Jojoba seeds are from the jojoba plant that are cultivated by the thousands in the southwestern U.S. Jojoba oil is extracted from jojoba seeds and are found in as many as 300 health and beauty products.
Centuries ago, Native Americans pressed the yellow waxy substance from jojoba seeds to apply to cuts to speed healing. Today, jojoba seeds are also being studied by researchers to see if jojoba meal can be used to reduce obesity in people.
Identification
Jojoba seeds grow in clusters of three in the fruit of the jojoba plant (Simmondsia chinensis) and grows wild in western Mexico, Arizona and southern California.
Jojoba seeds have 50 to 60 percent of the liquid plant wax that has been used heavily in skincare and other beauty products. In 1971, the use of spermaceti oil from sperm whales was banned and jojoba oil from jojoba seeds was in large demand.
Features
Jojoba seeds are found in the green fruit on the evergreen shrub, jojoba plant that can grow to 10 or 15 feet in height. Oval-shaped leaves are green gray and have a waxy coating to keep the moisture locked in.
It takes three months for the fruit to ripen before it bursts open to reveal small brown jojoba seeds that resemble small olives. A one-pound cup might hold from 300 to 1,000 jojoba seeds.
Benefits
Strictly speaking, jojoba seeds are generally not sought out by consumers. It is the liquid golden jojoba oil that is. Jojoba oil can be purchased in bottles and used to moisturize skin and hair or as a makeup remover.
Jojoba oil is found in many skin creams, liquid soaps, bath gels and also in pots of lip moisturizer.
Jojoba seeds are sought by cosmetic manufacturers as this crop is able to thrive in arid dessert where other crops would fail.
Misconceptions
Jojoba seeds are not easy to find but if you do find them, do not eat them: they are toxic! Currently there are studies that are defatting the jojoba seed meal to see if rats will eat less food and lose weight. Early studies show that defatted jojoba seed meal may reduce appetites in rats by 20 percent. The hope is to see if this may be applied to diabetic or obese people who are at risk for death. More research must be completed before you will see jojoba seeds for consumption by humans, however.
Warning
As jojoba oil is easily found in health food stores and on-line, many people believe it will provide adequate sun protection as a "natural sunscreen."
It does not. The American Cancer Society recommends using a full-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15. Jojoba oil from crushed jojoba seeds do not provide this level of sun protection.
Use jojoba oil to clean makeup from your face and eyelids and to moisturize, but also use a sunscreen to prevent burning.
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