Does argan oil hydrate skin?

Argan oil has often been described as nature’s ‘super food for the skin’ and there are many reasons why you would want to include it in your daily skincare routine. While argan oil is present in a lot of skincare products, most will use a diluted solution, whereas we use argan oil in its purest form within products such as our Moisturising Face Cream, Natural Cleansing Oil and Comforting Body Cream. Before we talk about what argan oil does, it’s important to first understand what argan oil is so that you know what you’re putting on your skin.

What is argan oil?

Argan oil is a plant oil which is produced by extracting kernels from the nuts found within fruits that grow on argan trees, which are native to Morocco. Extraction of these kernels and production of argan oil is a very manual process, as the fruits are dried and flesh is removed, the nuts are cracked open to retrieve the kernels, which are then ground into a paste which the argan oil is retrieved from.

Argan oil then has three main uses across the globe. In Morocco and other places, it is used as food, as Moroccan people will often drizzle it on couscous or dip bread in it. It is also believed to have medicinal uses as it contains high levels of γ-Tocopherol, which has strong chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as many other potentially medicinal properties. Finally, argan oil has been used within cosmetics across the world since the early 2000’s because it contains omega fatty acids and many other properties which are great for the skin.

Does argan oil hydrate skin?

Yes, argan oil does hydrate the skin, which is why we use it in so many of our skincare products. Argan oil has high levels of vitamin E and essential fatty acids such as oleic acid and linoleic acid which help to hydrate even the driest of skin. The fatty acids help to control the skin’s natural oil barrier, ensuring you don’t have too little or too much oil, resulting in fresh, hydrated skin. They also make your skin more permeable so that other hydrating ingredients in your skincare products can penetrate the skin and provide a deeper level of hydration.

Is argan oil good for the skin?

Argan oil is incredibly good for your skin, and not just because of its skin hydrating qualities. Argan oil has many antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties too. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, helping to seal up cracks in the skin caused by dryness, and the anti-inflammatory properties of argan oil make it an ideal skincare ingredient for preventing post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. While hyperpigmentation can go away on its own, prevention is always better than cure, which is why argan oil is such an important part of your daily skincare routine. Argan oil is also known to be anti-aging, wound healing and helps to fight skin conditions such as eczema.

At Epara, our skincare products use only natural ingredients like argan oil to moisturise, hydrate and replenish your skin. Find out more about our skincare products or read our recent blog to find out what moisturiser actually does.