Known for its many virtues, whether it be for hair or skin, we decided to use jojoba oil as one of our four ingredients in our solid makeup remover.
The choice of our raw material is a conscious decision. We are going to provide you with detailed information about this oil and explain why we chose to use this ingredient.
First of all, where does jojoba oil come from?
Jojoba oil comes from a shrub, simmondsia chinensis, better known under the name of “gold of the Incas”. This tree doesn’t fear temperature variations, high during the day and low at night, and grows in semi-desert climate like in Mexico, Arizona, California, or Latin America. Jojoba oil is made from this shrub's seeds. The yield in oil is about half their weight.
This oil comes from a cold mechanical pressing and can be kept for a very long time. Once the oil has been obtained, it has a light-yellow colour, and is liquid and odourless. Even though the word “oil” is often used, the liquid from jojoba seeds is more like a wax. Its melting point is at around 10°C, meaning that the oil hardens under this temperature. However, its properties aren’t altered. By the way, here’s a little tip. If our solid makeup remover is stored in a cool place, you simply need to run it under warm water before using it.
Does the jojoba oil production have an environmental impact?
Some jojoba oil extractions (just like any other oil) use solvents to degrease the seeds and obtain a better return. In this case, the extraction is highly polluting as some residues may remain in the oil.
Jojoba oil is a vegetable and natural alternative. It can replace cetyl palmitate (a synthetic ester oil) which itself replaced whale spermaceti (a substance found in some cetaceans’ head cavities) and sperm whale oil. These two raw materials could be found in some cosmetics before they were banned. It’s also a great alternative to silicone, known to be harmful to our health and the planet, mainly because it isn’t biodegradable (it takes around 500 years to break down).
The simmondsia chinensis tree has been grown for many years for its jojoba oil. Even though it lives in rather extreme conditions, it can live up to 200 years. The production and seed harvesting are simple: the main advantages of jojoba are that it doesn’t require much water and that it resists to high temperatures. This bush’s cultivation has been improved and jojoba plantations are multiplying thanks to three techniques: seeds, cuttings, and tissue culture. Drip-irrigation has also helped to develop this tree.
Of course, for minimal impact, we recommend choosing an organic and cold-pressed jojoba oil. This is actually what we did for the jojoba oil we use in our makeup remover. The oil comes from Argentina, is virgin, of first press, free from GMOs, and cruelty-free.
Why use this oil in cosmetics and most specifically in your solid makeup remover?
This inedible oil is more and more used today in cosmetics because of its benefits for the body.
This oil is ideal to moisturise your body, face, as well as your hair. Its particularity remains in its composition, which is actually very close to our sebum’s that we produce naturally. With its sebo-regulating effect, it’s particularly adapted to people with greasy hair or skin.
This emollient oil quickly penetrates the skin, leaving it soft, smooth, and supple. This is why it’s ideal to deeply nourish your skin and regulate it at the same time. It can also be used on dry to very dry skin as it has a healing effect. Because it slows seborrheic secretion and is non-comedogenic, it is also ideal for atopic skin and helps to reduce acne problems.
You now understand that this oil can be used on all types of skin. With its fatty acids (mainly omegas 3 and 9) and antioxidants (vitamin E), it protects the skin and fights aging. As well as vitamins and omegas, jojoba oil contains unsaponifiables that protect your skin from external aggressions such as cold or pollution. They also help to fight again premature skin aging.
Our makeup remover is therefore ideal for your evening beauty routine. Even if you don’t wear makeup, you can use it as a daily face cleanser, to get rid of daily pollution on your skin for example. As our makeup remover easily penetrated the skin, it will remove makeup without leaving your skin greasy.
At Comme Avant, our raw material choice is essential. We spend time identifying properties and benefits as well as the impact on our planet and our health. In this case with jojoba oil, even though this ingredient isn’t local, it seemed to us to be the best and most eco-friendly ingredient to add to our solid makeup remover recipe. We chose it for its universal aspect so that people with all types of skin could use our makeup remover. As well as its soothing, healing, and nourishing properties, jojoba oil is fully biodegradable. As for its manufacturing, very interesting from an environmental perspective, we choose an oil that has undergone no chemical treatments and that is organic certified. 🌱