Take a deep breath when you read this: there are over 10,000
industrial chemicals in common skin care products. The average American adult
is exposed to 168 hazardous chemicals each day. And everything applied to the
skin, be it lip stick or deodorant, sun block or general skin care products are
absorbed by the body, just like they'd been eaten.
Remember that scene in the second season of The Simpsons, in
which Mr. Burns ran for Governor, and a three-eyed fish, affectionately called
"Blinky", mutated by the pollution from Burns's own power plant, came
back to haunt him?
The natural skin care movement gets stronger by the day, folks.
And one of the more prominent players in this industry is argan oil. From the
deserts of Morocco.
What is Argan
Oil?
Argan oil is an oil and popular natural skin care supplement,
valued for its cosmetic properties and medicinal uses. Among other things,
argan oil is used to:
- moisturize the
skin
- fade wrinkles
- fight acne
- heal skin
conditions, including eczema and psoriasis
- strengthen finger
nails
- condition damaged
hair
Argan oil is an extract of the Argania tree that once covered
much of North Africa. Today the tree is endangered, and grows only in a UNESCO
protected biosphere in Morocco. And considering that a litre of argan oil
constitutes a full season of output from a single tree, argan oil is both rare
and highly prized.
More over, the composition of argan oil is of particular
interest to the anti-aging industry and to consumers looking for a natural
alternative to common skin care products. With a hefty dose of fatty acids,
antioxidants, polyphenols and a skin-loving 200% more vitamin E than olive oil,
you can see why argan oil has been used for over 3,500 years, for health and
for beauty.
A Closer Look
at Argan Oil
Argan oil is versatile. In fact, many consumers dabble a small
amount in their hair after a thorough cleanse, to treat split ends. You can
also use argan oil to fade stretch marks, strengthen finger nails, reduce
wrinkles and those fine lines from the sun.
A closer look at argan oil reveals traces of:
Vitamin E (Tocopherol) - A powerful antioxidant, vitamin E reduces
harmful free radicals and protects the skin from sun damage. Vitamin E also
improves the skin's ability to retain and use water.
Essential Fatty Acids - These keep your cells healthy and your skin
plump, with the ability to re-form after stretching.
Oleic and Linoleic Acid - Essential for their anti-inflammatory
properties and to help heal the skin.
Antioxidants - The body's warriors that protect the skin
from free radicals, sun damage, chemicals and pollution. If Blinky the Fish had
more antioxidants, he might have avoided that trademark third eye.
Polyphenols - Protection from UV rays and aging from
sun damage, polyphenols are anti-inflammatories and fight free radicals.
Squalene Oil - With similar functions to olive oil,
squalene oil is a natural moisturizer, a powerful healer and is ideal for
people with eczema and psoriasis.
Should You Use
Argan Oil?
If all this has your attention, and you're excited about argan
oil and its many uses and healing properties, know this: you're looking for
argan oil in its purest form.
Indeed, it's not uncommon for some of the larger skin care
brands to dilute argan with additives and preservatives. Sometimes these
products have in excess of 20 ingredients. All of which dilute the product and
reduce the good things that argan can do.
Having said that, argan oil is called "liquid gold"
for a reason. It's rare, it's potent, and with a track record over three
millennia, it's proven.
If you have dry skin, sensitivities to common skin care
products, frizzy hair, wrinkles or stretch marks, or a general interest in
natural skin care, then yes, argan oil holds value and is worth your purchase.
But remember that you're looking for pure argan, undiluted with
preservatives that degrade argan oil and the magic it does. Your best bet is to
purchase argan oil in its pure form, from a major skin care name with minimal
use of parabens and with discount packaging.
To that end, you might consider Skinception Cold Pressed Cosmetic Argan Oil, which
offers the power of argan oil with the comfort of the Skinception name with a
proven track record, live customer support, discount pricing and a firm,
money-back guarantee.
FAQs About Argan Oil
What is argan oil?
Argan oil is an oil extracted from the kernels of the argan
tree. The oil is highly valued for its many cosmetic, therapeutic and medicinal
properties. Among other ailments, argan oil is an effective treatment for dry
skin, psoriasis, eczema, wrinkles, stretch marks and acne.
One of the hottest sellers in the natural skin care industry,
argan oil is particularly gentle on the skin, and for this reason, is
recommended for consumers with naturally dry skin and/or sensitivities to
common skin care products.
Where does argan oil
come from?
Argan oil comes from a 10,000 square mile UNESCO-protected
biosphere in southwestern Morocco, and can only be extracted from trees grown
in this area.
Used for at least 3,500 years by the Berber people of this
region, the oil was traditionally processed by hand, in a laborous process, in
which a single litre of the oil took two days of manual labor.
In the early 1990s, argan oil production shifted from the Berber
people to modern factories in Casablanca, though government agencies and NGOs
have redirected much argan production back to the Berber women.
What's in argan oil?
Argan is high in antioxidants, squalene oil, polyphenols,
essential fatty acids, oleic and linoleic acids and has at least 200% more
vitamin E than olive oil.
What makes argan
effective for anti-aging?
The antioxidants in argan oil fight free radical damage and can
protect against aging from the sun. The fatty acids enhance cellular health,
with the collagen and elastin required to keep skin young and healthy.
Does argan have other
applications?
Argan oil makes an effective hair conditioner. You can add argan
to your hair, whether wet or dry, and it's an ideal remedy for dry hair or
split ends. Experiment a little; a few drops can add shine to hair and improve
its appearance.
You can also use argan oil to strengthen your nails. Mix one
part each argan oil and lemon juice, paint it on your nails with a brush and
leave it on for fifteen minutes.
In addition, argan oil can be used for cooking, though cosmetic
argan is made with a different process than product meant for cooking and
should therefore be used for that purpose only.
Are there side effects
with argan oil?
You'll find that argan oil is very safe. In fact, it's
recommended for people with skin sensitivities and irritations to common skin
care products. There are no known wide spread side effects with argan oil, but
if you have specific concerns regarding argan, it's best to speak with your
physician.
What's this about argan
oil and fair trade?
Upon efforts from two German government agencies and several
non-government organizations, much production of argan oil has shifted away
from modern, foreign-controlled factories in Casablanca and large cities and
back to the local Berber women who perfected the extraction process over
thousands of years.
The issue of argan oil products manufactured in large-scale
factories has not disappeared completely. In particular, argan products with
preservatives and packaged by some major cosmetic brands have origins in such
industrial workshops.
Fortunately, the global interest in ethical consumerism has
contributed to fair trade cooperatives, in which women extract and process
argan oil in their traditional manner, with competitive wages, flexible working
conditions, health care and educational opportunities.
Should I buy pure argan
oil or just an argan-based product?
Buy argan oil in its pure state. This preserves the integrity of
the beneficial nutrients in argan oil, for maximum benefits, be they cosmetic
or otherwise.
Additionally, pure argan oil is more likely to have been
processed in a fair trade cooperative than a factory and by a manufacturer that
claims to share the benefits of argan production with local Berber women but
fails to do so.
Look for an argan oil product manufactured by a small or
mid-sized skin care company. They're more likely to extract their products
ethically, in a fair trade co-op, than the larger brands. Look for a commitment
from the company that it's been processed in this manner. One example? Skinception
Cold Pressed Cosmetic Argan Oil.
Argan Oil and the Ethical
Marketplace
What does ethical mean to you? To many consumers, this
oft-used term is a generic catch phrase for products and technologies that are
deemedsustainable,
itself a common phrase, that are made with minimal exploitation of humans,
animals or the environment.
Argan oil is an
oil extracted from the argania tree of Morocco, prized for
its cosmetic, therapeutic and medicinal properties. Argan oil is a multi-player
in the natural skin care industry,
and is used to treat a variety of ailments, including acne, wrinkles, dry skin,
psoriasis and eczema. Additionally, argan makes an effective hair conditioner
and is a common treatment to strengthen finger nails.
The Many Uses of Skinception
Cold Pressed Cosmetic Argan Oil
Skin care can be expensive. After all, to look young you need a
wrinkle cream and a stretch mark product. You might use an eye cream, and you
certainly need a moisturizer.
What's in your bathroom vanity?
If you're among the millions of American consumers who want to
look young, it's a safe a assumption that most, if not all of these products
and more play a role in your daily skin care ritual. And so they should. Good
skin care products can help you look beautiful and stay young while you do it.
But there's another cosmetic you may have heard about that's
making the rounds in the skin care industry. And with a track record of more
than 3,500 years in its native Morocco, it's quickly becoming the go-to skin
care product in Europe and North America.
The product is argan
oil, of which Skinception Cold Pressed Cosmetic Argan Oil might be of interest
to you.
Argan Oil
From the ancient argan tree and grown in a small, UNESCO
protected biosphere, argan oil has been used for millennia, originally by the
ancient Phoenicians, for its nutritional, medicinal and cosmetic properties.
Argan oil, for many consumers, is a popular and affordable
natural skin care product. And like a Swiss Army knife, it's a multi-tasker,
with many, many uses for your daily routine. Of the things argan oil can do,
consider that it can:
- moisturize the
skin
- stop premature
aging
- fight wrinkles
- reduce stretch
marks
- treat sun damage
- condition your
hair
Culinary students and Food Network junkies might also like that
argan makes a great cooking oil, though if you're reading this, you're probably
more intrigued by what argan oil can do as a natural beauty product. If that's
the case, buy cosmetic argan oil, which preserves the integrity of its
essential fatty acids and vitamins, rather than culinary argan, which loses
these properties.
As a Moisturizer
Argan oil is an excellent moisturizer, for your face and your
body. The absence of parabens or dangerous chemicals that are absorbed into the
body by most common skin care products makes argan a good entry point into the
natural skin care market.
For Your Face - Argan makes a good night cream, which is
a good way to begin with the product. Start with a small amount. Massage it on
your face in a circular motion with your middle or ring finger (they're weaker
than your index finger and less likely to tear).
After a few days, you'll see a noticeable difference in your
facial skin. When that happens, double up on your argan efforts. Use it in the
morning, as a base for your make up or as a general facial moisturizer, and
again at night. Apply it with the same method, with the same fingers, and
voila! - a treatment for wrinkles and acne.
Argan can even treat chapped lips.
For Your Body - To treat stretch marks, apply argan to
your body after your bath or shower. For a moisturizer, mix argan oil with your
regular body lotion, or use argan by itself. Argan oil hydrates the skin and
makes it plump and gives it elasticity. As an anti-aging product, it's one of
the best.
Remember also that sun damage is a leading cause of wrinkles.
Argan helps with that as well. Simply add argan oil to your body after sun
exposure. Just don't add it before you go out in the sun. For that you need a
Broad Spectrum sunscreen.
As a Beauty Product
Argan Oil is nourishing to the body, always gentle, and leaves
no oily residue.
Experiment with argan. If you choose a product like Skinception
Cold Pressed Cosmetic Argan Oil, you're assured that the product is completely
pure, without additives or those dreaded parabens that research links to
heightened risk of breast cancer.
For Your Nails - Argan can strengthen your nails, make
them less brittle and less likely to break off. To do this, mix equal parts
argan and lemon juice, then soak for at least 15 minutes. This is great for
your cuticles and should give your nails a healthy glow.
For Your Hair - Those rumors that argan makes a good hair
conditioner are true. For damaged hair, add a generous amount, starting at the
ends, then wrap in a warm towel. Wear the towel for at least 30 minutes or over
night. Then wash and style as usual.
For dandruff and dry scalp, massage argan beginning at the ends
and into the roots. Do this once or twice a week. And for frizzy hair, rub one
or two drops between your palms and scrunch into the ends.
A final thought on argan for hair care. Argan oil is a natural
moisturizer than can soften the hair and give it shine. Yet it's also good for
natural hair growth, and to that end, guys with hair loss might even consider
that argan oil can encourage hair growth, or at least make what's remaining
look healthy.
Try Skinception Cold
Pressed Cosmetic Argan Oil
If all this appeals to you, and you're sold on argan oil for its
many beauty applications, remember this: buy it pure, and preferably not from
the big labels.
Why's that? The big guys sometimes dilute pure argan with
additives that diminish its beauty properties. And though production of argan
oil is done in a very specific region in Morocco, by the women of that area,
the major labels sometimes manufacture argan in large factories in Casablanca,
with little or no benefit from the sale of argan to the women who made it.
Instead, purchase argan oil from a smaller skin care label.
They're more likely to manufacture argan the traditional way - by hand - and by
the Moroccan women who've perfected the technique over thousands of years, and
in a fair trade co-op, at competitive wages and with health care and
educational opportunities for the women and their families.
A suggestion? Try Skinception Cold Pressed Cosmetic Argan Oil, which
is argan in its purest state and manufactured in a fair trade co-op. Yet it
comes with the name recognition of a respected label and live, 24/7 customer
support. That's good for peace of mind, and it's backed by a no risk 60 day
money back guarantee.
