• What is Jojoba
• Jojoba Farm
• Uses of Jojoba
• Laundering

Growing the seed | Pressing the seed | Hobacare scent

HobaCare Jojoba is the pure extract of the jojoba seed we grow on our 940-acre Arizona farm. HobaCare Jojoba is exceptional due to the high quality of our jojoba seed and the manner in which we have our seed pressed. "HobaCare" is the brand name we give our product to distinguish it from so-called generic "jojoba oil" obtainable elsewhere.

Growing the Seed. Our jojoba fields were planted during a five-year period, from 1982 through 1987. 620 acres were planted with seed harvested from selections of wild plants. The expected ratio of male to female plants was, originally, 50:50. We are currently engaged in a major effort to "rogue" male plants from the seeded fields. Males are needed only to pollinate. They grow more rapidly than female plants and monopolize nutrients. Our objective is to reduce the percentage of male plants to between 6% and 10% of the total.

The remaining 320 acres were planted with rooted cuttings from a common "parent". The rows of plants in the cutting fields are entirely uniform: every sixth row contains male plants. The cuttings acreage is comprised of approximately 16% male and 84% female plants.

The seed harvested from our "wild" plants tends to be larger and more varied in size and shape. Seeds produced by the "cuttings" are fairly uniform.

Provision of sufficient water is essential to minimizing variations in annual yields and to preventing bud and seed abortion. Our water comes from four wells, each of which exceeds 800 feet in depth. While jojoba can survive on very little water, it requires significant quantities of water to obtain consistent yields. Our water source, an underground aquifer, provides warm, clear water rich in minerals.

We start our electric-powered pumps after the threat of spring frost has subsided, and we leave them running until late September, shortly after we start the annual harvest. We furrow irrigate because furrow irrigated plants develop deeper root systems and have better survival potential than plants irrigated with drip systems.

We are very concerned about the wellbeing of wildlife, which abounds in and around our farm. Deer enter our fields to feed; coyotes drink water from our irrigation furrows and hunt burrowing rabbits and packrats; and mourning doves and coveys of quail seek shelter from the hot summer sun among our plants.

Consequently, our farming methods are as close to organic as we can make them. Our objective is to maintain a natural balance between predator and beneficial insect populations. Jojoba is vulnerable to thrips, loopers, spider mites, bore worms, and grasshoppers. Imbalances do occur from time to time in certain parts of the farm. If an imbalance should occur, we will spray Capture, a pesticide approved by the United States Agriculture Department for food up to two weeks prior to harvesting the food. The active ingredient is bifenthrin, a pyrethroid pesticide. FMC Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania manufactures Capture.

We have not applied pesticides to any of our jojoba fields since 1997. If we should ever have to spray in the future, it will occur during early spring, six to seven months prior to harvesting. Even though we do not spray, we test every lot of HobaCare Jojoba for pesticide residue to ascertain whether wind-borne pesticides used by neighboring farms have contaminated our crop. We have been consistently unable to detect pesticide residue in HobaCare Jojoba.

Unless we advise to the contrary, our jojoba is certifiable as organic in accordance with the California Food Act of 1990. Please call us for up-to-date information concerning the organic status of HobaCare Jojoba: 1.800.256.5622 ( 1.800 2 JOJOBA ). Certificates of Analysis are available upon request.

We do not refine our jojoba. Refined jojoba is clear or "water-like" in appearance. It has been de-colored, de-odorized, stabilized, neutralized, and de-gummed. Synthetic vitamin E may have been added to refined jojoba to replace natural tocopherols destroyed during refining. Refined jojoba is obtained from one of three sources: (a) poor quality jojoba seed, (b) presscake remaining after the first pressing, and (c) jojoba which has been solvent-extracted from meal remaining after the second pressing. The refining process essentially strips unrefined jojoba of its natural goodness. Refined jojoba is a by-product, which manufacturers most often use in formulations of nationally marketed personal care products.

HobaCare is stable. It is not oil. HobaCare jojoba is stable. It does not turn rancid, even if left in the trunk of a car on a hot summer day in Florida, Arizona or California. Most members of the jojoba industry overlook this important characteristic of jojoba. They insist on calling jojoba "oil" when, in fact, jojoba is not oil. Any chemist worth his or her salt will tell you that jojoba is a "liquid wax ester".

What's the difference between jojoba and "oils"? All seed or vegetable oils are characterized by the presence of triglycerides, a type of fat. Triglycerides break down and oils, such as sweet almond, grape seed, macadamia and safflower, turn rancid. HobaCare Jojoba, which is pure, does not contain triglycerides. If you detect triglycerides in jojoba, someone has contaminated it with oil or another additive. Oils will ultimately turn rancid and have to be thrown away. HobaCare Jojoba has an indefinite shelf life. And, unlike oils, repeated heating to high temperatures does not damage it.

HobaCare Jojoba is also non-allergenic and non-comedogenic (non-clogging). Likewise, the product does not stain. The first two characteristics are related to the fact that jojoba is a liquid ester molecularly comparable to the esters we produce in our skin. (Our sebaceous glands produce sebum, which is composed primarily of esters like jojoba.) Because it is non-allergenic, HobaCare Jojoba is especially useful to people with sensitive skin. HobaCare does not clog the pores. To the contrary, HobaCare actually cleanses the pores. Finally, the product does not stain. It washes out of natural fabrics with hot water and detergent. Dyed and synthetic fabrics may require the use of a pre-wash (We use "Shout"). Please refer to our Laundering Instructions.