Golden Girl

Argan oil also known as liquid gold has gotten quite popular in skincare during last couple of years as it has also become more accessible worldwide. Many beauty and hair professionals claim that it is absolutely worth the hype and from my experience this is definitely true. Let’s have a look at some of its biggest benefits.

1.

Vitamin E source

Argan oil is rich in vitamin E, which protects cells from oxidative stress damaging cell barriers and speeding up the aging process. Vitamin E can be depleted from our skin by UV light sources like the sun, tanning beds and even some light bulbs. Argan oil is a great way to get some vitamin E to our skin directly. Just rub 3-4 drops between your palms and gently pat onto your face in the evening and 2-3 drops in the morning so that your face is not too greasy throughout the day.

2.

Anti-inflammatory

If you are prone to skin bumps and razor burns after shaving argan oil is an absolute must for you. Its ani-inflammatory properties keep the skin from getting irritated and red. Just apply a few drops to affected area after shaving and gently pat the product onto the skin or mix the oil with your favourite moisturizer. You can also mix it with brown sugar and use it as a body scrub or exfoliator before shaving.

3.

Helps with acne

Argan oil can help with controlling oil production. In theory skin that produces more oil needs to be treated with oil based products to regulate oil production. Argan oil has a very light structure that absorbs quickly, doesn’t clog your pores and doesn’t leave any greasy residue. It nourishes the skin so this might be the perfect way of starting treating oily skin with oil based products.

4.

The perfect hair care ingredient

Applying argan oil directly to the scalp has proven to be very effective for people suffering from dry scalp and dandruff. As mentioned above argan oil doesn’t leave any greasy residue. It moisturizes hair and scalp without leaving the hair looking heavy and greasy. Massage a few drops onto your scalp or rub it in your palms and gently go over your hair to get rid of fly aways or treat weak and split ends.

5.

Increases skin elasticity

Argan oil has proven to increase skin elasticity which is why it’s often used as an early treatment for stretch marks, soft wrinkles and scars and even rough sunburnt skin. You can add a few drops to your favourite lotions or creams to increase their effectiveness in fighting with damaged skin.

Personal review

As someone with naturally oily skin this is the only oil I dare to use in my skin care routine and I have been very satisfied with the results. The oil feels very light on my face and absorbs quickly but still I only use it once a day in the evening right before bedtime. It smells really nice and has a beautiful golden colour so it feels like I’m treating myself with something very exotic and expensive when in truth you can get one for the same price as your regular day/night cream. Personally I wouldn’t use it in the morning because throughout the day my skin produces a lot of oil so I don’t want to end up looking greasy and shiny.

However I started to use it first to treat my stretch marks. I am an athlete and my body shape and weight can change quite easily. That’s why I had very visible stretch marks even at young age. I was looking for products that can help to at least make them less visible. After trying a couple creams with no result I borrowed a small bottle of argan oil from my mom who was already using it after she burnt her skin during summer holiday in Egypt. At first I thought it definitely wouldn’t help since the structure was so light it felt like it was diluted with water, it wasn’t as thick as I expected an oil to be. But I kept using it anyways because I didn’t want to throw it out and only after three weeks or so I started to see the difference. Not only the stretch marks got less visible but I noticed that I don’t have these little red bumps I used to get after shaving and my skin was finally not so discoloured.

So to sum up my impressions this oil is a real healing gem but on the other hand if you have a very oily skin and use it improperly it can make your condition worse I think. Also it takes some time to actually see the results of using it. But overall I believe that argan oil can truly help almost all skin types.