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If you have been around our site and other beard-obsessed websites at all, you almost definitely have seen jojoba oil listed as an ingredient in products like beard oils, beard butters, etc. and you may have even heard folks raving about it.
But what is this impossible to pronounce (it’s actually “ho – ho – buh”) wonder oil everyone keeps talking about?
Well, since it is such a staple and vital element to keeping our beards (and the skin underneath) healthy and thriving, we decided to take the time to answer that question.
What is Jojoba Oil?
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Jojoba “oil” is actually not an oil at all, but liquid wax esters extracted from the seeds of the jojoba plant, a shrub, which grows natively in parts of California, Arizona, Mexico and some parts of Africa.
Because of the amazing properties and benefits of jojoba oil, the plant is grown commercially in great quantities.
One of the incredibly unique and amazing qualities of jojoba is that, because it is not truly a plant oil but is a liquid form of wax esters, its chemical structure more closely mimics the character of the esters produced by human skin’s sebaceous glands.
Add to that fact that it also contains vitamin E, and you can begin to see why this oil is ideal for topical skin and hair treatments.
Other prized properties of the oil are its viscosity and faintly nutty to nonexistent odor, as well as its stability, which gives it a relatively long shelf life.
It also has antifungal properties, making it an effective fungicide. Jojoba is extremely gentle, being non-toxic and non- allergenic, it has no irritants, and it does not leave a thick greasy residue.
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All of these qualities add up into jojoba being one of the most ideal “oils” to use in skin and hair care products.
Because it is so gentle, it can be used near eyes and on sensitive skin, and does not have any qualities that would clog pores or cause allergic reactions.
Its makeup also makes it perfect as a “carrier oil” for essential oils, which are too potent to be applied directly to the skin.
Jojoba Oil Benefits
With all its qualities, it is not surprising then that jojoba oil has innumerable benefits.
Here are just a few:
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Contains vitamins and minerals: jojoba contains Vitamin E, Vitamin B-complex, and other natural minerals.
These vitamins and minerals are key in moisturizing and healing the skin. Vitamin E and B-complex both are used to treat sun burns and other skin damage as well as skin aging.
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It is an antioxidant: antioxidants, which prohibit the oxidation of molecules in our bodies, are important in protecting us from the damaging effects of free radicals.
Since jojoba oil is easily applied to the skin, it is excellent, then, at protecting the skin and healing it from the free radicals that form from sun damage to the skin and which could lead to skin aging and even skin cancer.
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Is antibacterial and antifungal: it has been discovered that most bacteria and fungi cannot reproduce when in contact with jojoba oil. It is thought that the iodine found in jojoba is responsible for this property.
This attribute means that it can be used topically on the skin to fight things like acne, folliculitis, skin lesions and the like.
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Regulates production of sebum oil: because the chemical makeup and structure of jojoba is so similar to sebum, that natural oil excreted by our pores, many theorize that our skin and hair receives and absorbs jojoba easily, and sends a signal that enough oil has been produced.
This means that, though it may seem counterintuitive, the application of appropriate amounts of jojoba oil prevents your skin from being too oily.
Furthermore, because it is received easily by skin and hair, it can get deep into pores and follicles, cleaning out debris and removing clogs.
So, if skin is too oily, jojoba oil can help decrease the oiliness; if pores are clogged, preventing healthy amounts of oil from developing and drying up the skin, jojoba oil can clear the clogs and return moisture.
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Moisturizes: as is likely apparent due to its other properties, jojoba oil acts as a great moisturizer of its own right, but also helps the skin moisturize naturally since it cleans out pores and removes excess oil.
Jojoba Oil Uses
With all its properties and benefits, it is no wonder that jojoba turns up as an ingredient in so many products. It really can stand on its own, though.
Jojoba oil has been/is used for:
- Treating acne
- Treating folliculitis, a fungal infection of the skin
- Cleansing skin and wounds
- Cosmetic ingredient
- Skin care products
- Hair care products
- Treating psoriasis and scalp dermatitis
- Preventing hair loss / improving hair growth
- Moisturizing
- Carrier oil for essential oils
- Treating skin damage from sun burns
These are just some of its uses! Keep reading to get the details on these and others.
Jojoba Oil for Beard Care
Now, for the moment you all have been waiting for – how can jojoba oil help with beard care? In quite a lot of ways, actually!
All beard styles, whether short or long, have many of the same problems that plague them. Jojoba oil can play a major role in solving most of them.
Beard itch: we have all experienced it at one point or another. That horrible, irritating beard itch that won’t go away.
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More often than not, the itch is a result of skin that has dried out as a result of the beard hair soaking up all of the sebum oil, leaving the skin beneath un-moisturized.
If this condition has lasted a bit, you could also have dry, coarse beard hairs making the itch even worse.
Jojoba oil can help stop a beard itch in its tracks since the application will provide additional moisture, will help clear out your pores so that they can produce as much sebum oil as possible/needed, and will also moisturize and condition your beard hair.
Additionally, since jojoba oil is antibacterial and antifungal, if your itch happens to be originating from a skin infection, psoriasis or dermatitis, it will help clear that problem as well.
Basically – jojoba oil is a fantastic beard moisturizer and treats and removes the causes of beard itch.
Beardruff: if you’ve dealt with the beard itch, you’ve probably dealt with beard dandruff as well – the dry skin that flakes off, largely due to the incessant scratching.
Again, jojoba oil can help stop the flaking.
Since dandruff is caused when you’re itching dry, irritated skin, the solution is to moisturize and heal the skin, which, as has been mentioned a couple of times now, jojoba oil can do.
Beard growth: many of us at one time or another have been concerned about our beard growth.
Either we deal with weak, patchy areas, or we’re having a hard time getting length to our beard, or maybe we’ve even noticed our beard thinning out a bit.
Whatever the specific cause for our concern, jojoba oil can actually help with hair growth, whether to grow a beard faster, get fuller beard growth, or to prevent beard hair loss.
This may seem like a stretch, but there is a very good explanation for why this is so. It is at the base of our hair follicles that the glands which produce sebum oil reside.
Those glands can get clogged and blocked when too much sebum oil is produced, and other dirt and debris can clog the follicles up as well.
When this happens, it can prevent hair from growing from the follicle, resulting in those thinner, bare patches.
Since jojoba oil can get deep into the skin and follicles quickly, it can get in and clear out blocked follicles and glands, enabling hair to grow strong and healthy from those follicles again.
By removing debris and clogs, jojoba oil reverses and prevents hair loss.
But it can also help speed up hair growth because it moisturizes hair and treats it with vitamins and minerals, making the hair healthy, strong, and in much better state to grow.
Dull beard: if your beard is lacking luster (dull, wiry, coarse), it is probably yet again because the hair has dried out and it’s not getting proper nutrients or moisture.
Jojoba oil will moisturize and condition the hair and give it a nice shine without being too greasy.
Now, the great thing is that jojoba oil is gentle enough and easily accessible enough that if you want to use it straight, you can.
However, many choose to get a beard care product that includes jojoba. An easy way to get the benefits of jojoba oil, is to purchase a good beard oil.
Jojoba is often used as a base or carrier oil in the beard oil ingredients, which usually include a couple different carrier oils and essential oils.
While there are tons of different beard oils and ingredients, the best beard oil products will include jojoba oil in the ingredients.
Jojoba Oil for Hair
Knowing what jojoba oil can do for beard hair, it obviously can do great things for the hair on your head as well.
More and more shampoos and conditioners are now being made with jojoba oil as a key ingredient, which is a great alternative to the old, chemical based shampoos and moisturizers that half the time ended up stripping and damaging hair rather than making it healthier.
Some of the hair and scalp problems that jojoba oil can help solve are:
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Psoriasis: an auto-immune issue which causes dry, dead skin cells to collect and cause scaling and inflammation.
These areas are prone to bacterial and fungal infection as well. Jojoba oil can come in and bring relief to the dry itchiness as well as treat any potential infection due to its antifungal and anti-bacterial processes.
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Dry hair: especially for those with longer hair, dry, weak hair with split ends can be a real issue.
While only a trim can actually get rid of the split ends, jojoba oil can nourish the hair and moisturize it, and it can prevent the hairs from splitting further.
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Hair loss: as with the hair on the face, so with the hair on the head. Hair loss on the head can be caused by the same clogged up sebaceous glands.
Jojoba oil works just as effectively to clear the glands on the head, moisturize and nourish hairs and hair growth as it does on the face.
Jojoba Oil for Acnes
We have already touched on this some above, but it may still come as a surprise that an “oil” can be used to treat acne when it’s oiliness that typically causes acne in the first place.
However, while jojoba oil is similar to our skin’s naturally occurring sebum oil, it has one major key difference in that its viscosity prevents it from clogging up the pores and glands like sebum oil can.
This is why jojoba oil can be used to effectively treat acne.
Since it doesn’t cause the problems that sebum oil can, but it still acts the part of a healthy moisturizer and oil, it sends a message to the body to quit producing more oil, it removes clogs and debris.
If there are any bacterial or fungal infections contributing to the acne, jojoba’s got you covered with its antibacterial/antifungal properties.
Jojoba Oil for Skin
By now, it should be quite obvious how jojoba oil is beneficial for your skin. It:
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- Regulates your natural sebum oil production, preventing your skin from being too oily and too dry
- Unclogs and prevents pores from getting clogged
- Fights bacterial and fungal infections in the skin (so helps fight dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema)
- Moisturizes and nourishes skin with vitamins E and B-complex
- Helps heal skin from burns, injuries and aging
Organic Jojoba Oil
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So, now you know about all of the amazing qualities of and uses for jojoba oil.
But before you go out and buy yourself a bottle of this magic liquid, you should first be aware of a few different ways that you can purchase it.
One of the biggest considerations you need to make is whether or not you want to purchase organic or “common” jojoba oil.
You are probably wandering what the difference is and whether the difference is really that big of a deal. The answer is there can be quite a significant difference between the two.
Ultimately, when purchasing jojoba oil, you can rest assured knowing that not only was it sustainably grown, and no chemical pesticides were used on it and there were no genetic modifications.
But you can also rest easy knowing that no chemical additives were put in it either to achieve a particular look, scent, flavor, etc. You will get true, pure, oil.
Conventional jojoba oil, on the other hand, would be coming from plants that had chemical pesticides and fertilizers used in the growth process, possible GMO’s.
And it would likely have chemical additives in the oil for the purposes of increasing its shelf life or “improving” its appearance.
The problem is that many of these chemicals are known toxins that can build up in the body over time.
Now, you will pay quite a bit more for organic oils, but especially since you will be applying this to your skin (whether on your face, scalp, or whole body).
Skin is the largest organ of the body and will absorb everything that is put on it and disperse it, organic is the way to go if you can manage the price.
Happy Lathering!
So, now you know about the wonder “oil” that is jojoba. It is one of the gentlest and safest to use oils out there, and with all of its properties and uses, it really is a must for everyone’s daily routine.
It’s super easy to apply, too. Whether you want to add a few drops to your shampoos or products, or apply it separately on its on by getting a few drops in your hands, rubbing them together, and gently massaging it into the roots of your beard and working it out to the edges, it doesn’t take but a minute.
Have any great personal jojoba oil stories? Any questions for us? Drop us a line in our comments box below! We would love to hear from you!
Photos from: spline_x / depositphotos.com, coconat / depositphotos.com, Dean Drobot © 123RF.com
The post Amazing Benefits and Smart Ways to Use Jojoba Oil for Facial Hair appeared first on Beardoholic.