My Argan Addiction

Hi Luvs,

Today we are going to talk about one of my favorite beauty product argan oil. This is no secret, by now everyone has heard about the greatness of argan oil but the multitude of uses is lesser know. When we think about argan oil we often think about a hair oil or hair care products but argan oil is so much more.

What is argan oil? Argan oil is extracted from the kernels of the Argania Spinosa plant which is native to Morroco. The fruit of the argan tree takes over a year to mature. The pulp of the fruit is removed to feed animals and the oil is extracted from the seed(s) contained in the nut. Argan oil is considered liquid gold because of how rich it is in vitamin E and fatty acids (approximately 80%). Argan Oil contains Oleic Acid, Aplha-Linolenic acid, Palmitic acid, Stearidonic acid, Linoleic acid and Myristic acid. This high concentration of fatty acids and vitamin E makes it the perfect moisturizer for our hair and skin.

How is argan oil made? Well like with many other types of oil, there are various ways to extract the oil and the method used depends on the purpose of the oil. Traditionally argan oil has been extracted by grinding roasted seeds into a paste with some water and squeezing by hand to extract the argan oil. This is a great method for homemade oil, but commercially it’s done a bit different, mostly because of the need for a longer shelf life. Dry pressing is the most popular method for commercial extractions, this process is faster and the shelf life of the oil produced is triple when compared to the traditional method!

How can we use argan oil? There is no shortage of uses for argan oil! In Morroco, argan oil is the equivalent of olive oil. You can eat it and use it externally on your hair, skin and nails. DO NOT go and take your argan oil and start putting it in your food after reading this post. Unless you read the bottle of course and verify that the bottle of oil you have is fit for consumption. Better yet, get a bottle from the grocery in the oil section. Argan oil usually has a shelf life of 12-18 months so please check the manufacturing/ productions date before buying if you plan on consuming it.

What are the benefits of using argan oil? This is the best part about argan oil. There are so many health and beauty benefits associated with this product.

There is some buzz about health benefits from using Argan Oil. These claims includes: the ability to stabilize blood sugar/insulin levels which is great for diabetes, reduce indigestion by increasing the levels of pepsin in your gastric juices, strong anti-oxidant action which repairs cellular damage thereby reducing the risk of cancer, and it can be used as a topical anti-inflammatory to treat skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis and chicken pox. These benefits I have not tested by my self and like with everything more research is still pending. If you are tempted by these benefits do not feel the need to start chugging argan oil. Remember my last blog post where I discussed how absorbent the skin is and that what you put on it actually gets into your system. So you can reap these wonderful benefits by using it as a topical oil in place of lotion!

The beauty benefits!

Remember that argan oil is made up of 80% essential fatty acids and vitamin E. These work together to do wonders for your hair, skin and nails.

Anti-aging: Vitamin E helps prevent the loss of moisture from the outer layers of the skin. Together with the fatty acids they work to keep your skin cells healthy and functioning properly which can reduce wrinkles, and keep your skin looking youthful and plump.

Beautiful, health and shiny hair: probably everyone who has heard of Argan oil first learn of it because of it’s amazing benefits to your hair. Well that’s because of the linoleic and oleic acids. These lock in moisture to keep your hair hydrated and shiny! This is what helps argan oil tame frizzy hair and repair hair damaged by heat. Most hair damage from hot tools are caused when to much moisture evaporates during the heating process. Argan oil helps lock in moisture to prevent this. I never blow out or straighten my hair without adding argan oil in my hair (in it’s pure form or in a composed formula) in my hair first.

Skin care:

Arganil oil contains carotenoids which helps protects from UV radiation. The vitamin E and fatty acids are also great for repairing damaged skin and preventing dryness and irritations, for this reason people like me who suffer from dry skin like to see Argan oil as an ingredient in their lotion.

The best part about using argan oil as a moisturize on you skin is that it doesn’t cause breakouts. Argan oil is a non greasy moisture rich oil which helps balance the skin by providing natural moisture. After washing your face, applying a few drops of argan oil to your face provides your skin with natural moisture that does not clog your pores. It’s great to balance dry or oily skin. If you have oily skin applying oils immediately after washing your face tricks your body into believing that it has already produced enough oils thereby reducing oil production, and if you have dry skin it provides you skin with the much needed hydration and helps promote health cell function! Healthy skin = less break outs!

It is also rich in antioxidants which heals damaged skin and reduce inflammation.  Argan oil also contains sterols which reduce inflammation which I mentioned above. Sterols also helps your skin retain moisture and leaves your skin soft smooth and hydrated!

Now that we have covered how well argan oil works to keep your skin healthy, I can now list some of the benefits without going into the details. Argan oil can strengthen your nails, heal cuticles, keep your hands and feet soft, gets rid of dandruff, heals razor bumps and even prevent stretch marks! This is something I wish I knew during my first pregnancy but I didn’t even know that argan oil existed until my second pregnancy. Don’t worry I quickly made up for lost time!

I have used argan oil as a leave in conditioner, hot oil treatment, shampoo, hair mask and lotion.

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