MONTREAL - Say “Salam” to argan oil. Said to contain more vitamin E than olive oil and loaded with Omega 3, 6, and 9, the oil is becoming famous for its anti-aging properties. It’s made from the kernels of the age-defiant argan tree, which survived and adapted to extreme arid conditions in the Tertiary period millions of years ago. Today, argan trees are mainly found in Morocco.
At health food stores and hair salons, argan oil-infused products are appearing in anything from shampoos, to body lotions, to face exfoliants, to lip glosses. Hair care giant Moroccan Oil uses argan oil in all its products.
“Argan (oil) doesn’t sit on top of your hair and make it look healthy – it seeps in and treats hair at the same time,” said Steven Turpin, a product specialist for the line. He says the almost weightless oil helps to hydrate hair in a variety of conditions, whether it’s in the desert-like heat, the dry winter air, or a as a result of heat styling tools.
Moroccan Oil’s extensive product line features shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling products geared toward a variety of hair types.
A versatile anti-ager and hydrating agent, argan oil is also popular with philanthropically minded companies. Naturelle d’Orient from France features organic and eco-certified argan oil produced in a Moroccan co-op. The co-op provides education and fair wages for impoverished women and boasts a nursery, says Isabel Lapointe, Montreal distributor for the company.
Organic beauty company Zorah, with headquarters in Montreal’s plateau area, boasts 16 beauty products made with organic argan oil including lotions, exfoliators and lip glosses. Elise Mailhot-Paquette, in communications at Zorah, said that when the company’s founder visited the co-op in Morocco for the first time, not only was her heart touched, but her eyes marvelled as well.
“The women pressing the (oil), even if their face was wrinkled, their hands were immaculate,” she reported. Zorah plans to release additional argan oil beauty products, like mascara, in the future.