increased to 40,000 acres, and today it approaches 50,000 acres. As the oil has found markets outside of the US, including Europe, Asia, and Australia, foreign production has begun.
Jojoba is now commercially grown in Argentina, Australia, Mexico, Israel, and India.
Biotechnology may offer a way to produce Jojoba oil in other plants at competitive prices. The genes that code for the enzymes involved in Jojoba oil biosynthesis have been identified and inserted into transgenic plants. The intention is to develop Jojoba oil producing plants that can easily be grown in conventional agricultural systems. Time will tell if this will be practical. The Jojoba story is far from over. It may just be in its infancy. The plant’s versatile oil can be produced in a sustainable, renewable, and environmentally friendly manner. There are many potential markets for it that have yet to be developed. As our ability to produce it becomes more efficient, we will undoubtedly hear more about Jojoba. One wonders how many other plants in nature, currently overlooked, may be important to us in the future.
Website References:
http://www.jojobassaf.com/whatIsJojobaOil.html
http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/POW/jojoba.htm
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/jojoba.html
Information Sources:
- Benzioni, A. and M. Forti. 1989. Jojoba. Pages 448-461 in Oil Crops of the World. G. Robbelen, R.K. Downey, and A. Ashri (eds.) McGraw-Hill Publishing Company; New York. 553 pages.
- Bloomfield, Frena. 1985. Jojoba and Yucca. Century Hutchinson Publishing, London.
- Foster, K.E., M.M. Karpiscak, J.G. Taylor and N.G. Wright. 1983. Guayule, jojoba, buffalo gourd and Russian thistle: Plant characteristics, products and commercialization potential. Desert Plants 5(3):112-126.
- Jojoba Growers Association. 1990. Jojoba Happenings, Newsletter of the Association. Phoenix, Arizona.
- National Research Council. 1985. Jojoba: New Crop for Arid Lands, New Raw Material for Industry. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
- Naqvi, H.H., G. Goldstein, C. Ratnayake, T. Ceccardi, and I.P. Ting. 1988. Jojoba breeding and agronomic investigations at UC Riverside. Proceedings: Seventh International Conference on Jojoba and Its Uses. A.R. Baldwin (ed.) American.
- Weiss E.A. 1983. Crambe, niger and jojoba. Pages 507-527 in Oilseed Crops. Longman; London.
- Yermanos, D.M. 1979. Jojoba: A crop whose time has come. California Agriculture. July-August 1979. pp. 4-11.
