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Origins

Jojoba oil (pronounced: ho-ho-ba) is a unique naturally occurring liquid wax obtained from the seeds of the Jojoba shrub (Simmondsia chinensis). The plant is native to the Sonoran Desert (Northwest Mexico and Southwest USA).

Jojoba shrubs can take up to 3 years to reach flowering maturity from seed. The shrub's extensive deep root system and leathery leaves make it well suited to droughts and intense heat; even deserts.

Jojoba is cultivated for its commercially important oil crop, but it is also grown in difficult areas to prevent soil erosion. Jojoba oil is commercially cultivated in Mexico, Israel, Argentina and in USA. It is the only natural botanical substitute for spermaceti oil (from the sperm whale) and it is also being investigated as a possible source of bio fuel.

 

What it can do for you

Jojoba oil is unique because it is a naturally occurring liquid wax, similar in its properties to "Spermaceti" (whale oil, sperm oil). These types of liquid waxes have hundreds of uses and are very difficult to make synthetically. Whale oil comes from the head cavity of the Sperm Whale and used to be widely utilised across many industries - from lamp oil to soap making. Since the 1970s, pressure has been on to conserve whales and to eliminate the use of whale oil. Jojoba is an excellent substitute to it, and in the last decades, commercial cultivation of jojoba has significantly increased due to high demand for this wonderful substance.

The Facts

* When European naturalists first discovered the Jojoba plant in the 19th century, its botanical record was accidentally mixed up with other notes taken in China. That's why the Latin name "chinensis" was first assigned to the plant, even though jojoba was not of Chinese origin.
* The English common name jojoba is of Mexican-Spanish origin.
* Native Americans used jojoba seeds and oil for a variety of purposes. They roasted the nuts and ate them when other food was scarce and used the oil to heal sunburn, windburn and irritation; and to condition skin, scalp and hair.
* Our jojoba oil is cold pressed and organic and comes from a plantation located in Northwest Argentina. Brothers Adolfo and Alfredo along with Christian and others have grown the business during the past 20 years. Adolfo and Alfredo started as growers and farmers in the fields and have now developed the plantation into the largest jojoba crop in the world with the highest yield of oil.
* They still use traditional drip irrigation farming practices, which reduce water evaporation and conserve reserves. The oil that we buy from this source is fully traceable back to the very farm it is handpicked from during harvest time.