Is Jojoba Oil Better as a Leave-In Treatment or Should It Be Rinsed Out After a While?

Jojoba oil is popular in hair care routines, and a common question is whether it should be left in the hair or rinsed out after a while. No study compares the two, so the answer is a matter of cosmetic preference and hair type rather than evidence.

Despite being called an oil, jojoba is a liquid wax. It is mostly made of wax esters, a type of lipid also found in human sebum, the oily substance made by the scalp's sebaceous glands. A review of plant oils applied to the skin notes that jojoba has high oxidative stability, which means it is slow to go rancid, that it is widely used in cosmetic moisturisers, and that it mostly stays at the surface of the skin rather than penetrating deeply (Lin et al., 2018).

Leaving Jojoba Oil In

Used as a leave-in, jojoba oil forms a thin film on the hair and scalp. People with dry or curly hair often use it this way to make hair feel softer and less dry. The downside is cosmetic: fine or naturally oily hair can look weighed down or greasy, and product can build up if the scalp is not washed regularly.

Rinsing Jojoba Oil Out

Another approach is to apply jojoba oil to the scalp and hair before washing, leave it for a while, and then shampoo it out. This avoids buildup and may suit people with oily scalps. No study shows that either method affects hair loss or hair growth.

Safety

Jojoba oil is usually well tolerated, but allergic contact dermatitis to it has been reported (Wantke et al., 1996; Di Berardino et al., 2006). Try a small amount on one patch of skin first, and stop if redness, itching or a rash develops. A scalp that stays itchy, red or flaky, or hair loss that is patchy or sudden, is worth showing to a doctor rather than treating with oils.

Summary

Whether to leave jojoba oil in or rinse it out depends on hair type and how the hair feels. Dry or curly hair may tolerate leave-in use; fine or oily hair and buildup-prone scalps may do better with a rinse-out routine. The evidence behind either method is limited to general knowledge about moisturisers, not studies of jojoba on the scalp.

References

Di Berardino, L., Di Berardino, F., Castelli, A., & Della Torre, F. (2006). A case of contact dermatitis from jojoba. Contact Dermatitis, 55(1), 57–58. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16842559/

Lin, T.-K., Zhong, L., & Santiago, J. L. (2018). Anti-inflammatory and skin barrier repair effects of topical application of some plant oils. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(1), 70. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29280987/

Wantke, F., Hemmer, W., Götz, M., & Jarisch, R. (1996). Contact dermatitis from jojoba oil and myristyl lactate/maleated soybean oil. Contact Dermatitis, 34(1), 71–72. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8789240/