Ingredient ratings / Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil

Is jojoba oil comedogenic? What the rabbit-ear tests found

By Skinredients · Checked against the sources 2026-10-16

Label name

Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil

Also listed as

jojoba oil, jojoba seed oil, simmondsia chinensis seed oil

Comedogenic grade

0–2 / 5 · Borderline (2–3) or reported positive

Tests

• Fulton 1989: comedogenic 0–2/5, irritancy 0/5 — rabbit ear, 10% in propylene glycol

What the tests found

Despite the name, jojoba “oil” is treated as a wax in the comedogenicity literature. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) lists its physical properties from a source that calls it “jojoba liquid wax” [3]. Fulton’s 1989 survey filed it under waxes, not oils [1].

Fulton 1989. At 10% in propylene glycol, Fulton’s standard test (method), jojoba oil graded 0–2 out of 5 for follicle plugging and 0 for irritation [1]. On Fulton’s scale, 0–1 is not significant and 2–3 is borderline. The asterisk next to jojoba’s grade means “results depend on source of raw material.” Fulton’s discussion is specific about it. With beeswax and jojoba oils, some commercial preparations were more comedogenic than others, which he took to mean that some contained more contaminants or irritants [1].

Fulton also explains why most waxes scored low. Their hydrocarbon chains seemed too long to penetrate the follicle unless the wax had been chemically modified. Sulfated jojoba oil, a modified form used as a surfactant, graded 3 for plugging and 2 for irritation in the same table, the highest of any wax tested [1].

Related jojoba ingredients (CIR 2008). The CIR’s safety assessment of the jojoba family collects three unpublished rabbit-ear studies submitted by the industry. None of them tested the seed oil itself [3]:

• A jojoba wax sold as “Hydroba 70” (listed under Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Wax): scored 2.67, classed as moderately comedogenic.
• Jojoba esters (iodine value 60) at 10% in mineral oil, on three rabbits, with isopropyl myristate as the positive control: scored 0, noncomedogenic. The positive control produced marked hyperkeratosis.
• A second jojoba ester (iodine value 40), tested the same way: scored 0.65, between non- and slightly comedogenic.

Where the evidence is weaker (or disagrees)

• One grade, from one lab. Morris and Kwan’s 1983 rabbit study tested many vegetable oils but not jojoba [2]. The 0–2 range for jojoba oil rests only on Fulton’s samples. Because the range was blamed on impurities, the grade reflects the batches tested as much as the ingredient.
• The related results don’t transfer cleanly. A hard jojoba wax scoring 2.67 and jojoba esters scoring 0 show that processing changes the result. But neither is the seed oil found in most products, so neither one settles the oil’s grade [3].
• No human comedogenicity data. The CIR reports that jojoba seed oil was neither a significant irritant nor a sensitizer in clinical tests [3]. Those tests looked at redness and allergy, not clogged pores. Rabbit grades also tend to overstate the human response [4] (why).

Where it shows up, and how much

The CIR’s 2008 report gives the following use figures, based on FDA product registrations for 2007 and an industry concentration survey [3]:

• The seed oil was in 188 products with use up to 25% when first reviewed (1989 data). By 2007 it was in 1,123 products, at concentrations up to 100%.
• Body and hand creams, lotions, powders and sprays: 106 uses, 0.00003–100%
• Face and neck creams, lotions, powders and sprays: 67 uses, 0.5–53%
• Lipsticks: 110 uses, 1–46%
• Hair conditioners: 109 uses, 0.001–67%
• The wax was in only 8 products (up to 2%), jojoba esters in 121 (up to 44%), and hydrogenated jojoba oil in 71 (up to 31%).

The CIR’s own discussion highlights the range of exposure, from low levels in baby and eye products to 100% in hand and body creams [3]. A face cream that lists jojoba oil near the top may contain tens of percent. A product that lists it after the preservatives probably contains well under 1%.

If you want to avoid it

On the label, the name to check for is sulfated jojoba oil, which graded 3/5 in Fulton’s test [1]. Plain jojoba oil’s printed range already reaches only 2. Because Fulton filed jojoba with the waxes, the fair comparison is the other waxes in that section of his table, plus one synthetic wax ester listed elsewhere in it. All were tested the same way [1]:

• Carnauba wax and candelilla wax, plant waxes: 1 each, irritation 0
• Ceresin, a mineral wax: 0
• Cetyl esters (synthetic spermaceti, printed as “Cetyl ester NF”): 1, irritation 1

Beeswax carries the same source-dependent 0–2 grade as jojoba in Fulton’s table, so it is not a lower-graded swap [1].

Sources

1. Fulton JE Jr. Comedogenicity and irritancy of commonly used ingredients in skin care products. J Soc Cosmet Chem. 1989;40(6):321-333. https://library.scconline.org/v040n06/13
2. Morris WE, Kwan SC. Use of the rabbit ear model in evaluating the comedogenic potential of cosmetic ingredients. J Soc Cosmet Chem. 1983;34(5):215-225. https://library.scconline.org/v034n05/1
3. Cosmetic Ingredient Review. Final Report of the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel: Safety Assessment of Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Wax, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Isomerized Jojoba Oil, Jojoba Esters, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Butter, Jojoba Alcohol, and Synthetic Jojoba Oil. September 23, 2008. https://cir-reports.cir-safety.org/view-attachment/?id=5865c18f-8c74-ec11-8943-0022482f06a6
4. Mills OH Jr, Kligman AM. A human model for assessing comedogenic substances. Arch Dermatol. 1982;118(11):903-905. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7138047/

Comedogenic grades describe single raw materials tested in a lab, usually on rabbit ears. They are a guide for acne-prone skin, not a prediction for any product or person, and this page is not medical advice. How the scale works.