Jojoba Oil: The Best Moisturiser for Sensitive Skin?

Hi folks! Today I want to talk about jojoba oil and share my personal experiences with the product.

Firstly and perhaps most importantly...disclaimer time....This is about MY experience with this product and this blog is not intended to give advice. People have different skin and different tolerances and what suits one person may irritate another.

In my 2 years of steroid withdrawal, I hadn't really heard much mention of jojoba oil. Maybe just the odd mention on the forum, but nothing that stood out in my memory. My actual "discovery" of this oil came when I was reading a skin forum (not itsan) about different emollients. One of the experts posting in the forum recommended jojoba oil as being different to other oils because it very closely resembles skin sebum and is therefore tolerated a lot better than other oils and creams.

This got me curious and I was keen to discover more.

My research led to a lot of discoveries about jojoba. For instance, did you know that jojoba is not an oil at all, but rather a wax? And yes, the wax esters are very similar indeed to human skin sebum.

In fact, people with acne often use jojoba as a moisturiser because it has a balancing effect, but the really clever part is that it does not dry the skin out either. it balances it. The effect is to recreate optimum skin conditions.

But there is more...so much more. Studies on rats showed that jojoba is an anti-inflammatory and also, most importantly for TSW people, it LOWERS NITRIC OXIDE LEVELS!!!! This is very important, as the reason we flare is because of excess Nitric oxide in the blood. Surely a moisturiser that lowers nitric oxide has to be as close as it gets to perfect, right? It also has been shown to reduce edema, another big problems during steroid withdrawal.

In fact, in all my research on jojoba, I didn't find anything negative about it online. Nothing but praise. I then revisited the itsan forum and typed "jojoba" into the search box, only to find that many clever forumites have been using this fantastic oil and extolling its virtues for ages, I just hadn't noticed before.

So anyway, I bought a bottle to see if the hype was true. I bought the smallest bottle because I'm cautious like that and despite my enthusiasm, experience has told me to be reserved about such things.

The oil itself, or should I say WAX, is rather thick and a little goes a long way. One drop could spread over half my face. When you rub it in, it sinks right into the skin and there is no grease left on the skin because it does not contain triglycerides. Another good thing about it is that it is antimicrobial and antifungal, so it does not go rancid and keeps for a very long time on the shelf. It is non-toxic, non comedogenic and non-allergenic (of course, it may cause a reaction to particularly hypersensitive individuals). Jojoba oil also actually kills mildew when it comes into contact with it. It also contains beneficial vitamins and minerals like vitamin E.

I found the oil to be really good and very useful in day to day life. For example, if I have a dry patch on my face, a quick dab of jojoba and I look normal again. I also found that it worked wonders on oozy areas (could this be due to the fact it reduces nitric oxide?) and flaky areas. You know those papery scabs that won't heal? Well, I found jojoba to be pretty much the only thing that works on them quickly.

In short, if you are going to use a moisturiser during TSW (not everyone does, and I respect that), jojoba may be a good choice to consider as it is natural, contains no nasty chemicals and is anti-inflammatory. I love my little bottle and I know it will last for ages, so it has been a bargain.

Please, if you have tried jojoba and would like to share your experiences, either good or bad, I would love to hear them.