Ingredient Spotlight: Jojoba Oil

Remember back in the day when everyone was like "EW! Oils, no! Get those away from my face!"? And now everyone is like "Oils? Yes please! I want to cleanse and moisturize with as many oils as I can!" But don't call oil a trend. Not only will you hurt their feelings but you'll be discounting all of the recent research and development that has gone into oil processing.

Today I'm going to talk about jojoba (huh-HO-buh) oil. You're welcome in advance for sparing you the embarrassment of pronouncing it juh-JO-buh. ;-) Did you know that jojoba is actually a wax that is liquid at room temperature? It is derived from a shrub found in Southwestern desert regions that can live up to 200 years! Did you also know that jojoba has the closest molecular size to the sebum (oil) produced by our own skin? What this means is that it can provide excellent moisture that can penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin without too much oil then sitting on the surface of the skin, blocking the pores. It seemingly "tricks" the skin into thinking it has produced enough oil and can therefore even stop it from overproducing.

You'll find jojoba in many of your favorite oil-based products as a base or carrier oil. But you can even use it alone in some fun DIY treatments at home. I love to use it as a makeup remover to pre-cleanse my skin at night. Or try mixing it with some epsom salts and your favorite essential oil for a body scrub, foot scrub or bath treatment.

And if jojoba isn't doing it for you, check out the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, which contains a great guide to oils, broken down by skin type.

#ingredients #skincare #DIY