Argan Oil: the New Wonder Drug?
Last Autumn, in need of some quality time with my husband, we escaped for a few days to Marrakech in Marocco without the kids. After taking in the atmosphere of the medina: the snake charmers, the rattling of the donkey carts and the calls of the street vendors, we were ready for a day of relaxation and natural beauty. Up to the Atlas mountains! On the way we came across a number of women’s co-operatives who were producing argan oil. With my interest in cosmetics we decided to go to a factory to see how this was done. The room was packed with women sitting on the floor and peeling nuts, roasting them and mixing them into a brown sludge. The atmosphere there looked very friendly. The end of the tour brought us naturally to the factory shop and, however much I felt obliged to buy something, I no longer felt the same desire to have the oily filled bottles with their wonky labels. I was also more than surprised, when a few months after our trip to Marrakesh, I couldn’t open one glossy magazine without reading about wondrous powers of argan oil.
The production of argan oil
Argan oil is primarily produced in Morocco. The oil comes from the nut of the Argania spinosa. Around 15 years ago the tree was threatened with extinction so the government came up with a plan to revive and improve its economic production. Women’s co-operatives were set up all over Morocco for the production of argan oil and technical developments were made in order to improve the speed of production and the quality of the oil. Basically there are three types of methods used in the production of argan oil; the first is the most labour intensive. The nuts are hand peeled and subsequently roasted. Water is added and the oil is manually squeezed from the nuts. This a very costly process as it takes around 20 hours to produce 1 litre of oil. A quicker process (don’t be shocked) is to extract the nuts from goats dung (the skin of the nut is already loosened), and then to manually squeeze out the oil. The quality of the oil produced from the “goats poo method” is not only less hygienic but there also appear to be substances present (peroxides) which are not beneficial to the skin. The quality of the hand peeled method is better but this is also dependant on the hygiene of the woman peeling the nuts and the quality of the water added during the pressing stage. Alongside this the shelf life of the oil produced in this way is approximately 6 months.
The majority of the commercially produced oil is processed in a very different way. The nuts used in cosmetic products are not roasted and are mainly peeled and pressed by machines. After the nuts have been pulverized substances are sometimes added in order to help the extraction of the oil from the pulp (enriched argan oil). Unfortunately this last part of the process reduces the concentration of active ingredients in the product. In addition, the factory method of production is time consuming which then makes argan oil relatively expensive to produce.
Argan oil; what does it contain?
Argan oil, when taken orally, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart and cardiovascular diseases. There is much less evidence, however,to suggest that it can perform wonderful things with your skin. Yet it’s still not such a bad idea to smear some argan oil in. Pure Argan oil contains a number of beneficial substances such as carotenoids, tocopherol (vitamin E), squalene and phenols. In comparison to olive oil, argan oil contains a large amount of tocopherol (vitamin E), in particular the gamma tocopherol. Besides this much is in relative terms; it comes down to a concentration of around 0.08%. The concentrations of squalene in olive oil is roughly the same as in argan oil. There is slightly more squalene in olive oil and this is around 0.3%. Argan oil also contains around 0.4% carotenoids. Carotenoids have an anti-oxidating effect and can protect the skin against the damaging effects of the sun. Lastly the unsaturated fats in argan oil ensure that the skin remains supple and retains its moisture. The fat composition is very similar to sesame or peanut oil.
Does it make sense to smear Argan oil in?
Yes and no. The concentrations of active ingredients will be lower than in a good skincare product ( but higher than in a bad skincare product). The absence of all sorts of irritating ingredients makes it a good product for maintaining your skin’s condition. People with sensitive and dry skin can especially benefit from using it. You can still have an allergic reaction to argan oil; especially people who have a nut allergy. I see it for the most part as a worthwhile supplement. If for example your skin is dry you can apply some at night or even better over a good skincare product. The latter helps to retain moisture in the skin, the skin barrier can recover and the active ingredients can penetrate deeper into the skin. Argan oil is also very suitable for applying onto the rest of your body.
What should I look out for when buying argan oil?
However attractive it sounds to use a traditionally made oil, it has a very short shelf life and more importantly you don’t know the standard of quality of such a product. The manually produced oil is also a very dark colour. So the mechanically pressed version is a better alternative. Preferably choose an oil which hasn’t been obtained by adding solvents (enriched oil); the concentration of active ingredients in these products will be lower. Good quality argan oil is not cheap; you will pay at least 25 euros for it. If it is cheap then it has more than likely been ‘diluted’ with cheap oils. Unfortunately this is frequently the case. If you do want to start using it then look for one that is 100% argan oil!
A final tip: if you don’t wish to be known as the one who whiffs of hazelnuts; ensure you buy the oil that has been “cold pressed”. The dietary variant is roasted and this is what gives them their aroma!
Regards Jetske
(Dr. Jetske Ultee-Research Physician Cosmetic Dermatology)
You can also read the blog: ‘Pure Gold‘,
‘Do Anti-Oxidants in a Cream Really Work?’,
‘Vitamin C’,
‘Slimming Creams’,
‘Natural Cosmetics. Safe or Not?’,
Dr. Peter Velthuis on ‘The Effectiveness of a Cream’.