Morocco is famed for its beauty, spices, cultural diversity, and delicious couscous. But in more recent times, the world has discovered yet another ancient secret of the Moroccan people which has now become all the rage in the beauty world. Morocco is home to the ‘Liquid Gold’, more commonly known as Argan Oil.
Extracted from the nuts of the Argan tree, which grows almost exclusively in this region, the oil, which is said to have restorative and age-defying effects, has become one of the latest miracle ingredients in the beauty industry.
Known as the “Tree of Life” to the Berbers (the indigenous people), for the many health benefits it brings, this spiny tree (argania spinosa) grows exclusively in the south-west of Morocco in the Souss Plain, where there are 21 million trees covering almost 800,000 hectares. As home to this rare and endangered species, the Argan forest was declared an International Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1998.
The Argan tree provides shelter, food and protection from the desert. It takes 35 years to mature and start producing the nuts from which the oil is extracted. The Argan tree also helps landscape stability, helping to prevent soil erosion and providing shade for pasture grasses. In addition, its leaves and fruits serve as feed for animals.
High in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, Argan oil is believed to help all sorts of skin conditions: dry skin, acne, psoriasis, eczema, wrinkles. Moroccans slather it on their skin, hair, nails and even their babies. They eat it, too — drizzling it over salads and couscous, or using it to make amlou, a tahini-like spread of the oil, almonds and honey.
Argan Oil is one of the oldest beauty treasures of the Moroccan royal family. It made its way from Morocco to Europe, where only the elite had access to this expensive, rare and exotic oil. Today, celebrities from around the world swear by the effectiveness of the Argan oil. So massive is the demand that the global market for Argan oil is expected to reach £1 billion by 2022, with 40 per cent of that coming from the cosmetic sector.
How is Argan Oil Extracted?
The extraction of argan oil is a labor-intensive task perfected by the Berber women native to the area (it takes a few days to produce one liter) who work for fair-trade cooperatives, and use traditional knowledge and techniques in the extraction process.
- The Argan fruits are picked off the ground from under the Argan Tree. These carefully picked fruits are then dried for about 4 months under the hot Mediterranean sun.
- The Argan nuts are then extracted from the fruits. These nuts are carefully cracked open by hand with two stones ( a technique mastered by Berber women). This reveals 2 to 3 kernels out of which only the best ones are selected for the next process.
- Now, the kernels are machine pressed and filtered to extract the oil. This oil is then allowed to settle for about 2 days till all the remaining impurities have sank to the bottom and only the purest form of the oil is available.
- It takes one person about 3 days to produce 1 litre of Argan Oil.
Now that you know the amount of time and work it takes to produce a small amount of Argan Oil, let’s see how beneficial it truly is.
What does Argan Oil Contain?
- Essential Fatty Acids: Argan Oil is rich in Omega-6 Fatty Acids, which maintain the health of the skin’s cellular membranes. This improves the overall elasticity and firmness of the skin, and protects moisture levels.
- Tocopherol (Vitamin E): Argan Oil contains approximately 300% more Vitamin E than Olive Oil. The antioxidant helps to boost cell production by fighting free radicals, improve the skin’s capacity to sustain moisture, and heal damaged, dry skin. It also works wonders on restoring hair health.
- Squalene: Argan Oil is rich in Squalene, and this helps the skin combat the signs of premature ageing. It also has antibacterial properties which makes Argan Oil an excellent natural remedy for eczema, acne and psoriasis.
- Polyphenols: Apart from working as a free-radical fighting antiseptic with skin-repairing and anti-inflammatory properties, Polyphenols also provide a natural UV protection shield to the skin, and helps it fight sun damage.
In addition to the above ingredients, it also contains ferulic acid, sterols and triterpene alcohols which help protect the skin by slowing its aging process, repairing it faster and provides a soothing effect due to the alcohol’s anti-inflammatory properties.
QNET Argan Care – Hair and Skin Oil For Him and Her
Having studied the benefits of this extraordinary gift of Nature, the research and development team at QNET realised that many of the products in the market that claimed to contain Argan oil, only included a small percentage of the real thing. In order to experience the benefits of Argan oil, the product composition must include a very high percentage of pure argan oil.
That’s how the idea of QNET’s Argan Care was born.
QNet’s Argan Care brings the same goodness and purity of the Moroccan Argan Oil directly from its source in Morocco exclusively for our customers in India. The composition is made of 95% pure Argan Oil.
What are the top benefits of QNET’s Argan Care?
Skin Benefits:
1. Skin Moisturiser
Argan oil is most commonly used as a skin moisturiser to hydrate and soften skin. With its high vitamin E and fatty acid content, argan oil is the ideal product to give skin a natural boost. It absorbs easily and is non-greasy and non-irritating, which makes it a great natural moisturiser.
2. Reduces Premature Aging
Argan oil is comprised of roughly 80% fatty acids which work wonders to erase signs of premature aging. Regular use of Argan oil has been proven to reduce the depth and severity of wrinkles, as well as to fade age spots by restoring skin’s youthful elasticity and by increasing the regenerative rate of healthy skin cells.
3. Prevents Stretch Marks
This miracle oil can also be used to prevent stretch marks from pregnancy, pubescent growth of hips and mammaries, or from rapid weight gain by softening and strengthening skin.
4. Strengthens Nails
When applied to the fingers and toes, Argan oil helps to promote stronger, healthier nails naturally with high levels of Vitamin-E. The antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities of Argan oil may also help to fight off nail and skin infections associated with poor nail health.
5. Heals Skin Ailments
The triterpenoids naturally found in Argan oil offer amazing health benefits for skin including the ability to stunt the growth of warts, treat some forms of dermatitis, break down tumorous skin cells, and fade scars. Also, the antioxidants and fatty acids found in Argan oil may also help with the treatment of mild acne and with the healing of acne-related scarring.
Hair Benefits:
- Repairs Split Ends
Rich in Vitamin E, Argan oil nourishes hair, repairing split ends, and increases hair’s shine and overall healthy appearance. When applied to hair, Argan oil prevents drying and environmental damage by coating the hair. The oil seals in moisture and smooths fly-aways, making hair more manageable and less prone to breakage from brushing and styling. - Leave-in conditioner
After your shower, while your hair is still wet, add a few drops of argan oil to your hair, ends and scalp to hydrate and moisturize. It’s especially nourishing if your hair is dry from daily use of a blow dryer, straight-iron or curling iron. - Overnight Treatment for Dandruff
Deep condition your hair with Argan oil, leave it in a shower cap and let your body heat do it’s magic. Wash it off thoroughly in the morning. This routine is sure get rid of any dandruff by moisturizing your scalp.
Click here for Specific Benefits of Argan Care for Men
All the Good Stuff
- No artificial colour
- SLS free
- Purely natural product for daily use
- No added dyes, preservatives & paraben
- For children and adults; without any side effects
- Available in 2 different fragrances for men and women
Note: SLS stands for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, a foaming agent used in various cosmetic and personal hygiene products which can damage the skin and hair. The cleansing process is done by corrosion and thus the natural oils and moisture of hair scalp is lost, if used regularly.
What are you waiting for? Get a bottle of this Liquid Gold and experience the magic of Argan oil.
