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Saturday, December 27, 2014

**REVIEW** Havens Arc Organic Argan Oil

When I first got into oils for skin and hair care, I didn't pay much attention to argan oil. I don't know why. Maybe I thought the other oils were sexier-sounding or the benefits for them were just trending harder. (Then, of course, there was my run-in with an argan conditioner that was horrible. Turns out that was just a bad batch of something from a brand that otherwise has great products...)

Anyway, I have since come to appreciate the benefits of a good argan oil. You can add it to your lotions and body butters for a little extra oomph.  Also, I live in a cold climate and I like the idea of nourishing my skin and hair with oil. This Organic Argan Oil by Havens Arc is a quality one. What I like about this one is that it's fast absorbing and I am able to use it on my hair while still damp from washing. I get a lot of moisture retention (which I definitely need with this "natural" hair choice I've made!) without any weighty greasiness.

4 oz bottle size (with a dropper/stopper)

Simple Ingredients List
Notice that Havens Arc Argan Oil is described as:
Extra virgin Grade I - 100% Pure, Certified Organic, Cold-Pressed, Unrefined and All Natural Argan Oil. No fillers, binders or artificial ingredients.
The company explains that they produce their oil in small batches to ensure the quality of the product. And, before I go any further, let me mention that they offer a "Lifetime Money-Back Guarantee", regardless of where you purchase the product. I don't think that you're going to be asking for a refund though. This really is good quality argan oil and, even though it's produced in small batches, the 4oz bottle size is great. I needed a good size because I've found a few ways to use it.

First, this argan oil turns out to be an amazing hand and cuticle treatment. What I did was rubbed on quite a bit of the oil all over my hands (making sure to soak my cuticles with it), put on a pair of latex gloves, then ran warm water over my gloved hands for a few minutes. I didn't let the water get too hot, but I had it as warm as was comfortable. Afterwards, I left the gloves on for about half an hour to 45 minutes. Then I removed the gloves and massaged the oil into my nails and cuticles, waited a couple minutes, then blotted the residue.  The results were nice. My hands and nails were moisturized and softer. After I used a little hand lotion (to sort of seal in the oil), my hands retained the effects for hours and hours.

For my hair care, I don't like a lot of product build-up - especially of anything oily. Still, I need to keep my hair and scalp nourished so I get less breakage. Also, softer hair is prettier and easier to style, in my opinion. This oil is "light" enough that it doesn't weigh down my hair while adding needed moisture. Actually, I used it (sparingly) as a sealant after washing and noticed that my hair didn't lose its softness as fast as it dried. I did use other products on top of the oil, but I think the oil helped overall. I'm going to see how it works as far as helping keep down the amount of breakage I get.

The other way that I used this argan oil is as a lip treatment. I don't know why, but I have to exfoliate my lips all the time (maybe because of the cold and chapping kind of weather we are having???) I made a scrub by dabbing some of the oil on my my lips - heavily - then dipping my finger into some sugar and (gently) massaging the mixture around. (Someone once suggested adding honey to any lip scrub, but I didn't try that with the oil.) The results were amazing! When I rinsed away the sugar and rubbed in the remaining oil residue, I didn't need balm or anything. Also, instead of blotting my lips afterward, I just kept massaging until the oil was almost completely absorbed.

If you use it as a facial treatment, keep in mind that it is an oil. There will be a bit of a sheen on your skin until you rub it in well and let it rest. I recommend blotting well before applying makeup.

I will have to keep using it for a while to see if I get the hair growth and nail strengthening benefits but, for now, I do like what it does as a moisturizer and softening agent.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE:
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.