Oh the wonders of Jojoba oil!

Ever since August of 2008, my skin has been funky. Incredibly dry, allergic reactions to products I could use before August and dermatitis over and over again. My arms, my neck and my legs will break out into angry red rashes if I use certain products, but what is really strange is my back, stomach and chest area will not, as well as my face. I just don't get it. I have been to the dermatologist at least 4 times and I went through patch testing and came out of that with an allergy to certain fragrance mixes and something they use at construction sites and also with dermatitis and possibly eczema. Strange. Anyway, since then I have been struggling to find products that work for my body. I find I can't really scrub my skin anymore so I had to toss my shower scrubbers. Then out went most of my lotions and even my sunscreens were causing allergic reactions!

So my challenge was to get off of the expensive $50 pre-mixed lotion that my dermatologist was making me use. It had cortizone mixed in with a heavy cream and works wonders, but $50 is extreme. On a trip to Michigan to visit my family in December, my mom had Aveeno Daily Moisturiszer. I decided to give it a whirl and didn't break out! YAY! Right after that trip I went to Sams Club and bought 10lbs of it. But it isn't vegan so I had more research to do.

A few months and after some more research and listening to some ladies on the Everyday Minerals forum I decided to try jojoba oil. I mix it in with my Aveeno right now to use it up, but eventually want to switch to purely jojoba oil for my moisturizer. What I do right now is pump the lotion into my hand about 7 times, mix about 10-15 drops of jojoba oil into it and use it all over my body. My skin feels so nice and soft now and I haven't had an allergic reaction to it.

I recomment this oil because it is vegan and organic: http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=3579

Now you can also use this on your face. I put two drops in with my face moisturizer and use it that way. But I have recently started switching to an all natural face routine which I will save for another post and after I wash my face, tone it and put on the moisturizer mix (which has jojoba oil in it) if my face is still dry I wet my hands, put two drops on my finger tips and rub it into my face. Then I wet my hands again and rub them over my face and neck to get the oil to absorb. I recommend always applying jojoba oil with water or a moist face so the oil is absorbed. If you do not your face will be all slick and the oil will not absorb properly. Shiny face isn't really attractive no matter what anyone tells you!

Here are other uses for jojoba oil that I found interesting: http://beauty-treatments.suite101.com/article.cfm/uses_of_jojoba_oil

I will definitely be trying it as a eye make up remover, a cuticle moisturizer and a lip conditioner. My lips are so darn dry but that is a whole other post in itself!

Oh and one last thing, I have acne prone dry skin. Jojoba oil doesn't make me break out but can cause break outs initally. If you experience breakouts while using it, I strongly suggest you take a look at how you are applying it. Water is key to making it absorb properly.