Not that it's not good, it is good, even great but reading the research about argan and a bunch of other plant oils we just do not see the big, unique differentiating factor (though that might be our fault not reading enough, obvs.) Dubbed as the " liquid gold of Morocco", we have to admit we have some trouble determining why this oil enjoys such a special miracle status. When it comes to cosmetic oils and hype, argan oil is for sure leading the way. On balance, the point is this: in contrast to real plant oils, wax esters were designed by Mother Nature to stay on the surface and form a protective, moisturizing barrier and jojoba oil being a wax ester is uniquely excellent at doing that.
Cantu natural hair moisturizing curl activator cream skin#
Third, jojoba oil moisturizes the skin through a unique dual action: on the one hand, it mixes with sebum and forms a thin, non-greasy, semi-occlusive layer on the other hand, it absorbs into the skin through pores and hair follicles then diffuses into the intercellular spaces of the outer layer of the skin to make it soft and supple. has this not fully proven theory that thanks to this, jojoba might be able to "trick" the skin into thinking it has already produced enough sebum, so it might have "skin balancing" properties for oily skin. Second, jojoba oil is the most similar to human sebum (both being wax esters), and the two are completely miscible. If you have some pure jojoba oil at home, you should be fine using it for years. (Many plant oils tend to go off pretty quickly). Even if you heat it to 370 C (698 F) for 96 hours, it does not budge.
So being a wax ester results in a couple of unique properties: First, jojoba oil is extremely stable. 25-30% of human sebum is also wax esters to give us people environmental protection. Wax esters are on the outer surface of several plant leaves to give them environmental protection. Chemically, a wax ester is a fatty acid + a fatty alcohol, one long molecule. Mother Nature also created wax esters but for a totally different purpose.
Mother Nature created triglycerides to be easily hydrolyzed (be broken down to a glycerin + 3 fatty acid molecules) and oxidized (the fatty acid is broken down into small parts) - this happens basically when we eat fats or oils and our body generates energy from it. The fatty acids attached to the glycerin vary and thus we have many kinds of oils, but they are all triglycerides. So what the heck is a wax ester and why is that important anyway? Well, to understand what a wax ester is, you first have to know that oils are chemically triglycerides: one glycerin + three fatty acids attached to it. If that warrants for the magic oil status it enjoys, we don't know. Overall, coconut oil is definitely a goodie for the hair and dry skin. Labmuffin has an awesome blogpost explaining in more detail why coconut oil is good for your hair.Ī couple of other things worth mentioning: coconut oil might help with wound healing (promising animal study), it has some antifungal activity (against dermatophytes that cause the thing known as ringworm) and it also works as an insect repellent against black flies. If you have problems with damaged hair, split ends, coconut oil is worth trying as a pre- or/and post-wash treatment. Try it at your own risk.Īs for hair care, coconut oil has pretty solid research showing that it can penetrate into the hair very well (better than mineral oil and sunflower oil) and it can prevent hair protein loss as well as combing damage. While some claim that it worked wonders on their acne others say that it gave them serious blackheads and zits. people commenting in forums) shows that people have mixed experiences. Though comedogenic ratings are not very reliable, anecdotal evidence (i.e. acnes but at the same time, both Lauric Acid and coconut oil have a very high comedogenic rating (4 out of 5). Its main fatty acid, Lauric Acid has some research showing that it is a promising ingredient against evil acne-causing bacteria, P. The question is if it is good or bad for acne-prone skin. So when it comes to dry skin, coconut oil is a goodie, no question there.
A double-blind research confirmed that extra virgin coconut oil is as effective in treating xerosis (aka very dry skin) as mineral oil. Another study found that coconut oil is more effective than mineral oil in treating mild to moderate atopic dermatitis (aka eczema) in children. The saturated nature of coconut oil also means that it is a heavy-duty-oil ideal for dry skin types. Macadamia Ternifolia (Macadamia) Seed Oil Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil