*REVIEW** Skinology Argan Oil for Hair, Face, Skin & Nails

There are lots of argan oils out there (and I've tried a bunch of them), but this was the first one labelled for such specific use:

 This is Skinology's "Pure & Natural Certified Organic" Argan Oil for hair, face, skin and nails.

Now, to be honest, I believe that any argan oil can be used for the hair, the face, the skin, and for the nails. That's what most beauty consumers do use the oil for in the first place. Though I'm sure there are other uses I don't know about, so far, those are the only uses that I do know about.  (I have heard of people taking the oil internally, but I won't be trying that for myself.) I think the main thing that separates one argan oil from another are the same things that separate any type of products: quality and purity. At the end of this post, I will look at some of the terms used on the label but, for now, let's just talk about how this oil worked for me. (And, by the way, heed the product warning of not using if you are allergic to nuts! Not a ha-ha, but seriously...)

I really liked that this oil absorbed so well - not just coating my skin with an oily residue. A bigger test of how well it absorbs was that I was able to use it on my (kinky/curly) hair and it didn't weigh it down. (I applied it lightly to my damp hair, especially the ends. I'm going to keep using it this way once I trim my ends to see if it helps the condition of my hair.)

Like I said before, all of the argan oils I've used have been for the same purposes, but I can tell that this one does work better than some others.When I replaced my Solar Oil by using the Skinology on my nails and cuticles, I was able to get a lot of moisture out of the tiniest dab of the argan oil.

The other ways I tried this out was to moisturize the edge of my hairline. I tend to get a lot of dryness there since it's a spot I don't concentrate on when I use face creams in general. That gave me the idea of using the argan oil on my face after doing a mask treatment. I just applied small dabs of the oil (especially around my eyes, on the chin and on the forehead), patted it on and let it rest before I rubbed in my regular moisturizer. You know how dry your face can get after doing an exfoliation or mask, right? This method of moisturizing worked so well, I'm going to make it part of my routine.

So, while I'm generally skeptical of elaborate claims on product labels, I have to admit that the Skinology lived up to my highest expectations for an argan oil. Not only does it work really well, but the Prime pricing is great. On top of that, there is a full, no-questions asked, keep-the-bottle, money-back guarantee. By the way, I have used other Skinology products and they have all been of the same good quality.

Now, here is that other info I promised. Try not to nod off while reading it. If you use oils in your beauty routine, this is good stuff to learn about.

The part of the product description for this oil that interested me the most was the "Triple Extra Virgin Cold Pressed" statement. Let's break that down a bit. I couldn't quickly locate information specific to argan oil, but I'm looking at how the USDA (pdf file link) defines terms for olive oils.

• Virgin olive oils are the oils obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions, including thermal conditions, that do not lead to alterations in the oil, and which have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decantation, centrifugation, and filtration...

I didn't find any mention of "triple extra virgin" at that source. When I looked for definition of "cold pressed", I checked out the Wikipedia article on olive oil for an idea of what it means for that oil to be cold pressed:

• Cold pressed or Cold extraction means "that the oil was not heated over a certain temperature (usually 27 °C (80 °F)) during processing, thus retaining more nutrients and undergoing less degradation".[43] The difference between Cold Extraction and Cold Pressed is regulated in Europe, where the use of a centrifuge, the modern method of extraction for large quantities, must be labelled as Cold Extracted, while only a physically pressed olive oil may be labelled as Cold Pressed. In many parts of the world, such as Australia, producers using centrifugal extraction still label their products as Cold Pressed.

Okay. So there you go. If any of you know anything about oils (especially that whole "triple virgin" thing) please share!

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.

**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.

**REVIEW** Pure Body Naturals Organic Argan Oil

Let me just say right up front that I'm pretty impressed with Pure Body Naturals. No surprise that I really like the other product I've gotten from them to try out.

Of course, argan oil  generally is getting to be quite popular for its uses in hair care and beauty routines. In some places, it's even used in and on food. I didn't know that before. When I opted to try out this Organic Argan Oil by Pure Body Naturals I was most interested in the products moisturizing properties for hair, face, skin and nails - as it's promoted for.

I do like using oils in my beauty routine and this one worked really, really well on my dry fingernails and hands. It worked much better than any cuticle oil I've ever tried. For my hair, it was just a little bit too heavy. I have naturally kinky/curly hair and when I used this as a leave-in oil, it weighed down the curls.

It was a wonderful skin moisturizer (especially after a warm bath) so, after about a week, I started to re-think the way I could use it for my hair. Instead of trying to put it into my dry (or semi-damp) hair as a leave-in, I used it as a rinse-out conditioning treatment. And... SCORE! I think I mentioned recently how I have damaged my hair into stubborn dryness... Well, this oil really helped add some moisture and shine that lasted after my hair was dry from the rinse. It also worked as a hair softener. I was pretty pleased with that.

The argan oil has omega 3s that are so good for the skin. For facial use, the oil worked well (in my case) as a makeup remover. It's much cheaper than the makeup-removing oils that you can buy at the drugstores, and it worked so much better. Since I was wiping it off using my usual baby wipes, my skin retained enough of the oil for a moisturizing effect without the heaviness I got just using the oil as a leave-on treatment. Just like with my hair, it was too heavy for me unless I used it moderately.

If you have a different skin type (or even a skin issue, such as eczema) you might want to work out your own ways of using the oil to get the benefits. I can tell you that I do like using it on my legs and the backs of my thighs - especially when I'm going to be wearing hosiery - to keep my skin from drying out and feeling abused.

I did use the oil as an overnight facial moisturizer. I applied it sparingly and, by morning when I washed (baby-wiped) my face, my skin felt soothed and ready for my daytime face cream. I also plan to try it as an after-treatment when I use my konjac sponge. By the way, I did notice that, if you do want to wear it as a daytime moisturizer, you may want to blot well before applying matte makeup.

Since this bottle is so big (4oz), I am going to be using some of the oil to mix and use with some of the stronger essential oils I'm trying out. I'm going to love having a Sweet Orange-scented/argan mix for my after-bath moisturizing...

Once again, I have to give Pure Body Naturals credit for standing behind their product with a Lifetime 100% money-back guarantee. Simple, direct, and good.

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.