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Newsletter - June 2007
Newsletter
- March 2007
Newsletter
- January 2007
Boston
Globe Article - December 2006
Newsletter
- September 2006
Ingredient Profile: Jojoba Oil
There are some
natural
ingredients that are so wonderfully
and simply effective they are worthy of a little exploration. One of
those
ingredients is Jojoba Oil. Nope – it’s not
pronounced “joe-joe-bah” – it’s
“ho-HO-bah”. Jojoba oil has many uses and a rich,
wonderful history. Plus –
it’s relatively inexpensive and easy to find. So really
– does it get much
better than that?
Jojoba
oil comes from the crushed seed of the Simmondsia
Chinenis shrub that is found mainly in the deserts of the southwestern
region
of the United States
and
northern Mexico.
Used for centuries by Native Americans, the oil has many uses including
cosmetic, medicinal and nutritional purposes.
One
of the special qualities about Jojoba Oil is that it not
really “oil” but it is comprised of liquid wax
esters. Sebum, a liquid wax
ester found naturally in human skin, acts to waterproof and protect
both hair
and skin, keeping skin from becoming dry and brittle. It also can
control the
growth of microorganisms on the skin. Because Jojoba is so similar to
sebum, it
easily can emulate the same functions.
Jojoba
has many benefits:
- It
is easily
absorbed in the skin.
- It
is
hypo-allergenic.
- It
does not
clog pores.
- It
contains
many key nutrients and minerals including: Vitamin E, Vitamin B
complex, plus silicon, chromium, copper and zinc.
- It
also
contains a high level of iodine – which could contribute to
its antibacterial/antifungal properties.
Some
of my favorite uses of Jojoba are:
- Skin moisturizer. Especially good for
face. Look for it as a main ingredient in skin products. It is found in
almost all Garden Girl moisturizing products – body butters,
body lotions, face creams, face masques and scrubs, hand cream, foot
cream, body scrub and baby lotion. It truly is a wonderful emollient.
- Hair repair. Jojoba is fantastic for
hair. Tame flyaway hair or even repair dry or damaged hair with just a
couple of drops. It takes only a little to add a little shine and
smooth hair. I say this from experience – after having used
more than a couple drops. Not good. So stick with 2 or 3 drops.
- Eye make-up remover. Jojoba is the best
eye make-up remover that I have found. You can pay big bucks for some
fancy products, but nothing works as well as Jojoba, in my opinion. And
it is much less expensive. Soak a cotton ball with Jojoba, and gently
wipe off make-up. The bonus is that once your make-up is gone, you can
gently pat the excess oil back into your skin around your eyes for
added moisturizing. PLUS it is a great conditioner for your eyelashes.
- Cuticles. Excellent cuticle oil.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly ragged, dry cuticles can be
revived with a few drops of Jojoba oil.
- Dry lip revitalizer. Tired of globbing on
thick, greasy lip balm that never does the trick? Try a few drops of
Jojoba. You’ll be amazed!
With
its long list of uses and its reasonable price, Jojoba
oil is something you should keep in your medicine chest (or wherever
you keep
your “stuff”). Look for it at health food stores,
or other stores selling
natural products.
Click here to learn more about
Garden Girl products.
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