I’m pretty susceptible to advertising and fads – the second I heard about Moroccan Oil. I was ready to shell out my life savings on bottles of the stuff. Thankfully, I was broke and couldn’t afford it and so I just read about it, longingly, while using plain ol’ coconut oil on my dry, curly locks.
Now I’m here to tell you that that stuff works. Not the brown-bottled, blue-labelled serum masquerading as the oil but the actual, pure Argan oil. I, as well as the incredibly dry skin around my eyes, are living proof.
My little brother did a unit in school about healthy eating and he taught me that the ingredients (or chemicals) on food labels are listed by weight (in descending order). So when looking at the label for Moroccan Oil, one may notice that Argan oil is listed sixth on the list. This (should) mean that there are more of the five chemicals listed prior in the product than actual Argan Oil. I’m not hating on Moroccan Oil, I haven’t even tried it. I’m just trying to put perspective on how amazing pure Argan oil is.
I was in the Middle East earlier this summer and while in Medina, I passed by a beauty store. One of the salespeople shoved a cellophane-wrapped gold box in my face, speaking rapidly in Arabic, a language I don’t understand. I grabbed the box from him and saw that it was labelled “Liquid Gold, Argan Oil” and I was intrigued. I checked the ingredients label, and, lo-and-behold, Argan oil was listed first on the list. Up next was Sunflower oil and Vitamin E. There were a few chemicals listed after but what excited me was that Argan Oil was listed first! The salesman asked for an exorbitant amount, claiming it really was liquid gold but, after much bargaining, my dad pushed the price down low enough for me to buy two bottles. It was still expensive but nowhere near as expensive as the Josie Maran oil (which is pure Argan oil) you’d buy at Sephora. I actually bought 5 times the amount as the Josie Maran vials at half the price.
Now for the proof: these past couple weeks, it’s been raining non-stop in my ‘hood. The rain, combined with pollen, grass and all things summer, gave me really bad allergies. My eyes were dry and itchy and I clawed at them like a deranged cat. After a week or so, I noticed that my inner eyes would burn whenever I teared up or washed my face. The skin around my eyes were painfully dry. For weeks I applied coconut oil before I went to bed, hoping the oil would soothe my eyes. Soothe they did but moisturize they did not. When I moved out of my home and back to school, I realized I had forgotten my jar of coconut oil, so I used the only substitute I could find: Liquid Gold, Argan Oil. I squeezed out a drop and applied it all around my eyes, using the excess oil on my hands (Note: a little goes a long, long way). I went to bed and the next morning, while applying eye liner, I noticed something was off. My eyes weren’t stinging, they weren’t painful and the skin wasn’t dry. That’s right, Argan oil did in one night what coconut oil hadn’t done in two weeks. Argan oil works and my eyes are thanking God for it.
I’m sorry about the lengthy post, I just love this stuff so much. I understand that on this side of the world the oil is pricey but I do believe it’s worth it. Buy a tiny bottle and apply it sparingly and luxuriously on your hair or your face or your neck. I can’t make any promises, but I know it’s worked for me. I do hope it works for you; may you reap its rewards and love it as much as I do.
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