Jojoba face oil: the key ingredient for a healthy skin barrier

Jojoba face oil is gaining popularity as positive perceptions around oil-based skincare become more popular. As confirmed by specialized research, oil skincare products are gaining traction thanks to their unique texture, their moisturizing properties and the overall current preference for botanical, natural ingredients. Along this same line is also the survey that found 71% consumers use facial oils for their “good effect of moisturizing/hydrating”, according to Mintel.

As sustainable plant-based oils take centerstage and consumers look for substitutes for mineral oils, jojoba face oil stands out for its unique chemical profile and distinct moisturizing capacities. With its compounds closely resembling the natural oils produced by human skin, exercises such as comparing almond oil and jojoba oil highlight the latter’s unique benefits, including its extraordinary effects for a healthy skin barrier.

Evolving facial oil claims: towards a healthy skin barrier

Skin-barrier claims are attracting more and more attention as both consumers and brands align in understanding its importance.

Simply put, the skin barrier is the outer layer of the skin that is in charge of protecting skin from stressors. Part of the stratum corneum and made of proteins, lipids, fats and dead cells, it acts like a shielding agent, both locking moisture in as well as preventing chemicals and potential infectious agents from trespassing the barrier.

There are various ways in which the skin barrier can be harmed: from medical conditions such as acne, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, to the use of harsh cosmetic products or aggressive beauty routines.

With its key function, a damaged skin barrier can be the main cause behind significant harm to skin health in general. This can result in multiple consequences: from acne and infections, to inflammation and/ or dry, flaky skin.

Considering the importance of a healthy skin barrier, claims surrounding its health and correct function are becoming widespread, with treatments becoming increasingly sophisticated and comprehensive, often including those fighting the effects of pollution on the skin barrier.

How to repair and take care of the skin barrier

• Being more thoughtful around cleaning routines. Warm but not scalding water is recommended for face washes. It’s also advisable to keep cleansing massages short, as well as using soap-free cleansers to ensure precious natural oils and good bacteria present on the skin (which are key for skin barrier health) are not washed away.
• Choosing mild exfoliants. This includes treatments that go beyond niacinamide and lactic acid and opt for plant-based gentle exfoliants.
• Protecting skin from sun using adequate sunscreens.
• Using neutral products when it comes to pH.
• Guarantee a deep skin moisturizing. The right moisturizing product will mimic the skin barrier’s natural components and thus enhance its health at a molecular level. This is precisely where plant-based oils in general and jojoba face oil in particular stand out.

Jojoba oil: the key ingredient for skin barrier care

When looking at jojoba oil’s chemical composition and properties, it’s soon noticeable how it can become one of the finest cosmetic ingredients today for face skincare.

Its excellent inherent emollient, moisturization and oxidative stability properties rank it as one of the top cosmetic lipid materials, natural or synthetic. However, simultaneously, jojoba oil is in all likelihood also one of the most misunderstood cosmetic ingredients.

Jojoba oil is, in fact, a complex mixture of naturally occurring long-chained linear esters. This differentiates this natural ingredient from other plant-based oils (triglyceride seed oils) in many ways. When it comes to skin barrier care, perhaps the most significant is the fact that jojoba’s chemical structure closely resembles the natural oils produced by human skin. Linear (wax) esters are part of the surface layers of animal skin and plant leaves, and used for moisture control, protection and as an emollient. In the case of the human sebum, the jojoba esters are very similar to the esters that make up 25-30% of human sebum. 

Technically, wax esters are used primarily for moisture control, protection and for their emollient properties in plants and animals. But the jojoba tree is one of the few plants that produce commercial quantities of this functional liquid material in its seeds, a quality that has put this ingredient at the center of numerous successful initiatives in the cosmetics market, including the development of jojoba oil products for tattoo care.

Since jojoba oil is completely miscible with face sebum, it forms a very thin, non-greasy lipoid layer of jojoba and sebum when it is applied to the skin, which provides exceptional transepidermal respiration and moisture control. Additionally, unlike greasy occlusive materials, jojoba activates a non-tacky and non-greasy dry moisturizing process.

Jojoba face oil is thus capable of leaving a rich velvety non-oily feel on the skin while minimizing water loss and enhancing the flexibility and suppleness of the skin. All key to address current consumer preferences for plant-based oils that provide a pleasant texture while also providing advanced, science-based cosmetic properties.