Jojoba Oil cold-pressed

Jojoba oil (jojoba wax) – the liquid gold of the Native Americans

The small, rather modest jojoba shrub (pronounced ‘ho-ho-ba’) yields a remarkable and much sought-after oil. In the scorching deserts of North America, this survival artist holds its own against the harshest environmental conditions. It needs only 20 ml of rainfall a year to survive and has up to three long taproots to reach the precious water. To give the olive-sized seed (a nut) a good start in life, the mother plant very inventively produces a heat- and oxidation-stable liquid plant wax instead of a plant oil or fat. Its chemical structure is not comparable with that of an edible oil: a fat molecule consists of a glycerol (a trihydric alcohol with three OH groups) to which three fatty acids are ‘chained’ (see also pages 19 and 59). In a wax, by contrast, a long-chain monohydric alcohol (one OH group) and a long-chain fatty acid are bonded together. Strictly speaking, jojoba oil should therefore really be called jojoba wax. To protect this oil, or rather wax, from bacteria, the plant has created very unusual wax molecules on which bacteria, as the saying goes, ‘break their teeth’. As a result, jojoba oil is highly resistant to bacterial spoilage, keeps well and has a very low risk of microbial contamination. Rapidly perishable plant oils such as rosehip seed oil keep much better and are less prone to microbial contamination when mixed with jojoba oil/wax. In the refrigerator, jojoba oil (or wax) solidifies, but melts again at room temperature without any loss of quality. Its greatest advantage: it does not go rancid, even after many years. On the skin, jojoba oil is very well absorbed and processed. However, it cannot be used as an edible oil, as our gut lacks the enzymes needed to digest the wax. So use it externally only.

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