Desert Essence Organic Jojoba Oil

Jojoba Oil is one of nature's best-kept secrets for oily skin types or those prone to oily areas/patches. 

Now up until late last year, before my skin started to head more towards the 'normal' category, this was my HG moisturizer every morning. All I needed was a couple of drops of this and I was good to go when it came to hydration. Jojoba oil is definitely not a product for those with drier skin types - unless the skins' hydration levels are adequately topped up with another product afterwards. 

My personal experience taught me that this oil can help to reduce my skins production of sebum (to an extent) whilst keeping my skin supple at the same time. It also helped fade blemishes. Luckily I had zero purging or any other of the issues I'm seeing listed here. If anything it helped to reduce comedones, leaving my skin feeling really soft. 

My other use for Jojoba oil was (and still is) as a deep cleansing oil. I would apply a dime size amount to my face whilst it was still dry and gently massaged into my skin for 60 seconds, before using a cotton pad to wipe off, followed by a quick rinse. This not only helped completely dissolve makeup but also kept a thin film of the oil on my skin that helped retain moisture and not allow my skin to dry out. On the days when I used m/u and removed it this way, no other moisturizer or product was required after, the cleansing method was more than sufficient. 

A true multi-tasker that won't break the bank...


Selena x


~ My HG list ~

(As I've sampled 100s of skin, hair and m/u products over the last decade and a half, I thought it might be useful to share my top 10 must-have products, subject to change if and when I come across something more effective. I love constantly trying out new stuff - usually sample sizes via e-bay, also plenty courtesy of a friend who works at Sephora) 


1. Hair Loss Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Hair Oil
2. Lip Balm: 'Nuxe' - Reve De Miel Lip Balm
3. Pigmentation + Anti-Ageing Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Facial Treatment Serum
4. Cleanser: 'Paula's Choice' - Skin Balancing Cleanser
5. Concealer: ‘Mac’ - Studio Finish Concealer
6. Lash Growth Serum: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Divinelash
7. Foundation/SPF: ‘Juice Beauty’ - Stem Cellular Repair (warm glow)
8. Foot File/Callus/Heel Treatment - 'Microplane' - Colossal Pedicure Rasp Foot File
9. Ingrown Hair Treatment - 'Priva Shave' - Post Hair Removal Treatment
10. Hand Cream: 'Origins' - Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment 

Doesn’t break me out, but drying to the skin. Very good for psoriasis! The zinc in it is what makes it great for itch. Can’t use on my face though due to it being a slight astringent. Drying!

For the reference, I have normal dehydrated sensitive rosacea-prone skin.
I couldn't bring myself to buy the Dessert Essence, the packaging is too ugly, so I've got mine USDA Organic Cold Pressed Oil in a fancy dropper bottle from Amazon.

Pros:
- this is the first oil that didn't cause any breakouts or irritation/ rosacea flare up (I can't use coconut oil, argan oil, olive oil, rosehip oil, apricot oil, and any essential oils);
- I like how liquid it is. Super runny and easy to spread all over the face;
- it cuts-off natural sebum production. Great for oily skins or oily T-zone;
- the dry areas of my face also feel less dry and balanced;
- it clears the skin. I put it at the night time as my moisturizer and my skin always look better in the following morning than it looked at the evening.

Cons:
- it takes ages for my skin to absorb it, definitely more than 2 hours (same for any other oil, my skin doesn't get well along with oils in general);
- at first, I thought that it is drying. But I wasn't ready to give it up, so I kept experimenting. I can't put a sunscreen over it, if I do it dries the crap out of my face (the sunscreen isn't drying on its own). If I put something with silicones over this oil, my skin will break out. If I put it on the days when I use Retin-A my skin will peel off.

Overal it's a great product to balance oiliness of the skin. I don't see dry skin types enjoy using it.
I'm not sure my skin is the right type to benefit from this product.

Add me to the list of people this doesn't work for and I mean really doesn't work: horrific acne and clogging even just after a few applications, drying and irritating, just terrible. I used to use it on my scalp but I started noticing little pimples around my hairline so it's been relegated to shaving I'm afraid.

Pretty sad how long it took me to figure out it was the packaging that put me off this stuff at first. The bottle is a bit leaky and unglamorous. It's hard to get the right amount, and one of the keys is not using too much. But finally, it has been doing for me what the glowing reviews promise. With continued use, it has definitely reduced the bumpy feeling of clogged pores (maybe even better than BHAs). I just massage some in for a few minutes and then wash my face as usual. And it's a great moisturizer: just rub a couple of drops in wet hands and press onto to a wet face. (I use Avene mineral water if I have it.) I'm sensitive, prone to redness, and it's a rare unicorn of a moisturizer that doesn't break me out. I'm totally surprised by the smoothness and the reduced redness after just a few weeks of jojoba oil.

Been using for years under moisturizer to help combat flakiness from daily benzoyl peroxide use. Will continue to buy!

After trying oil blends such as Tatcha, Boscia, and others I am using this solely to remove my makeup. It is inexpensive and does the job of thoroughly dissolving my makeup without ever breaking me out. I have patted this on after toning to see how I liked it as a mositurizer, but I found it too heavy for my oily skin.

This is a light golden oil, that is quite dry and absorbs rather quickly. It has a faint mild scent and is about $15 for the bottle. It irritated my skin, giving me clogs, and my skin is combo dry and prone to dermatitis. I have mild rosacea and alternate finacea with retin a so things either work really well for me or not at all and this oil is the latter.

So far, oils that haven't worked are coconut, argan, rosehip, epo, hemp, maracuja, marula. The one that has worked is sea buckthorn, specifically sibu.

HG PRODUCT FOR ME!!
I ran out of my PC Oil Booster trial and decided to try Jojoba since people said it's good for oily/acne prone folks.

My skin is combo, gets a little drier in winter and doesn't breakout unless a product irritates me. After using my retinol, I like to add a little more moisture since retinol dries me out a bit.

My hair is fine but I have a lot of it, which means that using too much conditioner or thicker oily makes it greasy super quick. When I skip conditioner that doesn't work either because it looks poofy/frizzy and lifeless. One drop rubbing into my hands the ends of my hair works perfectly.

My hands are often very dry, but most creams are sooo greasy and don't absorb quickly or leave a super shiny residue behind.

Well, excuse my French, but I'll be damned if this little $9 bottle didn't solve all my problems. No breakouts, nice treatment for ends of hair, and I use it at night on my hands and it definitely helps.

HOWEVER, I do recommended transferring this into a blue or brown pharmacy apothecary glass bottle. It's easier to control and keep protected from sun/light. Awesome, awesome product for so cheap <3

I so wanted to love this product with all the amazing reviews but it just isn't for my face. I will start off by saying that it did provide great moisture for my skin and was not too greasy, it's definitely a lot lighter than olive oil. However, I experienced some bad breakouts, especially around my chin, after using this product as a moisturizer for just 4 days. I have very sensitive skin and this might work for some but unfortunately it did not sit well with my face. I will continue to use this product on the rest of my body during the dry months of the year because it really does a great job with making your skin feel hydrated but it clogged my pores terribly.