Today we’re looking at ten of my favourite recipes you can make with sunny jojoba oil (Simmondsia chinensis). There’s a good chance jojoba oil is one of the first oils you purchased—it’s very popular in the world of DIY/natural skin care, and is widely available. Unrefined jojoba oil is a beautiful golden colour, while refined jojoba oil is clear. It’s a bit more expensive than carrier oils like sweet almond or sunflower (depending on the amount you purchase and where you live you’re probably looking at spending at least $10–20 for 100–250mL), but well worth owning in my opinion. I used it throughout my book, Make it Up, for its long shelf life, silky feel, and wonderful emollient properties. It’s a very diverse oil that’s definitely worth having in your pantry!

Jojoba oil is unique in the world of carrier oils—it’s actually a liquid wax, pressed from the seeds of Simmondsia chinensis. It closely resembles our own skin’s sebum, making it extra awesome for the skin, and it is highly shelf stable, which is always nice! It’s popular in both skincare and haircare recipes, and is rich in vitamin E. The golden variety is somewhat prone to going a bit cloudy in cooler environments, but it’s nothing a bit of gentle heating won’t fix.

The melting/freezing point of jojoba oil is around 10°C (50°F), so it will solidify if refrigerated, and its flash point is 295°C (563°F). It is over three-quarters 11-Eicosenoic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid, with other smaller amounts of Erucic acid, Oleic acid, and several other fatty acids present at 1% or less. It feels smooth and silky on the skin, gliding around in a rather luxurious manner. It absorbs relatively quickly with a smooth, satiny finish. It’s lovely on its own, but is also a beautiful ingredient in oil blends, balms, salves, and lotions. Here are some of my favourite ways to use it:

Super Nourishing Hair Balm

This is one of the first recipes I ever released (it dates back to October 2011!), and it has held up well. A blend of beautiful plant-based oils and fragrant essential oils yields a rich balm that revives dry ends in utterly teensy amounts. It calls for a fairly wide array of oils and butters, but it’s pretty flexible when it comes to making substitutions. Ginny says “I made this balm with different oils (Argan & Pumpkin Seed infused with Chamomile & Calendula), and Camellia Oil. That is what I had on hand at the time. My hair is loving it. I have also noticed that it is holding my curls together where they didn’t last all day before the balm. I think it can also be called a nice styling balm.”

Conditioning Ginger Oak Moss Beard Oil

This lightweight, silky beard oil smells divine and leaves skin and hair feeling amazing thanks to the inclusion of some cationic BTMS. Jojoba, argan, and camellia seed oils bring a luxurious note to a simple olive squalane base.

Snowy Dawn Cream Luminizer

I love this stuff and still wear it very regularly. It’s super firm, beautifully shimmery, and glides on with a stunning dry-touch finish that’s downright fantastic. Jojoba oil helps contribute to a nice long shelf life so you can get your shimmer on for a good long time.

Deb’s Canadian Seaweed Mask

This rich and creamy anhydrous seaweed mask is a great way to enjoy the benefits of seaweed without the overwhelming seaweed scent that tends to bloom when seaweed powder and water meet. Seaweed powder is rich in vitamins and makes a lovely mild physical exfoliant, making this mask a lovely occasional skin treat!

Bill’s Lavender Salve

This fragrant lavender salve was the first recipe I shared using cera bellina—a modified beeswax that creates very cool oil gels. Its presence in this recipe gives it a delightful ointment-y consistency, while the golden jojoba oil contributes to the beautiful rich yellow hue.

Luxury Facial Serum

This herb-infused oil serum is inspired by an astonishingly pricey shop-bought oil serum. Calendula and arnica compliment a blend of argan, jojoba, evening primrose oil, and other lovely plant-based oils to create a silky face serum that definitely doesn’t cost $170!

Olive and Jojoba Silk Conditioner

This is one of the first hair conditioners I ever made, and swoon. It was love at first use. I couldn’t stop running my fingers through my hair, admiring how soft and silky and shiny it was. If you can make lotion, you can make hair conditioner!

Cold Snap Cleansing Balm

I love this stuff—it smells amazing, and has a wonderful soft consistency that’s downright decadent. It gently cleanses and will help perk you up in the morning thanks to the inclusion of some menthol crystals. The lovely golden yellow hue comes from the inclusion of lecithin, sea buckthorn oil, and jojoba oil. If your sea buckthorn oil is suuuuuuuper orange (as many seems to be—my newest bottle is much oranger than the one I used in the development of this recipe!) I’d recommend dropping it to 1g and making up the remaining 7g with more jojoba oil so you don’t dye your face orange!

Jojoba & Almond Cuticle Oil

Another serious oldie, this recipe is loose enough to be considered more of an idea than a formula—it’s a simple, three-oil cuticle oil from way back in the day (volume measurements!). The general idea is ~40% jojoba oil, 40% sweet almond oil, 19% rice bran oil, 0.5% vitamin E oil, and 0.5% essential oils. Inspired by a more expensive store-bought cuticle oil, it’s a simple way to save some money.

Blushing Argan Lip Balm

A pastel pink lip balm with a uniquely floral essential oil blend and a beautiful blend of oils—measure, melt, stir, and pour!

What do you love to make with jojoba oil?