Jojoba Oil for Skin and Face: Why We Infuse Our Herbs in It
When someone asks me about jojoba oil for skin, I usually put one of our amazing herbal oils in their hands so they can feel it for themself. The comments are usually about how light it is and how it doesn't feel "oily." For our herbal infused oils, Calendula, Chamomile, and Lavender flowers go into that jojoba as whole herbs, and what comes out of our extraction process is the lovely infused oil you put on your face and body. This post is about the base that carries all of our herbal oils: what it is, what I notice using it, and how I like to apply it.
Is jojoba oil good for your face?
Jojoba is a little different from the other oils you might be familiar with. Technically it is a liquid wax that comes from the seed of the jojoba shrub. It is often described as close to the skin's natural oils. That is a big part of why it is such a common carrier oil in skincare and massage.
On my own face I use very little. One drop is usually all I need. I put it on clean, slightly damp skin, after a mist of hydrosol or a water-based moisturizer, and gently spread it around evenly. I like the oil to go on after water based hydration so that the moisture is locked in underneath it. You can read more about how I layer it in my Sunday evening herbal face ritual.
Jojoba oil for skin benefits: what we notice
I would always rather tell you what I notice on my own skin than make promises, so here is what I see when I use our jojoba-based oils.
- A little goes a long way. One drop covers my face, and one drop warmed between my palms is enough for the ends of my hair.
- It glides. When I do my lymphatic face massage, the oil lets my fingers move without pulling at the skin.
- It carries the plant. Because the herbs are infused right into the jojoba, the fat-soluble nutrients of the plant end up in the oil, along with the herb's own beautiful and gentle scent.
- Softness and shine. Between haircuts, when my ends get a little brittle and stringy, our calendula oil gives them more softness, shine and shape.
Herbs like calendula and chamomile have been traditionally used in skincare for a very long time, and jojoba is the vehicle that brings them to you.
How to use jojoba oil on your face and body
These are the ways I use our herbal oils, all of which start with that jojoba base.
- Face: one drop on clean, slightly damp skin, after a hydrosol or water-based moisturizer. Gently apply it across the face.
- Hair: one drop in the palm of your hand, spread between both palms so you have a really thin layer, then run it through the tips of your hair. You can put a little extra on the ends. I like to twist a section around my finger and then open it up to give it some shape.
- Dry patches: apply directly to any dry or rough spot on the body.
- Body: after a shower, while the skin is still a little damp, warm a few drops between your hands and smooth them over arms, legs and shoulders.
- After Shaving: Apply a small amount to the shaved skin, spread evenly.
- Makeup Remover: Apply a drop or two do a cotton round and gently wipe away make-up.
If you want to go deeper on the calendula side of things, I wrote a whole post on calendula oil for skin.
Why we use organic golden jojoba as the base for our herbal oils
One of the things that makes our herbal products feel so special to us is that we use plants directly from the land, with no steps in between. Think about touching a sprig of sage or rosemary. You can feel something on your fingers, and the strong herbal fragrance is coming from the volatile oils of the plant. These is what essential oils are made from. To make an essential oil, you take quite a lot of plant matter, put it in a still, and the essential oil is separated out along with water, which becomes a hydrosol.
We actually do not use any of this form of essential oil in our products. We take the plants that we grow, and then we infuse them directly into the organic golden jojoba. We do it this way because we want you to feel that direct connection to the soil and Earth. The scents are more gentle and the potency of the volitile oils are much less making it a more gentle experience for the skin than using a distilled essential oil. An added bonus: since the plant is infused into an oil, the nutrients in the plant that are fat soluble end up in that oil, so you are getting their benefit as well.
We only us organic jojoba oil for our products. The herbs themselves are grown without synthetic sprays or fertilizers. There are no essential oils and no synthetic fragrance in our infused oils. The scent you notice is from the herb itself, straight from the flowers and leaves.
Jojoba as a massage oil
I love to massage my face and shoulders for tension relief after long stressful days. For massage I want something that lets the fingers glide with a bit of pressure, and that is how jojoba feels to me.
One of my favorite small rituals is a jaw release with our chamomile oil. I take one or two drops, spread them on my fingertips, and find the little divot just in front of the ear. I circle there with some pressure, then move my fingertips a little behind the ear and circle again. Open and close my jaw a few times, taking a few deep breaths. This is where I really take in the lovely floral, kind of fruity chamomile scent. To finish, I slide two fingers up to the temple and make a few circles there. (This spot feels so good!)
The Herbal Oil Trio gives you all three oils: calendula for dry spots, hair and face, chamomile for soothing massage, and lavender for winding down in the evening. It is a lovely way to get to know all three plants and notice which one is calling to you.
Wishing you a nourishing week from the farm,
Anne
From the farm
