We supply jojoba in five forms: organic golden-yellow, conventional golden-yellow, colorless, wax, and butter. On this page, we explain how they differ and when our customers choose each form.

Short answer: golden-yellow jojoba retains the raw material's natural color and light scent. Colorless jojoba is decolorized and deodorized after pressing, making it neutral. Jojoba wax and jojoba butter are solid forms made from jojoba oil and hydrogenated vegetable oil. The right form depends on what you are making and how much you want the jojoba itself to contribute to the color, scent, and texture of your finished product.

Jojoba is technically a liquid wax

Most vegetable oils consist of fats. Jojoba consists almost entirely of wax esters, long molecules that are chemically more like a wax. In the trade, it is called jojoba oil, and that is what we call it too.

Working with jojoba has two consequences.

Jojoba goes rancid less quickly. Wax esters react with oxygen much more slowly than the fats in most oils. As a result, jojoba is one of the more stable raw materials in our range. The shelf life of your batch is stated in the product specification. How you store the oil also affects jojoba's shelf life.

Jojoba becomes cloudy or solid in the cold. Jojoba solidifies at low temperatures, often at around 10 °C. We regularly receive questions about this in autumn and winter. At room temperature, the oil naturally becomes clear again. Its quality is not affected.

Golden-yellow or colorless

Our golden-yellow jojoba is cold-pressed and not processed further. The oil retains its natural color and a light characteristic scent. Because it is a natural product, a new batch may differ slightly in color from the previous one. Harvest, origin, and season all play a role.

Our colorless jojoba is also cold-pressed and then decolorized and deodorized using physical methods. Nothing is added. The result is a clear, virtually odorless oil that is nearly identical from batch to batch.

We are often asked whether colorless jojoba is less pure. It is not. Both consist of one ingredient; the difference lies in the processing. You can read more about this in our blog about cold-pressed and refined oil.

Wax or butter

Jojoba wax and jojoba butter are often confused. Both are solid, and both are made from jojoba oil with hydrogenated vegetable oil. The ratio determines whether the result is a hard wax or a soft butter.

That is why the INCI name of both products is Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil and Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil. You use this name on your label and in your product dossier.

  • Jojoba wax: hard, off-white pearls with a melting point of 60 to 70 °C. Gives a product firmness.
  • Jojoba butter: soft, ivory-colored, and spreadable, with a melting point of 50 to 60 °C. Gives a product a soft, rich texture.

All forms side by side

Characteristic Golden yellow Colorless Wax Butter
Form Liquid Liquid Hard pearls Soft and spreadable
Color and scent Golden yellow, with a slight odor of its own Clear, virtually odorless Off-white Ivory to light yellow
Difference between batches May be visible Virtually identical Small
Organic Yes, also available conventionally Yes No No
Packaging 500 ml to 180 kg drum 500 ml to 190 kg drum 1 kg to 17 kg big bag 25 kg

When do our customers choose each type of jojoba?

Which form works best varies by product. This is what we see among our customers:

  • Hairdressers use jojoba in hair oils, serums, and scalp products. For clear serums, they often choose the colorless variety so the product does not turn yellow.
  • Nail salons use jojoba as a base for cuticle oil. Because jojoba goes rancid less quickly, a bottle can sit on the worktable for weeks.
  • Massage therapists choose jojoba because it glides without feeling heavy and leaves few marks on linen.
  • Aromatherapists often work with colorless jojoba. It has virtually no scent of its own, so the fragrance of the essential oils remains pure.
  • Soap makers incorporate jojoba oil into their soap and sometimes use the wax pearls as a natural scrubbing agent.
  • Candle makers add jojoba wax to their wax blend as a plant-based alternative to beeswax or paraffin.
  • Cosmetic brands with a fixed product line and their own fragrance usually choose colorless, because every production then looks the same. Brands that put jojoba itself at the center of their product more often choose golden-yellow.

Organic or conventional

We supply golden-yellow jojoba as organic and conventional. Both are cold-pressed and consist of a single ingredient. The difference lies in the cultivation and certification.

If you tell your own customers that you work with organic raw materials, you'll need the organic variant. It falls under our SKAL certification. If organic certification doesn't play a role in your story, conventional is more affordable.

Documentation

On the product page for each type of jojoba, you'll find the product specification sheet (PDS), safety data sheet (SDS), and certificate of analysis (COA) for the batch. You'll need these for your product file, and you can use them later to trace which batch you worked with.

If you order the quantity for an entire production run all at once, you work with the same batch from start to finish. With golden-yellow jojoba, this prevents color differences between your products.

Under your own brand

You can sell jojoba under your own name with our organic jojoba ready to label in 100 ml bottles. Just add your own label. If you want custom packaging or a larger run, take a look at our private label options.

So, which jojoba do you choose?

Golden yellow if jojoba's own color and light scent may be part of your product.

Colorless if you're looking for a neutral base for your own color and fragrance, and every batch needs to be the same.

Wax for firmness, butter for a soft, rich texture.

You can order jojoba from us together with your other butters, waxes, carrier oils, and essential oils. For larger volumes or regular orders, we'd be happy to prepare a quote.

Not sure which type suits your product? Send us a message telling us what you make, and we'll think it through with you.