GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / nutty · musky · fresh
Jojoba
Category
GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory
nutty · musky · fresh
Origin
Volatility
Base Note
Botanical
Simmondsia chinensis
Appearance
pale yellow oily liquid
Producing Countries
Argentina, Israel, Mexico, United States
Pyramid
Base
Nearly odorless — jojoba is a liquid wax, not an oil. What scent exists is faintly nutty, waxy, and unremarkable. Its value in perfumery is as a carrier, not a note.
Nearly odorless. What minimal scent exists is faintly nutty, waxy, bland. Cold-pressed jojoba has slightly more aroma than clean. Unlike most plant oils, jojoba does not go rancid (because it is a wax, not a triglyceride), so it does not develop off-odors over time. This stability makes it the ideal neutral carrier.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Essentially odorless — faint waxy-nutty trace at most
After a few hours
After a few hours
No perceptible change
After a few days
After a few days
No perceptible change — jojoba does not develop or degrade
Terroir & Transformation
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) produces not an oil but a liquid wax ester — chemically distinct from all other plant oils. The wax is composed of long-chain fatty acid esters that closely resemble human sebum, making it a skin-compatible plant materials available.
Olfactorily, jojoba is nearly scentless. What minimal aroma exists is faintly nutty, waxy, and bland. This odorlessness is actually its greatest asset in perfumery: jojoba is a neutral carrier and diluent for essential oils and fragrance concentrates.
Simmondsia chinensis is native to the Sonoran Desert of North America (Arizona, California, northwestern Mexico). The plant is dioecious (separate male and female plants) and extremely drought-tolerant, living up to 200 years.
In perfumery, jojoba functions as a technical ingredient — a carrier wax for perfume oils, a diluent for concentrates, and a base for solid perfumes. It does not contribute to the scent itself.
Jojoba wax replaced sperm whale oil in cosmetics and industrial applications after the 1971 ban on whale oil imports to the US. The chemical similarity between jojoba and spermaceti (sperm whale head oil) is remarkable — both are liquid wax esters, a rarity in nature.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Cold pressing of Simmondsi a chinens is seeds. Yield approximately 50% liquid wax by weight. The crude wax is typically clean and deodorized for perfumery use. Produced primarily in Arizona, Argentina, and Israel. Unlike all other 'vegetable oils,' jojoba is a liquid wax ester, not a triglyceride.
Jojoba is a technical ingredient, not a fragrance note. Functions as a neutral carrier for essential oils, a diluent for concentrates, and a base for solid perfumes. Its near-odorlessness means it does not interfere with the fragrance profile. Its wax-ester chemistry (not triglyceride) gives it notable oxidative stability — it does not go rancid. Skin-compatible due to similarity to human sebum.
