Some of you know that my rosacea — usually just an irritating flushing or blotchiness on my face — has escalated in a lot of unfortunate ways over the last few weeks. Instead of surrendering to daily antibiotics and topical steroids, I’ve been searching for lifestyle changes and natural products to help me manage the condition. And lo, I have discovered the glory of Jojoba Oil.
I bought a bottle of Dessert Essence brand Jojoba Oil at Whole Foods for about $12-15. Every time I wash my face, I take a drop or two of oil, rub it on my hands, then lightly smooth it onto my neck and face while they’re still wet. That’s it. And after just a few days, I can honestly say it’s the best moisturizer I’ve ever used in my life.
I have dry, super-sensitive skin, and the jojoba feels amazing going on. It’s soothing and refreshing, and I love that I’m not putting any chemicals on my skin. It’s purported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties as well, which are both excellent for my rosacea. Not only that, but I see a marked decrease in wrinkles, especially around my eyes.
In short, my face has never felt healthier.
Apparently jojoba oil is good for people with oily complexions, too. And it can be used for a whole bunch of other purposes as well. I haven’t tried any of those yet, but I’m definitely going to. If you want a little more info, I’ve posted a great video from a woman who’s been using jojoba for five years below. I have only two tips so far:
- Don’t apply it directly to your face; distribute the drops across your hands first and use them to pat or smooth it on.
- Apply the oil to wet skin, not dry, so it glides on.
Jojoba oil: no chemicals, healthier skin, and CHEAP. If I use this bottle just for my face, it’ll last at least six months and maybe more. I cannot recommend it enough.
I have that very bottle, and love it! I use it on legs, not face, but thank you for the great reminder that it is magic stuff. When I was a massage therapist it was one of my favorite oils to mix because it gets absorbed by the skin so well, and is actually healing for a variety of skin problems, rather than exacerbating them like some oils do. I’m so glad to hear it’s good for rosacea, too! One of the true natural healing potions for sure.
Oh, I’m glad it has the Karen stamp of approval! I’ve just started using it on my legs, too. In LA, everything is so dry that I feel like I’m going to burst into a pile of dust each day. So far I’m completely in love with this stuff.
This is very interesting! I’ll have to give it a try. I’ve always had oily skin but it’s gotten drier as I’ve gotten older and I’m constantly looking for things that doing feel oily but help moisturize.
Many people think that because jojoba oil so closely matches the oil produced by our own skin, that it tricks our bodies into producing less oil (if we have oily skin) — so that it actually helps people with both dry and oily skin. I’ll be curious to hear what you think of it.
I remember using this years ago and had totally forgotten about it.
Hmm. I wonder if kukui nut oil would be good for rosacea? It’s amazing stuff we picked it up in Hawaii for sunburn treatment, and it seems to act as a topical anti-imflammatory.
I see it listed on some sites as a good product for rosacea, similar to Jojoba. I’ll keep an eye out for it!
Last winter, I started using olive oil on my face and body. After decades of super-oily skin, it took a leap of faith to apply it the first time. Wow. Easy, inexpensive and soooo softening. Such a good experience! Perhaps I’ll follow you on the jojoba trail and see if I like it even better.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your experience with jojoba oil! I did try an olive oil bar after your recommendation, but I didn’t love the look and smell. It did seem to work well, though. I like that the jojoba seems to have no smell at all.
Oh man, I am SO glad to hear that’s working! And what a convincing rec–maybe I’ll pick up a bottle myself for my weird rashy/oily/dry/etc skin.
I don’t think it’s doing anything to help the rosacea in general (which is more stress and trigger-related), but it’s definitely improving the health of my skin, which thrills me. Also, I loved my previous moisturizer, but it was $25 for a tiny tub from LUSH. I am so behind this $2/month wonder product!
Jenn,
Thanks for sharing your tips. I’ve been using this exact brand of jojoba oil for about a month now. I agree with you that while it softens the skin, it doesn’t do anything for rosacea itself (maybe a little, but it doesn’t eliminate the redness, blotchiness, or hot, itchy feeling). How long have you been dealing with rosacea? This is rather new for me, but incredibly frustrating nonetheless after overcoming 25 years of acne only to wind up with another ugly, irritating condition for the whole world to see. I’m also 100% devoted to all natural solutions to the problem. Believe me, after 25 years of persistent (though mostly mild) acne, I did everything wrong for 23 of those years before figuring out that the acne companies had me brainwashed into believing I couldn’t live without their products. Even when I did have the acne under control with harsh products, I was paid back with flaking, peeling, tight skin that no amount of (chemical) moisturizer could combat. Then two years ago, I visited a skin care spa where the holistic dermatologist introduced me to probiotics for the first time. After a lot of research, I found an organic green powder online that contained 8 billion strands of priobiotics per serving along with other nutrients like wheat grass, spirulina, dried vegetable powders, etc. Within one week, my skin was 90% clear. All I used topically was all natural vitamin C soap and water. By week 2, I was clear. Two years later, I still religiously take probiotics morning and night. Acne is no longer an issue in my life, and I’m happy to say that I had two years of what I dare say was “movie star skin.” No acne, no bumps, no pores, not oily, not dry…with gentle soap and tap water, for crying out loud! Then about 8 months ago, I lost my job. Pretty much overnight, I started experiencing red, inflamed, itchy skin on the “butterfly” area of my cheeks and nose. At first I didn’t understand what was happening, and I wrote it off. Then it became more noticeable as the months passed, and easier to spot. People started saying to me, “Your cheeks are red.” Between personal research and having it confirmed by a dermatologist, I have mild rosacea now. I know I should be grateful for those two years, but I’m also soooooooo pissed. I thought I’d paid my dues (and then some) dealing with a quarter century’s worth of stubborn acne, and now this. After everything I’ve read (your post included), I also feel that, like acne, this condition will only be made worse if you give into topical meds prescribed by the dermatologist. She gave me a Rx for Finacea and two sample tubes. I nodded kindly because I knew there was no point telling her how I felt about western medicine’s answer to skin disorders, so I took them knowing full well I’d throw them out when I got home. What stood out in your post is the stress-related aspect. I lost my job, and then this started pretty much immediately. I’ve read that it can simply be triggered out of nowhere, and I feel pretty sure now that unemployment was the catalyst for me. The good news that the jojoba effectively treats whatever tiny dry bumps I get thanks to the itching, so my skin is still smooth and perfectly balanced. But the redness, hotness, and itching still bother me. I’ve read that turmeric is good for rosacea, so I’ve been taking it twice a day with my probiotic powder. It hasn’t been long enough yet to see if there’s an improvement, but having my acne in 100% remission through probiotics only proves to me that rosacea should also be treated internally and psychologically ONLY. No topical anything is going to help it, and you’ll only ruin your skin in the process. The mental part is the hardest part for me. For example, if I’m busy, working in the yard, or doing something I enjoy, I rarely experience any flushing. But I’ve been hot and itchy ever since I decided to type this email to you because now it’s all I can think about. If you have any mental tips that seem to help you, would you mind sharing? It sounds like you’ve had this condition for a lot longer than I have. Sorry to have rambled on for so long here, but I wanted to share my acne story as well. It’s important for unsuspecting people to know that topical medications only exacerbate acne and rosacea. I suffered with acne from ages 16-40 before I could finally let go of the notion that my skin “needed” acne products to be clear. Most of the time, I was only generating more and more acne along with extremely dry and extremely oily skin basically at the same time. Everyone with these issues should take a leap of faith, let go and TRUST that natural products will work if you heal your body from within. I’m convinced that, like probiotics for acne, there’s something natural out there that also puts rosacea into remission. It might take some time to find it, but we all need to keep looking and pay it forward once we know something. In the meantime, go jojoba oil! Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I had bad acne for about 20 years and stopped using acne treatments years age…believe they are only good for short term acne..last few years only used a light moisturiser acnes decreased over years but got red and brown pigmented skin with stiny pin markes skin.was getting really red and flaring up few months ago so decided to do something about it….started better diet including more fruit and nuts…tried acnezine which is basically various vitamins etc oral medicine that is..the creams very harsh did me no good made my face redder..also take zinc tabs and vit c tablets and omega 3 oils..went to a skin clinic called sk:n for advice basically a girl not long out of school gave me some advice…they wanted me to buy 600 quid mandelic acid treatment course…bought an home kit for about 12 quid ..forever young on e bay brand…the girls were pretty but not paying them hundreds of pounds to put the acid peels on….however they sold me a nice sunscreen moisturiser 25 block and morning skin wash..also evening very mild exfoliating cream which contains glycolic acid…i would advise anyone with this sort of long term skin condition to at least use a good quality sensitive strong sunblock
Sorry ran out of space…just to say ive seen about a 75% improvement…also started using jojoba oil and pure shea butter wweekly too now…does anyone think shea butter has any benifits..?
I recently started using Made from Earth’s Rosehip Hibiscus Serum based on my dermatologist’s recommendation. The serum is great and hydrates my skin. I have rosacea and my skin tends to be extremely dry, but since using these products, I find my skin is very well hydrated and does not irritate my rosacea.
My skin turns extremely oily in summer and extremely dry in winters. I’m so fed up of those expensive fancy products which only claim but do nothing. Going to try jojoba oil on my face now.