The first time I ever heard of argan oil was when I asked a African women (whom had the most flawless skin I have ever seen) what her secret was. Her reply was that she applied argan oil to her entire body daily immediately after exiting the shower. Since then, I have noticed more and more people also discovered argon oil as I started to see it appear in stores and products with greater frequency.
Argan Oil Benefits for Skin
It is true that aragon oil is known for its ability to make skin and hair clear and radiant. It truly does! Since argan oil is considered a “dry oil” it is quickly absorbed into the skin where it assists with moisture retention without making the outer layers of the skin greasy, nor will it clog pores. It also contains sterolins that help improve skin metabolism and reduce inflammation.
Argan oil is also great healing damaged skin and reducing age related lines and wrinkles. Potent antioxidants in argan oil (find it here) help fight the free radicals created by sun damage while oleic and linoleic acids help produce higher sebum levels and cellular growth. These are important for treating a variety of skin issues ranging from dry skin, sun damaged skin to acne, psoriasis and eczema.
Argan Oil for Health
All these benefits are well known and are the reason for argan oil’s recent popularity. However, perhaps it should be popular for another reason… it’s health benefits! That’s right, in Morocco food grade argan oil is used for dipping breads and drizzling on couscous. In her article, “Live Naturally, The Benefits of Argan Oil”, Katherine East says;
“Argan oil contains rare plant sterols (schottenol and spinasterol), not found in other oils. It is believed that these phytosterols are unique in their combination and that there are no other vegetable oils with a comparable phytosterol composition. In general, phytosterols reduce inflammation and help block cholesterol absorption from the intestines. They also show anti-cancer properties.”
The Wall Street Journal also published an article on the health benefits of argon oil stating, “Published in 2005 in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, Moroccan researchers fed 60 male student nurses either olive oil or argan oil with toast for breakfast for three weeks. At the end of the study period, blood samples were taken and both oils worked about equally to stimulate activity of an enzyme believed to protect against oxidative damage that can lead to heart disease.”
There have also been scientific articles indicating aragon oil can positively moderate insulin levels in patients with pre-diabetes. Also, due to its anti-inflammatory abilities, argan oil may help individuals suffering from arthritis.
