Jojoba is a star ingredient in the three Votary #takeitallofffirsttime brilliant cleansing oils. I love the way it works to deep-clean and protect your skin. It’s a very clever ingredient.

Jojoba isn’t actually an oil, it’s a kind of wax. It’s extracted from the nut of the jojoba plant which grows in southern California, southern Arizona and northern Mexico. It’s fragrance-free and gentle, and it’s rich in potent fatty acids, vitamin E and minerals. And here’s why it’s so clever: it contains wax esters which are bio-similar to the skin’s natural sebum. It can penetrate the skin’s mantle and then really deep-down-clean pores. It literally ‘grabs’ grime, SPF, excess sebum and make-up and lifts it all out. It contains omega 6 and 9 which work to repair damaged skin cells, and to boost troubled areas which may require healing. Rich in Vitamin E, jojoba also helps your skin to fight oxidative stress caused by everyday exposure to pollutants.

Jojoba was the ingredient I started with when I formulated our very first Votary product, the cult Rose Geranium and Apricot Cleansing Oil. Rather than heat-press jojoba like many skincare companies do, I decided to cold-press it because that means it retains a greater proportion of its antioxidant goodness. I also realised that jojoba would work brilliantly within the Votary Cleansing routine, because once it has grabbed all the grime, SPF, pollutants, and make-up from your skin, our warm 100% cotton face cloth absorbs and whisks everything away so that it can’t sink back in. So many of our #Votarists are addicted to how beautifully clean and soft their skin feels after cleansing.

Jojoba is a hero ingredient in all three of our cleansers – Rose Geranium and Apricot, Super Seed and Clarifying. In each one, it works with the other ingredients to give your skin exactly what it needs. Rose Geranium and Apricot Cleansing Oil is for normal skins, and has a lovely light slip on the skin. Super Seed Cleansing Oil is our thickest, richest formula, and the jojoba helps carry all the natural, nourishing goodness deep into the skin’s mantle. Votary Clarifying Cleansing Oil uses rice bran oil and oat oil to help re-set blemished complexions, and the jojoba works with them to really lift away excess sebum and help to re-balance the skin.

I have used jojoba in our beautiful new Tinted Lip Gloss, because the skin on your lips has a different structure and different needs from the rest of your face. There are no oil glands in your lips which is why they are the first part of your skin to feel dehydrated and sore, whether from cold, chapping wind or hot, sunny days on the beach. I have included it- along with gorgeous watermelon oil and squalane – because it helps carry hydration deep into your lips and adds a layer of protection to lock it all in. Lips feel conditioned and plumped with zero tackiness, and soft and smooth throughout the day.

All Votary formulas harness the natural, pure potency of plant oils and active botanicals. I am obsessed with the fact that beautiful, healthy radiant skin starts with properly clean skin, and I love jojoba for helping to deliver exactly that.

Love, Arabella x

Read here and here for more about why jojoba is good for your skin.