Product Review: Amal Organic Argan Oil
Here’s the thing: When we were writing the book, a certain amount of divide-and-conquer was required in order to properly test out products.
I quickly fell in love with coconut oil; Siobhan not so much. Instead she became the resident evangelist for argan oil, and once she discovered Kahina Giving Beauty, she was in love.
I am not a seasoned argan user (though when I visit Siobhan you can’t keep my mitts off her Kahina!), so I was pretty excited to receive a bottle of Amal Organic Argan Oil and put this Moroccan elixir to the test.
After a few months of use now, I can see what all the fuss is about. The Amal has a pleasant nutty smell, feels great, absorbs quickly, and seems to be keeping my skin nicely balanced and hydrated.
Another bonus? At $35 for a decent-sized bottle ($28 if you help do a little social networking for them) it’s the most affordable argan we’ve come across so far. When I asked the owner, Jalila Bouchareb (pictured above), how she was able to keep the price down she chalked it up to an efficient production system, and to the network she’s been able to establish in Morocco as a native herself. She also emphasized the philanthropic part of the business.
“The main goal of Amal Oils is to donate a portion of profits back to the women cooperatives to give them the income, healthcare and education that they need for themselves and their families and to help preserve the argan forest,” said Bouchareb.
So if you’ve been wanting to try argan but have been deterred by price, Amal is a great option. And in the winter, everyone needs the extra hydration, am I right?
Have you tried argan oil? What’s your experience been?
Images via Amal’s site
I’m 17 and suffer from hormonal cystic acne. I had tried everything to clear my skin! Finally, I stumbled upon a natural skincare regimen: The Oil Cleansing Method. I used a mix of castor oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil and it really did purge my skin but I don’t think it was good for cystic acne. In the end, it left me with lots of milia and closed clogged pores. Since that disaster I’ve switched to washing my face with honey and moisturizing with Josie Maran’s argon oil. My skin has definitely improved over the past few weeks. The argon oil is great for clearing up scars and I believe it is purging the last of the clogged pores. Also, it has rid me of virtually all blackheads on my nose! It moisturizes well and is not heavy. I’m hoping that in time it will keep working and clear my skin for good.
I am currently sampling Josie Moran Argan Oil for my blog. They also sent me their hair serum to try. I’m about halfway through the month and like the product. Absorbs quickly, 100% organic, leaves the skin feeling balanced: what more can you ask for?
I was surprised that 1-2 drops actually helped to smooth my thick and easily tangled mass of curls. The container is so tiny that it’s off-putting for someone with massive amounts of hair, but when used right 2 drops works better than a non-organic conditioner that’s full of alcohol.
I first found out about Argan Oil on this website some time ago and ordered a 50 ml bottle from the internet (I live in the Netherlands, so this is a Dutch company). I’ve been using it for about 1,5 months now and I LOVE it. My skin has become incredibly soft, I hardly have any outbreaks, the small scars on my cheeks from acne in former years have almost completely faded and the dark circles under my eyes are less prominent. The smell took some getting used to, and I didn’t really see any difference until I’d been using it for approx. 2 weeks, but it’s worth it. I would recommend this product to anyone (I’m in the process of getting my sister addicted as well), and I only hope it does as much for them as it does for me. Thanks Alexandra and Siobhan!
I bought some argan oil in part because of the raves I’ve read here, but sadly, it didn’t work for me. I used two drops on damp skin at night, & my fairly good but winter- dry skin broke out badly. It’s taken a couple weeks for it to clear up, & I don’t dare use it on my face again. Luckily, it works well as a body oil.
I should clarify that I used it for a week or so without adding any other new products.
I’ve not tried it yet, but am intrigued by all of the reviews.
I’m not a huge fan of it on my face, but it does work great for me as a hair, body & cuticle oil. I’ve personally seen it perform disappearing acts for eczema & psoriasis sufferers! From babies to adults…amazing!
I’m so excited to use this on my hair! I recently went to the hair salon and they gave me a product that Argan oil in it, but also silicones and fragrance (ugh), so I’m going to buy this one instead.
After hearing lots about argan oil on this blog, I picked up a travel size Josie Moran at Sephora yesterday when I was in buying something else–a foot exfoliated, for the record–not something perfumed! ;)–I used it last night and any time I’m in the bathroom, I slather a drop or two around my mouth–extremely dry today, but anything thicker seems to lead to a breakout. It moisturized my whole face nicely, I can’t say it’s doing wonders for this super dry area around my lips, but I’m beginning to doubt that nothing without some thick wax/oil would…at least short term.
I’m really excited to keep using it! If it helped clear up my milia and blackouts as the first poster mentioned, I’d be thrilled. Also, there’s a super size bottle of Josie Moran’s argan oil at Sephora right now for around a hundred bucks (4 oz I believe). The website says that size saves you about 20 bucks so if you are a regular user, might be worth it!
Anyone out there – is it possible that my Kahina argan oil is causing massive break outs on my chin? Nasty, huge cysts. Everything I’ve read indicates it doesn’t clog pores and I did just go through IVF last November and miscarried in early December so it seems like it’s a no brainer that it’s hormones. But I would think those hormones would be out of my system a month later and yet the huge, painful cysts are still popping up. I started using argan oil as recommend by the NMDL book and this blog so I thought someone here might be able to help. Thanks if anyone responds! I’ll be checking back almost as obsessively as I’m checking the mess on my chin in the hopes for a miracle…
Hey Amy — so sorry to hear about your chin and your miscarriage and best of luck to you. I’m a total hormonal breaker outer, and used to be really cystic on my chin as well. (I still get flareups, and almost always the result of menstrual irregularities.) Anyway there’s no way for us to say other than what our own experience has been. Being cystic-zit prone and a longtime Kahina oil user, I can’t say there’s been any correlation for me. My personal recommendation would be to use it on your face and avoid your chin and see what happens. I tend to moisturize my face in two parts (future blog post idea!) because my chin is so frustratingly inconsistent. Let us know how it goes, and good luck with everything!
Dear Amy, I can feel your frustration- and rightly so. Having cystic acne as an adult is stressful and all too common.
Cystic acne is multifactorial and a complex issue- the main causes are inflammation in the body and hormones. As you mentioned, the hormones are playing a significant role in your acne, and it is not unusual after hormonal manipulation with injections for the skin to take several months to normalize.
I don’t believe the Argan oil is contributing to your cystic acne- as cystic acne comes from the inside of your body. The Argan oil is helpful for acne because it has antiinflammatory properties and is packed full of natural antioxidants.
I would look at your diet and stress level: eat a diet mainly of lean protein, vegetables, fruit and nuts. This means removing dairy, grains, processed foods and sugars. This will bring down the inflammation in your body, and thus your skin. Also, sleep, hydration, exercise and stretching are all antiinflammatory, as is deep breathing.
Try these measures as best you can- you don’t have to be perfect, just start to move in the direction of healing and bringing down inflammation- and give it some time. I would continue with the Argon oil! Best of Luck to you.
Susan M Kallal MD, Pharm.D
Dermatologist, Los Angeles
I have purchased Argan oil today after reading a few of your blog entries
I believe it’s a local brand, I purchased it from Essence Of Life in Toronto, Canada
my local organic natural store.
I purchased clay for a clay mask, and argan oil to put directly onto my face almost as a night cream
I am using green tea extract face wash with salycic acid in it, and derma e face cream for problem skin
and now im going to try this argan oil for scars and breakouts, as a nighttime remedy
I will let you know how it goes!!
I too just bought argan oil from amal and i’m waiting for it. I have used some before from Newdirectionaromatic and it helped to decrease the oil in my face, but the smell was too strong and I wasn’t sure if I got an authentic product, so I have decided to compare that with the one from Amal Oil. We will see how it goes, but so far, even the one I got from Newdirectionaromatic seam to help remove excess oil from my face. Re: Rhoussel Clay is good, it softens my skin. I mix it with rose water for facial cleanser.
i’m trying out the cocoon apothecary’s argan oil for hair and face soon, will let you know how it goes!!
I just couldn’t leave your website before telling you that we really enjoyed the quality information you offer to your visitors… Will be back often to check up on new posts.
Has anyone tried the argan oil that’s just called arganoil -100% pure Moroccan Oil? (I’ve seen it in the UK), or Moroccanoil? Is the Moroccanoil brand really pure and everything like they claim to be? I’ve seen people saying both about that brand.
I’ve tried a number of different brands of argan oil with varying degrees of success – I have yet to try Amal. My top two brands of argan oil so far are Beta Naturals and Josie Maran. I’ve been using Beta Naturals argan oil for the past few months and absolutely love it! It’s 100% pure and organic. It doesn’t have a smell. I’ve been using it on my skin and I’ve noticed a vast improvement in how soft my skin feels. I also use argan oil to give my hair a nice, subtle shine by rubbing a drop between my hands and running my fingers through my hair. I’m in my forties and have used practically every beauty product imaginable to deal with lines and dryness, but nothing comes close to the effectiveness of a premium argan oil. Josie Maran argan oil works very well too, but costs considerably more for the same level of quality as Beta Naturals argan oil.