Many common hair and skin care products contain jojoba oil, but even on its own, jojoba oil1 is a powerhouse for your clean beauty routine. It’s rich in beauty-boosting ingredients like vitamin E, vitamin B complex, copper, and zinc. Many oils are comedogenic, meaning they clog your pores and may not be good for those with acne-prone skin. But, because of the chemical structure, jojoba oil is different (more on that later). There are countless benefits of jojoba oil, along with many different ways to use it. We’ve compiled a list of 10 different ways to use jojoba oil in your routine to better your hair, skin, and nails. As for skin, the oil is pretty close structurally2 to our own natural oils. “Jojoba makes an excellent moisturizer for dryness since the active components of jojoba oil mimic the body’s natural oils due to its waxy nature,” Marshall says. “The oil is made up of mostly fatty acids and wax esters. This includes helping dry or flaky skin on the scalp for conditions such as dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.” Much like facial moisturizer and leave-in conditioner, jojoba oil should be applied as a final step for your skin and hair routines to lock in water and any other previously used product. You can apply four to six drops of oil directly to your face as a moisturizer, and three to five drops to your conditioner or one to two drops to damp hair after showering. “A benefit of jojoba, which usually gets missed is that it is a natural repellent for microbes and helps prevent any bacterial growth on the skin,” says Lucy Xu, a London-based skin care specialist. “This means if applied onto the skin, it will protect against developing skin conditions such as acne.” “You may find it used in sunscreens, as it has been shown to help prevent damage to collagen from UV rays. This can be very helpful if you are looking to prevent sun damage and age better. You can drop a few drops into your favorite sunscreen if it doesn’t already have it,” says Marshall.
