Jojoba is one of the most misnamed ingredients in skincare. What we call "jojoba oil" is technically a liquid wax. It is a long-chain wax ester pressed from the seeds of Simmondsia chinensis, a desert shrub native to the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and now cultivated in Argentina and other arid regions. This distinction matters because it explains nearly everything that makes jojoba so useful.
Why it behaves differently from other oils
Most carrier oils are triglycerides, which are composed of a glycerol backbone with three fatty acid chains attached. Jojoba is structurally different: it's composed almost entirely of long-chain wax esters, the same molecular structure as the sebum your skin produces naturally. This is why jojoba absorbs the way it does. It doesn't sit on the surface or require the skin to break it down; it integrates, leaving a balanced, non-greasy finish that ordinary oils can't quite replicate.
It also contains a naturally high concentration of Vitamin E and, unlike most vegetable oils, has an exceptional shelf life. This happens because wax esters resist oxidation far better than triglycerides, so jojoba stays fresh much longer than oils like rosehip or hemp.
Why we use it
We use golden jojoba in our body butters and lip balms because it solves a specific problem: how to add slip and absorbency to a formula built on dense, slow-melting butters without making the result feel greasy.
Jojoba is the answer. It acts as the fast-absorbing counterpoint to shea and cocoa butter. While the butters provide structure and lasting moisture, jojoba carries them into the skin quickly and cleanly. The result is a texture that feels rich on application and disappears faster than you'd expect from something that substantial.
In our lip balms, jojoba contributes the same quality: immediate comfort on contact, with no tacky or waxy residue. It also helps keep the formula stable across temperature changes, which is useful for a product that lives in a pocket or bag.
Golden vs. clear
Jojoba is available in two forms: golden (unrefined) and clear (refined). We use the golden grade. The clear version has been filtered and deodorized, removing the faint nutty scent and the warm golden colour, as well as some of the naturally occurring compounds that make jojoba effective. Since our scented formulas are built around essential oil blends, the subtle base note of golden jojoba adds depth rather than interference, and we keep it for the richer ingredient profile it brings.
In our products
You'll find jojoba in every Eternal Sunday body butter as the third-largest ingredient by weight, after shea and cocoa butter. It's also present in all of our lip balms, where it works alongside candelilla wax and cocoa butter to create a formula that glides, absorbs, and stays comfortable without reapplication.
