Our ingredients
Each and every one of the ingredients in our products contributes to their overall effect. Careful thought goes into the selection and sourcing of the raw materials as well as the way in which the individual ingredients are combined to form complete Dr. Hauschka products. We also adhere to the highest quality standards.
This blog tells you more about Jojoba, where it comes from, why we use it and what functions it performs in our products.
Why is jojoba oil an ingredient in the Dr. Hauschka products?
With roots that are over 6 metres in length, the jojoba shrub is firmly rooted in the desert environment and can therefore provide itself with the only consistently available water, the groundwater. This water evaporates partly via the leaves and thus becomes available again to the surface of the earth. In this way the microclimate is improved. Jojoba shrubs protect the soil in which it is rooted; in this way they protect against soil erosion and assist in retaining moisture again. The jojoba oil provides its protective power to the skin. Particularly dry or cracked skin is smoothed and can retain moisture better; the skin restores its smoothness and suppleness again.
Hydrating Cream Mask
Thanks to its smoothing and moisture-preserving properties, jojoba oil optimally supplements the formulation of Hydrating Cream Mask. This skin care mask protects the skin effectively against dehydration and dryness. The composition consisting of protective rose wax and the soothing and skin-smoothing quince seed extracts activates the moisture-retaining properties of the skin and regulates its oil and moisture processes. Mango butter protects against dehydration, it enriches and envelopes the skin along with precious plant oils from almond, avocado and jojoba. For dry, sensitive or mature skin, stressed by environmental influences and in dire need of regeneration, Hydrating Cream Mask provides supplementing and intensive skin care. The skin feels soft again and radiates freshness and smoothness.
Raw material profile
Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is a true miracle in dealing with extremes. The evergreen shrub, that can grow as high as 3 metres, in the deserts of Mexico, California and Arizona where night temperatures are between 0 and 5°C and daytime temperatures can be as high as 45°C. In spite of its extreme location, the jojoba shrub can reach an age of up to 200 years. It can survive there, because of its taproot that can grow down to a depth of 6 metres enabling it to draw water from the soils’s deepest layers. The narrow leaves are adjusted to survive optimally in desert dryness due to its leathery and hairy surface. The scrubby-looking bushes are dioecious. In other words, there are male shrubs that produce pollen and female shrubs with inconspicuous blossoms. Brown capsule fruits, reminiscent of acorns, develop after wind pollination. Each fruit contains mostly one Jojoba seed, which is about as big as a small olive.
Jojoba seeds contain 50-60% wax, which is liquid at room temperature. It is therefore known as an oil. The oil containing provitamin A and vitamin E is extremely resistant to oxidation. This explains its longevity.
The Spaniards named Jojoba from the word ‘ho-ho-ba’ from the language of the Native Americans. This tribal group was located in the Sonora desert of southwestern Arizona USA and northwestern Mexico.
Jojoba oil extracted from the seeds had been utilised for wide-ranging purposes by various Native American tribes. They used the oil to treat pain and gastric illnesses. Jojoba oil played a major role in skin and hair care.
Jojoba shrubs protect desert regions against erosion and facilitate a favourable, ground-level microclimate.
Thanks to its special, waxy structure, jojoba oil is resistant to oxidisation, which means that it takes significantly longer than other oils before it gets rancid. It can withstand temperatures of up to 300 degrees Celsius.
A selection of Dr. Hauschka products that contain precious jojoba oil
Origin, cultivation and manufacture
We obtain jojoba for Dr. Hauschka Skin Care from a certified Demeter farm in Argentina. The company founder is Jorge Arizu and his cultivated fields are located at the foot of the Andes in an extremely dry area. Even the jojoba shrub, which is adapted to a dry environment, requires drip irrigation here. The water originates from a fountain on the farm. The jojoba shrubs stand in rows like long hedges where they are cultivated in compliance with biodynamic maintenance. When the jojoba shrubs are young, the limited water supply allows for the planting of aromatic herbs such as cumin, black cumin and chamomile between the rows. By the end of summer, the jojoba fruits are ripe and harvest time is until the end of autumn. The washed jojoba seeds are dried in the sun and then transported by truck to the own oil mill in Uruguay. It operates with special presses, filters and piping systems to rule out any contamination of the jojoba oil. From there, the cold-pressed jojoba oil is transported to Dr. Hauschka.
Jorge Arizu discovered jojoba for cultivation purposes through the inspiration by a Greek professor at the University of California. Dr. Demetrios Yermanos (1921-1984) is regarded as pioneer of the jojoba research. The agricultural scientist discovered jojoba oil as a substitute for spermaceti, which was an important ingredient of cosmetic recipes until the 1970s. Jorge Arizu received seeds of further cultivated jojoba plants from Demetrios Yermanos with which he started his jojoba culture in the Arauco desert in the north-west of Argentina in 1982. In 2007 he took over a conventional farm and converted it to biodynamic cultivation. As member of the AABDA (Argentinean Bio-Dynamic Association), Jorge Arizu is strongly committed to cultivation in the desert. Overgrazing changed many steppes in Argentina into deserts. People had to migrate to the cities. Jorge Arizu has a vision: the desert areas of his home country must be injected with new life through biodynamic jojoba cultivation. The jojoba culture allows the water level to rise again, promoting more biodiversity and enabling people to settle down in this area again.
Dr. Hauschka Quality
- Authentic natural and organic skin care and make-up, certified to NATRUE standards
- Free from chemical/synthetic fragrances, dyes and preservatives
- Free from mineral oils, parabens, silicone and PEGs
- Dermatologically tested for sensitive skin
- Wherever possible, all raw materials come from controlled organic or biodynamic (Demeter certified) cultivation and are recovered under fair conditions
- We don’t test on animals, we test on happy to help out human volunteers
Thanks for reading our blog. xx
Online Shopping
Stockists
Estheticians
Join our eNewsletter for skin and make-up tips, new products, promotions and giveaways
Dr. Hauschka Australia Blog 