How Sustainable is Argan Oil?
Argan Oil, a staple of the Moroccan beauty industry, has become a hot commodity in the United States (and around the world). With its rich, silky texture and high concentrations of Vitamin E and antioxidants, Argan Oil is a natural moisturizer that is mostly used to protect the skin and hair against free radicals and UV damage.
But what exactly is argan oil? How does it work? And where does it come from? Is it a socially and environmentally sustainable product?
Learn more in our article.
What is Argan Oil
Argan oil is derived from the kernels of the Arganeraie tree, native to the country of Morocco. It is a non-refined, "virgin" vegetable oil with a subtle nutty aroma, known to have immense cosmetic benefits and culinary purpose as well. We, at Essence of Argan, offer 100% pure quality Moroccan Argan Oil for both beauty and culinary use!
The oil has been used in Morocco for centuries as a food and cosmetic ingredient, and it's recently become popular as an alternative to coconut oil for people looking for something with a light texture and more nutritional value.
What is Argan Oil Good for
Argan Oil is an excellent moisturizer when it comes to skin care uses. It is very suitable for any skin type since it is non-comedogenic, non-greasy and with great anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties. Whether you have dry, oily, mature or sensitive skin, Argan Oil is a good fit for your beauty routine. Just a couple of drops, applied daily to your skin, can achieve miraculous results in as little as 30 days! If you are curious about Argan Oil, you can check our free trial kits!Mostly used as a natural anti-aging treatment, Argan Oil also provides intensive skin hydration and rapidly repairs the damaged skin barrier, making it a powerful relief to dry skin, itchiness and eczema flares. The high concentration of antioxidants, fatty acids and vitamin E gives the skin a gentle lift, promotes better skin elasticity and stops wrinkle formation. It is also a great solution for preventing sun damage and removing dark spots from the skin.
The amazing benefits of Argan Oil on hair care are never ending. It treats many scalp and hair-related issues, such as dandruff, hair-fall, heat damage, UV damage, breakage, dryness and many more. Rub it on your scalp and leave it for two hours if you have any scalp problems or hair fall. If you want to strengthen or enhance your hair, put a couple of drops to the ends of your hair or use it as a hair mask before showering. But most importantly - use only pure organic Argan Oil!
In the kitchen, you can use Argan Oil as a bread dip, for salad dressings, smoothies, desserts and seasoning. Argan Oil should not be heated and you shouldn't cook or fry with it. It has to be consumed cold to preserve its health benefits and taste its lovely nutty flavor.
How is Argan Oil Produced
The argan tree from which Argan Oil is produced, grows in southern Morocco, where it is under the protection of natural conservation laws. The production process of Argan Oil has several steps: harvesting, drying, cracking and oil extraction. All the production is ethically sourced to the native women of Berber working in co-operatives. The Argan Oil is produced with their traditional and environmentally-sustainable techniques.
The argan nuts harvesting is done either by the local women who collect them by hand when they mature and fall from the Argan tree or by goats who climb on the tree, consume the argan nuts and spit them after they eat the fleshy part of the fruit.
After the harvesting, their fleshy pulp has to be removed by leaving them to dry in the open air, or to speed up the process - with mechanical tools. Then the nuts have to be cracked manually to reach the kernel, which contains the argan oil. The nut is really hard and requires a special technique to open it without damaging the kernel.
The next stage is oil extraction done by manual grinding of the kernels between a special stone wheel and a stone foundation, used from ancient times. The process takes a lot of manual labor and is time-consuming, so nowadays big women cooperatives use a machine to cut the extraction process from hours to minutes.
Argan Oil requires a lot of effort to produce. Just for one liter of Argan Oil, 40 kilos of Argan nuts and 20 kilos of kernels are needed and the production process takes up to 24 hours. This is why the pure 100% organic Moroccan Argan Oil is so expensive.
Is Argan Oil a Sustainable Product
Argan Oil production is considered as one of the most important socio-economic developments in Morocco. Nowadays, it provides jobs and income to more that 2,5 million residents of the Arganeraie region. This is valid especially to the local women`s cooperatives.Before the women's cooperatives, it was unusual for women to work outside their home or to receive education. They were still producing argan oil but not being compensated for it. Thanks to the Moroccan government, their workload was organized in cooperatives to produce organic Argan Oil using sustainable and traditional methods. The cooperatives receive financial help from the Moroccan Social Development Agency and the EU, so that they could answer the increasing demand for Moroccan Argan Oil.
The women's cooperatives empowered the local women to receive income and education for them and their children, but it also changed the Moroccan male-dominated society. Today Morrocan women have gained more self-respect and contribute to their communities as equals. Now the women's cooperatives fund health care and environmental projects. Those kinds of initiatives help with fighting deforestation, stop the unethical production of Argan Oil and give power to the native community to exploit their hereditary land with care. Through the women's cooperatives, Morocco reaches its goal for fair and sustainable Argan Oil production and export.
The Argan tree also plays a huge environmental role in the region. Not only it provides food and shelter for the local people and animal life, but it helps to prevent desertification, soil erosion and retains groundwaters. This is why Argan trees are highly protected, and the government takes measures against any unsustainable action towards the sacred tree. In the last decade, lots of regeneration and replantation projects have taken place in the Arganeraie region to support the precious native ecosystem of the region.
Essence of Argan is the foremost cultivator of organic and ethically sourced Argan Oil in the USA. We source the highest quality Argan Oil from the Arganeraie region, providing you with the best products for beauty and cuisine! Get your’s now in various sizes.
3 comments
Thank you for the delivery of the Argan oil , I’ve just received my oil can’t wait to try it thank you again.
Kind regards
Arapera
Arapera Harrison
I love Argan Oil. Since I started using it a month ago my skin has become much softer n my wrinkles are not so deep.I would highly recommend. this oil to anyone .
Marie Johnson
Love to try it !!!!✨✨❤️
Linda OBrien
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