Information about Jojoba

	Increases skin softness by as much as 37 percent. Reduces superficial lines and wrinkles by as much as 25 percent one hour after application; and, even after eight hours, an 11 percent residual reduction was still evident. Pure and hypo-allergenic. Effective in the treatment of skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, and neurodermatitis.

Jojoba from Wikipedia (Simmondsia chinensis), pronounced "hô-hô'-bə", is a shrub native to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of Arizona, California, and Mexico. It is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, and sometimes placed in the box family, Buxaceae. It is also known as goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bush.^[1]  

Jojoba grows to 1–2 m tall, with a broad, dense crown. The leaves are opposite, oval in shape, 2–4 cm long and 1.5-3 cm broad, thick waxy glaucous gray-green in color. The flowers are small, greenish-yellow, with 5–6 sepals and no petals. Each plant is single-sex, either male or female, with hermaphrodites being extremely rare. The fruit is an acorn-shaped ovoid, three-angled capsule 1–2 cm long, partly enclosed at the base by the sepals. The mature seed is a hard oval, dark brown in color and contains an oil (liquid wax) content of approximately 54%. An average-size bush produces a kilogram of pollen, to which few humans are allergic.^[1]

Jojoba foliage provides year-round food opportunity for many animals, including deer, javelina, bighorn sheep, and livestock. The nuts are eaten by squirrels, rabbits, other rodents, and larger birds. Only Bailey's Pocket Mouse, however, is known to be able to digest the wax found inside the jojoba nut. In large quantities, the seed meal is toxic to many mammals, and the indigestible wax acts as a laxative in humans. The Seri, who utilize nearly every edible plant in their territory, don't regard the beans as real food and in the past ate it only in emergencies.^[1]

Despite its scientific name Simmondsia chinensis, Jojoba does not originate in China; the botanist Johann Link, originally named the species Buxus chinensis, after misreading Nuttall's collection label "Calif" as "China". Jojoba was briefly renamed Simmondsia californica, but priority rules require that the original specific epithet be used. The common name should also not be confused with the similar-sounding Jujube (Ziziphus zizyphus), an unrelated plant.

HISTORY:

The name "jojoba" originated with the O'odham people of the Sonoran Desert in the southwest United States, who treated burns with an antioxidant salve made from a paste of the jojoba nut.^[1]

CULTIVATION and USES:

Jojoba is grown for the liquid wax (commonly called jojoba oil) in its seeds. This oil is rare in that it is an extremely long (C36-C46) straight-chain wax ester and not a triglyceride, making jojoba and its derivative jojoba esters more similar to sebum and whale oil than to traditional vegetable oils. Jojoba oil is easily refined to be odorless, colorless and oxidatively stable, and is often used in cosmetics as a moisturizer and as a carrier oil for specialty fragrances. It also has potential use as both a biodiesel fuel for cars and trucks, as well as a biodegradable lubricant. Because sperm whales are endangered, plantations of jojoba have been established in a number of desert and semi-desert areas, predominantly in Argentina, Israel, Mexico, Palestinian Authority, Peru, and the USA. It is currently the Sonoran Desert's second most economically valuable native plant (overshadowed only by the Washington palms used in horticulture). Selective breeding is developing plants that produce more beans with higher wax content, as well as other characteristics that will facilitate harvesting.^[1]

^Reference

Steven J. Phillips, Patricia Wentworth Comus (eds.) (2000). A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. University of California Press, 256–257. ISBN 0-520-21980-5.

Jojoba Oil & Hair Care from "Why I'm Not Totally Bald -- Thanks to Jojoba Oil"

Writing about baldness makes me very nervous. But my consolation is that it could be worse if it were not for Jojoba Oil.

If a person has genetically inherited male pattern baldness, not much can be done. Minoxidil (Rogaine), a prescription topical drug by Upjohn, helps some individuals, especially if they are young. Others merely grow some baby peach fuzz. This is cute, but it only encourages sadistic people to rub your duck down head. Excusing my mixed metaphors, this is not too satisfactory unless you're a baby, a peach, or a duck.

The genesis of hairs begins with a tube-like structure called the hair follicle. The papilla is located at the base of the follicle. This is where hair is born. Each hair is lubricated by sebum which is manufactured by a sebaceous gland right next door to each microscopic hair follicle.

This is where Jojoba Oil comes to the rescue. If too much sebum collects, the hair follicles become clogged resulting in unhealthy hair, impaired growth, and shortened hair life (healthy hair grows about 1/2 inch per month for 2 - 4 years before a new one pushes it out to replace it -- unless there is too much or too little sebum, a vitamin or diet deficiency, illness, too much stress, etc.)

Jojoba Oil controls the sebum problem. If there is too much sebum, Jojoba Oil actually dissolves the excess deposits of sebum leaving the scalp squeaky clean, thus opening up those fickle follicles and effecting healthy hair and natural growth.

Remarkably, the properties of Jojoba Oil are virtually identical to human sebum oil. Thus, if we produce too little sebum, which age can do, or it is stripped away by harsh chemicals or the environment, Jojoba Oil not only cleanses the follicles and papilla, but also re-lubricates and restores the proper pH balance.

So, whichever way you look at it, 100% pure, natural, hypo- allergenic Jojoba Oil makes hair healthy and beautiful -- and gives it the best chance to grow and stay on your head.

How to use: Some people massage a small amount into their hair and scalp each day. Others, like me, put a whole bunch on before shampooing, massage gently, then jump into the shower and shampoo with California Gold Jojoba shampoo (of course). Still others do a hot oil treatment. They massage Jojoba Oil in thoroughly, wrap their head in a hot wet towel for about 10-15 minutes, then shampoo.

Whichever method one chooses, it's great. It feels good and it really works. And it is so safe, gentle, and effective that everyone can use it on their skin and hair "from babies to eighties" (a quote from my twin sister, Carol)

One final thought: I may not have my original human allotment of 100,000 hairs, but I do have some -- thanks to Jojoba Oil.

GROWING Jojoba Plants: Soak nuts/seeds over night. Fill a quart milk carton almost to the top with a good potting mix (leave bottom of carton closed.) If you plan to leave it in the house, a regular pot is fine, preferably clay but plastic is okay. Six to eight inch diameter pot is recommended. Press all three nuts/seeds into the potting mix up to your first knuckle (about one inch). Keep moist but not wet (Jojoba hate to have wet feet). Jojoba plants are heliotropic and just love all the light and heat you can give them. So, a window would be good. Germination takes place at 80 degrees F., and takes from several days to several weeks depending on conditions. The tap root grows down first so you won't see anything for awhile (sometimes I peek to see if the seed has split open yet -- peeking is nice, disturbing is naughty). You might like to try our VF-11 liquid plant food.  It is proven to work with Jojoba and practically all plants.  Please check our Plant Food page for more information. To transplant outside: keep in milk carton -- for sure. wait 6-8 weeks up to six months or longer. dig hole approximately one foot deep and two feet across. open bottom of milk carton and fill hole with combination of dirt and mix or compost. make sure top of milk carton is covered. drip water or make a big dish around plant. Water once a week for first year, making sure water drains and doesn't stand for long.

 Jojoba oil is unique in nature. No other plant on earth produces an oil like jojoba's. It is used in the cosmetic, medical, pharmaceutical, food products, manufacturing, and automotive industries. And it is a renewable energy resource.

 Jojoba (pronounced Ho Ho-ba) is not new. Native Americans have been using jojoba for hundreds of years. Indigenous to the Southwestern United States and Baja California, the Sonoran Indians have used jojoba oil for centuries, being first observed and recorded in 1701. Then later in the 1700's Father Junipero Serra, founder of the 21 California missions, noted in his diary that these Indians were using jojoba oil and nuts for all sort of things: for treating sores, cuts, bruises, and burns; as a diet supplement and appetite suppressant when they couldn't find food; as a skin conditioner; to sooth the skin and face after sun or wind burn; as a cooking oil; a hair-scalp oil and treatment, and as a hair restorative; and they even roasted the nuts to make a coffee-like beverage.

 How is all this possible? How can an oil have so many uses? Other oils, both plant and animal, break down, or turn rancid, or do not have these properties to begin with. The reason is simple. While having all the characteristics and benefits of oil, jojoba is not an oil at all. It is a liquid wax -- a long chain molecule wax ester, which means that it has all the properties of the finest oils but many more uses since it is a liquid wax. And it is hypoallergenic, non-contaminating, non- toxic, will never turn rancid, and its viscosity will not break down under high temperature and pressure.

 In their study of jojoba, the National Academy of Sciences concluded: "The oil has a radically different chemical structure from any other known oil. Jojoba esters are composed entirely of straight chain alcohols. Both the acid and alcohol portions have 20 or 22 carbon atoms and each has one unsaturated bond. Waxes of this type are extremely difficult to synthesize. Thus, jojoba oil is a polyunsaturated liquid wax that is readily obtainable from a renewable resource. Such an oil has never before been available to industry." And, yet, it has been growing in our backyard for a millennia.

 The importance of jojoba was proclaimed as early as 1935, but it was not until 1974 that jojoba came to the public's attention. At that time, the United States government banned the killing of sperm whales and the importation of whale meat and whale by-products, including sperm whale oil. Since sperm whale oil was used in many industries, including cosmetics and perfume, and would no longer be available, the Federal government began to fund efforts to cultivate jojoba, which is a replacement for sperm whale oil. Up to this time, jojoba grew in wild stands in the Sonoran desert but had never been grown commercially in this country. The first commercial cultivation took place in the Negev Desert and Dead Sea areas of Israel. By 1977 domestic cultivation had begun and a new American industry was born.

 Jojoba is dioecious, which is to say that there are separate male and female plants. The female flower is small, odorless, without nectars or scent glands; the male plant has small clusters of yellow flowers or pollen sacks that unfurl at the leaf axils. The female plant is wind-pollinated with fertilization taking place in the Spring and full maturation occurring between August and October.

 The fully mature seed (nut or bean) is commonly a rich mahogany or dark brown color, but the color can vary according to individual plants, location, soil and climatic conditions. On the average, because the size of the nuts also varies, it takes about 1200 seeds to make one pound and 17 pounds to equal one gallon of oil. It is remarkable to note that, in spite of the variability in size or where grown, each jojoba seed or nut contains an average of 50% pure oil by volume.

 Jojoba plants, both male and female, have been variously described as a shrub, a tree, or a big bush resembling mistletoe. All of these descriptions are probably correct because jojoba can take different shapes. There are the low twiggy type; the tall broomy bush; the long rakish branch with an irregular crown; a treelet form with a foliage crown above a narrow base; and the thicket or clonal form.

 Generally, jojoba is shrub-like with profuse lateral branching forming several stems from the root to the crown. 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.

The Many Uses Of Jojoba

Automotive
 Jojoba oil is a superior lubricant in high speed machinery, tool work, and metal cutting. It requires no refining yet will cause a car to run 20-30 degrees cooler when added to the crankcase oil. Jojoba oil is also monoviscous, which means that it adheres the same at 50 °F as at 500 °F. Because of this quality and because it is super wet, jojoba oil significantly reduces friction, thus extending the life of all moving parts. This results in increased horsepower, up to 15% increase in gas mileage, reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions, longer engine life, and half the number of oil changes.

Pharmaceutical
 As an anti-foaming agent in the production of penicillin, jojoba oil is far superior to any other known product. And, inexplicably but factually, jojoba has a synergistic effect in the process that results in 15-20% more production per batch while using 1/6 the amount of the next most efficient agent, peanut oil. In addition, because of its purity and indigestibility in not interfering with biological processes, jojoba oil has wide applications as a carrier for medications as well as directly as a treatment for minor rashes, cuts, acne, psoriasis, and neurodermatitis. And, because it is non- contaminating and 100% pure, jojoba oil may be used as a lubricant for artificial hearts.

Food Products
 Jojoba will store indefinitely and never turn rancid with no refrigeration or special handling. Shelf life of indeterminate duration is highly important for the food products industry for everything from cake mix to cooking oil. And just imagine the worldwide market for no-fat, no calorie, no cholesterol cooking and salad oil. There is, in fact, a very large international company working now to introduce just such an oil made with jojoba.

 To illustrate the non-rancidity and lasting freshness of jojoba oil, the University of California at Riverside conducted a simple experiment. The plant scientists there cooked 27 batches of popcorn using the same jojoba oil. The 27th batch was just as fresh as the first. Imagine going to your favorite fast food restaurant and getting fresh French fries every time.

 Jojoba also contains a natural appetite suppressant called Simmondsin. As a diet aid it can be made into anything from candy-like bars to a chocolate-like beverage.

Other Consumer Products
 In its hydrogenated form, jojoba is a wax surpassed only by carnauba in hardness and brilliance. This quality of jojoba has direct application to such consumer products as furniture and floor waxes, auto polish and long-burning candles.

 All of this sounds too good to be true, and again the question arises: how can the nuts from one plant be used for so many things? In botanical, chemical terms the National Academy of Sciences summarizes jojoba's qualities and resulting myriad applications this way: "1.) its natural purity and molecular simplicity, 2.) its stability, its non-drying quality and resistance to oxidation which permit long-term storage, 3.) its lubricity after sulphurization, 4.) its supply of chemicals, especially acids and alcohols with 20 and 22 atoms, and finally, 5.) its unsaturation (double bonds)."

 All of this simply means that jojoba is a unique plant with a unique molecular structure resulting in many, diverse applications. Two more important uses are in manufacturing and cosmetics.

Manufacturing
 The list here is endless but includes applications as a non- contaminating lubricant for food machinery, a leather-softening agent, a replacement for petrochemicals such as linoleum products, plastics, and adhesives, and for heat-resistant materials, detergents, emulsifiers, and carbon paper.

Cosmetics
 Pure Jojoba Oil is a highly effective cleanser, conditioner, moisturizer, and softener for the skin and hair. Remarkably, this oil is virtually identical to sebum, which is secreted by the human sebaceous glands. Sebum is nature's way of lubricating and protecting the skin and hair. Jojoba oil is also nature's way of doing the same thing when age, pollutants, and the environment strip away sebum. Or, if too much sebum clogs the pores or hair follicles, jojoba oil dissolves excess sebum deposits, cleanses, and restores the skin's and hair's natural pH balance.

 Thus, jojoba oil is used widely in the cosmetic industry in shampoos, conditioners, hand and body lotions, cleansers, moisturizers, soap, sun screen lotions, and as a foundation under makeup. It is also applied directly to soften the skin, reduce wrinkles and stretch marks, lighten and help heal scars; and for healthy scalp and hair. The reason it works so well is that jojoba, because it replicates sebum oil, actually penetrates the skin's outer layers and is quickly absorbed; and it also accumulates inside as well as around hair roots. Finally, jojoba oil is also widely used as a base in the making of perfume.

Treatment of Acne and Psoriasis with Jojoba OilWritten by Dr. Bernardo Mosovich from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

ABSTRACT
Jojoba Oil and its hydrogenation derivatives are stable to radiation and thermal treatment and do not become rancid.  The physical and chemical properties of these substances make possible their application on skin for cosmetic use and the treatment of various dermatological conditions.  Waxes, and especially the liquid ones such as Jojoba oil, are absorbed by the skin without irrigating effects, due to the analogy with epidermal lipids.

The known lack of toxicity for human beings induced us to test Jojoba Oil in two groups of volunteers affected with dermatological processes of high cosmetic and aesthetic significance.  The first group consisted of 35 patients acne vulgaris.  Their condition was 'cystic' or 'purulent' and seemed to be most resistant to customary treatments.  Excepting 3 cases, all patients showed good tolerance to Jojoba Oil, no secondary effects were noted and no reports were made of 'burning' or 'itchy' feeling.   Patients willing to return as they felt that the facial treatments were useful.  Jojoba Oil may be used alone or in addition to other treatments.

A second group of 27 patients suffered from psoriasis vulgaris.  This condition is characterized by excessive scaling (turn over) and is very resistant to conventional therapeutics.  The keratoplastic and keratolytic action of Jojoba Oil suggested that it may be used as additional treatment.  The use of steroids in the treatment of this condition is expensive, cumbersome and may have secondary effects.  Jojoba Oil may be recommended in certain cases of psoriasis, such as those affecting the scalp.

INTRODUCTION
The wax is composed entirely of esters of high molecular weight straight-chain mono-ethylenic acids and mono ethylenic alcohols.  It is chemically purer than most natural substances; after a simple refining (filtration through fuller's earth) it contains no resins, tars, alkaloids or glycerides2.  It resembles chemically such waxes as beeswax and spermaceti which are used as vehicles for drugs.  Beeswax is composed of long chain esters (72%) as myricyl palmitate, myricyl parmitoleate, etc.  Spermaceti is composed of esters (98%) mainly cetyl plamitate3.  The wax is used by the Mexican Indians for the treatment of sores1.  A Jojoba shampoo is manufactured as an antidandruff treatment.  It is a very good emollient, according to cosmetic industry experts in Isreal and abroad.  The Purex Corporation in the U. S. has experimented with the wax on patients suffering from acnes vulgaris with good results2.  Works on the safety of Jojoba wax for cosmetics was conducted in the U. S. and  in Japan, and advertised in the newsletter Jojoba Happenings4.  No acute toxicity and no irritation to the eyes have been found in animals; in skin irritation tests, 3 out of 46 persons felt a slight irritation, which passed after 24 hours.

THERAPEUTIC USE OF JOJOBA WAX
About 40 volunteers in our laboratories, tried using Jojoba wax for chapped hands and against sunburn with very good response and no allergenic reactions.  We started our studies on the assumption that Jojoba wax could ease certain skin diseases.  The Jojoba wax used for our experiment was carefully refined.  It contained no glycosides and a very low percentage of free fatty acids.  The methods of refining and preparation of the ointment used are reported elsewhere.

The studies reported below were concentrated on two main skin diseases:  1) Acne vulgaris, 2) Psoriasis vulgaris.

TREATMENT OF ACNE VULGARIS
Ointment specifications:  the lipidic water immiscible ointment contains refined Jojoba wax esters in cis and trans forms.

Patients treated by Jojoba ointment - 35 patients participated in this series of studies, one third of them males.  Their ages ranged from 15 to 24 years old.  All patients were serious clinical cases with purulent acne all over the face.

Method of application:  the patient received the first treatment in the clinic by soft massage of Jojoba cream on the face.  The treatment continued at home.  All other medicines the patients received were gradually interrupted, including the antibiotics used against seborrhea and acne.

Methods of evaluation:  The evaluation was subjective.  The physician and the patient evaluated the clinical condition in comparison to previous experience with other medications.

Results and conclusions:  The initial studies were carried out with Jojoba ointment that was too hard and not very stable.  The studies continued with an ointment with improved consistency and stability.  The results showed that the toleration of the cream is excellent.  No side effects were detected.  The ointment is pleasant for use.  The patients are willing to repeat the treatment and come promptly to their next appointment.  The ointment seemed to ease the patient's condition in all cases,  except two more severe cases that called for anitbiotic treatment.  The ointment has keratoplastic effect that restores a natural shine to the skin, however, it does not stop the eruption of new pustules.

Difficulties encountered in assessing the effect of our treatment on acne patients were:  the subjective reaction of the patient; the patient lacked patience for regular treatments; patients did not always obey the instructions; some used various cosmetics and soaps which disrupt the studies.  It seems that a framework that will enable better control of the regular treatment  of the patients should be established.  The ointment should be farther studied in combination with other medicaments such as antibiotics, etc.

TREATMENT OF PSORIASIS VULGARIS
The experience obtained during studies on the treatment of acne, as earlier reported, showed positive keratoplastic and also slight keratolitic effects, ease and convenience of use and no side effects.  These induced us to study the effect of this ointment on the treatment of patients suffering from Psoriasis vulgaris.  This illness is frustrating for the physician and the patient, is most anaesthetic and is incurable.  The treatment which seems to help one patient has no effect on another, and for this reason it is also called "heartbreak disease".

The Psoriasis histological phenomenon consists of parakeratosis, which could affect several areas of the body.  The condition follows an irregular cyclic pattern - improvements followed by declines.  The treatments usually used should help to peel the hard scales.  Of the medicines used today, some are very expensive and include hormones (such as fluocinonide); the others are classical medicines such as mineral oil or coal tar derivatives, some of which are very greasy, black and thus, unpleasant for daily use.

The patients treated: a group of 27 volunteer patients aged 12 to 60 were treated, eighteen of them for psoriasis of the scalp, the others for generalized psoriasis, psoriasis inversa and psoriasis vulgaris.  It was decided to study first psoriasis of the scalp, as other medications used for this illness are not very effective.  The illness causes hard itching, open soars and hair clumping.

Method of treatment:  the ointment specifications were given above.  The ointment was massaged lightly on the scalp twice a day, with no immediate hair wash.  The patient returns for first control after one week, and for subsequent checks once a month.

Results:  Light spreading of the ointment on the scalp or affected area permits the removal of the dandruff or scales, separates the hairs from each other and causes softening of the skin.  The area remains erithematosous.  However, in several of the cases the scales reappear after a time.  There are no adverse effects on the skin.  In all cases we could positively say that the treatment helped, at least initially, which is not always the case with other classical treatments.  Patients begin to use the Jojoba ointment willingly as it has no bad odor and it is not greasy; treatment can be carried out during daytime.

It seems, therefore, that Jojoba ointment could be a good medication for Psoriasis in addition to other recognized medications against this disease.

References