Josie Maran Argan Oil is a fabulous product.
The oil is labeled a face product but I actually bought it to use on my body and especially my legs as a pre-summer and mini skirts treatment. It worked great and I liked the oil well enough for the occasional use on my face. The oil sinks quickly into the skin and doesn't leave a greasy coat. It softens rough patches and I'm pretty sure it helped a a scratch and a bruise heal more quickly than usual. After a week or so of use on my legs I noticed an improvement and no longer needed as much moisturizing. There are some magical anti-aging properties attributed to the oil from the argan nut. I don't believe in miracle potions, and face-wise I still prefer creams to oils, but this Josie Maran product is great and so far made a real difference in my body care routine.
However.
See my problem?
Josie Maran Argan Oil is available from Sephora. It comes in a brown glass bottle with a dropper (quite convenient). The oil is actually colorless, which surprised me. I tasted a little and did not get any nutty scent or flavor. It makes it more appealing for cosmetic use, but I don't know why and how it differs from the bottles you find at the grocery store.
Photos:
Goats on an argan tree in Morocco from neatorama.com
Argan oil from gourmet.chefshop.com
I love using oil on my DRY skin, but I have never tried argan oil. I'll have to give this a try
ReplyDeleteI visited Morocco last summer and bought Argan oil in a women's cooperative outside Essouria where most of the Argan production takes place. The edible oil is made from the roasted nut. The skin care oil is made with the raw nut. I am sure you could use the culinary oil on your body, but I would not use it on my face. Argan oil is amazing and is also a great after sun treatment with a little lavender essential oil mixed in to counteract burning.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard anything about Kahina Giving Beauty Argan Oil Skin Care? Its new at Bergdorfs and want to know you feed back! It is a Argon Oil product.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be a different color because the cosmetic formulations of argan oil often contain many other ingredients, in addition to the argan. You might be better using the food grade oil, oddly enough.
ReplyDeleteThank for raising the Josie Moran pricing issue. I'd love to find an answer to this very difficult question. I've been using an ounce that I bought online at Garden of Wisdom for $8.20 plus shipping. But I haven't been using it consistently enough to form an opinion or write a review. I wonder if any of your readers has compared them? Thank you again for the lovely review.
ReplyDeleteAh yes. the cosmetic grade oil is more expensive. I have found some e-tailers on Amazon.com that sell pure argan oil...but I don't know the quality of their product. To make your oil last longer have you thought about mixing it into your body lotion?
ReplyDeleteThe natural color of the oil in both cosmetic and culinary is yellow. The cosmetic is a little brighter and the culinary a little darker since the nuts are roasted prior to being pressed (makes sense). There should be an odor of the oil, the culinary is stronger. While both have great qualities, the culinary retains more of the vitamins because none are lost in the roasting process, so definitely use only the cosmetic on your skin and definitely don't eat it because it will taste bitter and is not recommended. The culinary tastes fabulous though in salad dressings with a little lemon juice and salt and pepper yummm!
ReplyDeleteAnd in terms of the pricing, I think $45 is a little high, for both Josie Maran and Kahina, I would say the $35 range for a 2oz bottle is about right because first the oil isn't cheap in Morocco (just came back from a trip), it takes a women 45 minutes to just crack enough nuts for 2oz. of oil, and that doesn't include the pressing, the picking of the fruit, the drying of the fruit, bottling, etc. So you can imagine how much time goes into making just one bottle. Plus, you don't need much. One bottle will last you a couple months unless you use it for a massage. And, it is multi-use... soooo you can probably eliminate a couple hair care products or facials creams you would otherwise spend money on. Give it a try!