Argan oil has been popular in skincare for a while now. But this extraordinary ingredient has been doing good way before QVC and Josie Maran. Find out how best to get amazing argan oil benefits into your life.

You can hardly talk natural skincare without argan oil coming up. It may have become sort of mainstream these past several years, but this nut oil has a long history.

Spied on ingredient listings as argania spinose, argan oil is obtained from the nuts of the argan tree. Grown only in the southwestern region Morocco, women of the area have been using the oil for centuries for its healing properties.

Argan oil holds many beauty benefits and women love the stuff for good reason. It’s a powerful anti-ager, acne fighter, skin rejuvenator, and more. But buyer beware. Not all argan oil products are created equally. And equally here means without toxic ingredients.

You can hop into almost any beauty counter, drugstore, or online beauty shop and pick up a product made with argan oil. To get the most skincare bang for your buck, it is important to purchase high quality, nontoxic products.

Find out which argan oil products are best and how to use them. You’ll be glad you added this beauty to your regimen.

7 Amazing Argan Oil Benefits for Healthy Skin and Hair

1. Anti-aging Hero: More than just another anti-aging ingredient, argan oil is thought of by many organic beauty producers as a super ingredient. Rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and vitamin E, this hero anti-ager is excellent at restoring a youthful appearance to skin. Kahina Giving Beauty 100% Organic Argan Oil is of the highest quality. Use on skin to soften lines, plump, clear, and calm. Try Kahina Giving Beauty Eye Cream to soothe crow’s feet.

2. Non-greasy Moisturizer: Seems most anti-aging products come in oil form. That’s great for dry skin, but what about those with oilier skin looking to treat signs of aging? Argan oil is the answer. This oil works well on all skin types but women with oily skin love it because it does not leave skin greasy or cause breakouts. Highly emollient but absorbs quickly into skin. Suti Honour Coconut & Rose Face Cream offers light hydration and softens skin.

3. Acne Fighter: Argan has natural antibacterial properties, making it an excellent choice for those prone to breakouts. The oil also helps to tone down irritation and inflammation. B Leaf Botanics Banish Blemish Treatment is a potent mix of zit zapping ingredients, but gentle on skin.

4. Lightener and Brightener: This nut oil contains phytosterols which help to brighten the skin and add a natural glow. Studies on the use of argan oil as a treatment for hyperpigmentation disorders of the skin also show promise, and may be beneficial in lightening sun damage and skin discoloration. MUN No. 1 Aknari Brightening Youth Serum combines argan with other healthy natural oils for a bright, supple complexion.

5. Scar Diminisher: That’s right, not only is the oil great for treating lines and wrinkles, many have found it lessens the appearance of scars and stretch marks. Lina Hanson Global Body Serum softens marks and tones skin.

6. Cuticle Repair: We know vitamin E is great for wrangling dry, snaggly cuticles. Add argan oil to your manicure for healthy nails. Kahina Giving Beauty FEZ Hand and Body Balm is perfect on hands, and smells so great you’ll want to use it on the rest of you, too.

7. Hot Oil for Hair: So we know argan has long been used to heal, rejuvenate and support skin. But guess what? This nut oil is a super effective hair treatment too. Warm a small amount of oil in palms and distribute from scalp through ends of hair. Wrap in warm towel and leave for 15 minutes. Shampoo as usual. Hair is soft, shiny, and bouncy.

Didn’t know about all of these useful argan oil benefits? Get in on the goodness of this beauty miracle from nature.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Image of Argan tree via Shutterstock

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When the temperatures drop, it’s easy to let down your guard and forget about sun safety. It may not be warm in the winter, but sun damage is still in the cards.

Despite the cold weather and overcast, melanoma risk is still high in the winter, especially among those who spend a lot of time outside. Cancer doesn’t hibernate just because it’s cold outside. The sun still emits UV rays, which are the main cause of melanoma. Even on cloudy days, you should be equipped with a defense against UV rays. Learn why you should protect yourself from sun damage this winter season.

While everyone under the sky is at risk, winter sports enthusiasts are particularly so. High altitudes, paired with UV rays being reflected by the snow, put skiers and snowboarders at an increased risk of sun damage, and even cancer. UV radiation exposure jumps nearly 5 percent with each rise of 1,000 feet above sea level. This means that at 9,000-10,000 feet, UV radiation is up to 45 percent more intense than it is at sea level. Additionally, snow reflects nearly 80 percent of the UV light emitted by the sun, ultimately compacting sun exposure. Even when it is cloudy, the sun is harmful, because up to 80 percent of the sun’s dangerous UV rays can penetrate cloud cover.

For winter sports enthusiasts at high altitudes, apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher to all exposed skin, making sure to get all the nooks and crannies. Reapply every two hours. For others, a moisturizer with a SPF of 15 or higher should be enough to protect your radiant skin. Use a lip balm with an SPF of 15 or higher and keep it in your pocket as you go about your day or hit the slopes.

If you are trying to maintain your summer tan throughout the cold months by regularly visiting the tanning salon, reconsider this habit. Recent studies show that using tanning beds increases the risk of skin cancer by 800 percent. Regardless of what tanning salons boast about the safety of their beds, don’t fall for it. Instead, save time, money and your healthy complexion by nabbing a tinted moisturizer for your face and body, like Ilia Beauty’s Sheer Vivid Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20, which is made with organic ingredients, such as white tea, rosemary extracts and aloe, and is vegan, cruelty-free and gluten-free.

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They chow down the same foods we healthy middle-aged women eat: Quinoa, lean proteins, fresh organic produce, water from chic reusable Sigg bottles. They drive hybrids and raise funds for good causes, shun the direct sun, and sometimes even wear secondhand fashion (couture, of course).

But tinsel town celebrities my age, like Demi Moore, who is featured on the cover of W Magazine this month, are not like me or any of my healthy, naturally beautiful women friends. No, unlike the mere mortal soccer moms I rub shoulders with at book club gatherings and parties, Demi shows no signs of age or wear and tear. Where is the emerging turkey neck Nora Ephron wrote about? Where are the sagging eyes? Where are the cottage cheese thighs?

“Her body of work has been notable in no small part because of her notable body,” writes Moore cover story author, Kevin West, adding that, “hers is an undeniably striking version of midlife.” He assures us the striking former brat packer has changed at 47, evidenced by tiny lines when she smiles, but she has not gone under the knife.

“It’s their job to look amazing,” observes my astute 13-year-old daughter, Sydney. She tells me if it were her full time job, she would be flawless, too. Methinks my teenager looks pretty flawless now, but she would be happier with perfect hair and no blemishes, stuff that completes you when you are 13.

It comes down to the perception of perfection, and in achieving it, stars are spoonfed support from trainers and personal chefs. Most turn to plastic surgery, even prematurely, like America’s sweetheart Meg Ryan and highly respected eco goddess Daryl Hannah. In both cases, the surgery changed the lovely features we knew, while their bodies maintain the taut physiques of teens. In all cases, the goal is achieved. Defy age. Look young.

One looming exception is Meryl, but even the consummate thespian had to shape up to play a mature hippie in Mama Mia and Alec Baldwin’s ex and Steve Martin’s lover in It’s Complicated.

Still, Streep, now in her 60’s, is probably aging more naturally than any other major star. She doesn’t succumb to surgery and I haven’t noticed her photographs being altered through Photoshop, the favorite weapon in the arsenal of Hollywood anti-aging defenses. Streep doesn’t maintain a public persona outside of her appearances, stays out of the sun and avoids alcohol. Those are pretty good defenses, too. Bon Apetit, Meryl!

While I’m certain Demi stays gaunt for her industry, the W cover shot is not the body of a 47-year-old mother unaltered. My 47-year-old friends look amazing, but none of them have bodies like that. It’s the body of her daughter Rumer, perhaps.

The cover was as surprising as the Self Magazine issue featuring American Idol Kelly Clarkson, who didn’t actually slim down the way the magazine suggests on the cover, but erased those pounds thorough digital post-production. And how ’bout that ad featuring Ralph Lauren model Filippa Hamilton, who was deemed too fat at 5’10” and 120 pounds and had to be drastically Shopped to cut the mustard?

While the option of doing digital makeovers is the choice of each publication, the star still pays a price in terms of credibility.

I feel compassion when I realize society demands its idols be, well, objects to idolize. Air brushing and retouching are just a few of the finishing tools employed in the land of make believe, the land the media fully endorse because we fully buy into it. But at the end of the day, it just makes us feel sad. We can’t possibly live up to these images of perfection, and frankly, neither can the stars.

The alternative: finding a way to accept ourselves as natural beauties who do the best we can to stay healthy and fit and happy and productive – and admire how we are able to thrive in a world with so much adversity, sickness, hunger and negativity.

The Demoiselles website did a recent feature profiling celebs moving in the direction of self-acceptance, even unlikely candidates such as Kim Karshashian, who posed for the cover of Life & Style Weekly completely unretouched.

When asked by the magazine why she is so open about her body (i.e. showing herself receiving a cellulite treatment on her reality show), Kardashian said she was tired of people pretending they’re perfect and covering up things when in reality we are who we are.

“You can try to improve that, but the reality is, nobody’s perfect.” she declared.

But maybe we are perfect, Kim. Maybe we are perfectly flawed.

This is the latest installment in Luanne’s column, Life in the Green Lane.

Images: W Magazine, Plastic Sergeant, Sony pictures, ABC News, Life & Style Magazine, Luanne Bradley

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