Hi everyone,

With its tremendous fame, a number of people are confused if the Argan Oil/product they have is a pure one or falsie. It is indeed a huge pile of brands out there that would make anyone confused. This is why I've decided to share this guide to help you distinguish the pure and organic Argan Oil. 

It might be a long read but believe me it's worth it. Luckily, I have at home both versions of the Argan oil to give you a proof at some points of what I’m talking about.

1- Origin

100% Argan oil is produced only from the Argan tree in Morocco, specifically in the south west part. Therefore, when purchasing this oil just make sure that it’s moroccan and the only ingredient in the list is 100% Argan oil.

For those having the chance to take the extra mile, need to be careful as getting it from Morocco doesn’t guarantee its authenticity. Nor those big brands assure that the oil used is organic, just keep in mind that any chemicals added reduce its efficiency. Personally, I prefer to use this magical oil in its most natural state. 

2- Scent

There are different ways to find out if you’ve been duped by a culinary Argan oil, and the smell is one of those ways. A strong delicious nut scent that you would want to eat, has big probabilities that the oil is for culinary use just because the nuts have been roasted first. This being said, this version of Argan oil will not provide you any results on your skin or hair but it could do a great job on the top of your salad or bread.

One the other side the pure cosmetic Argan oil has a light nutty smell that some don’t like and never get used to it but anyway it fades away shortly after application. 

What smells like nothing could also be skeptical, as it might be fake, diluted or simply put through deodorisation mechanism. 

3- Texture

In another way, the soft and velvety texture defines the pure Argan oil. It’s not supposed to be in any of the ways muggy, watery or even could have a reaction on those having skin issues.  

4- Look

The other factor that helps characterising the 100% Argan oil is the colour.  The cosmetic version has a pale yellow golden colour whilst the culinary goes more into the red/orange shade that obviously results from the roasting process of the Argan seeds.

Don’t be scared to find some “dirt” in the bottom of your bottle, that is simply a sediment that would guarantee the authenticity of your Argan oil. 

5- Price

Every time I seem to find new Argan oil brands that seem to be a great bargain for those unable to identify the pure one… But what if it’s just culinary oil inside that packaging??? What bargain is it then???  The Argan oil is very difficult to extract and takes hours of manual work thus there is no cheap Argan oil…. Yet, an over priced one isn’t necessarily genuine. 

To sum up, for your next Argan Oil purchase, keep these factors in mind to get the most of your buck. Please note that this is just my simple and native way of recognising the 100% pure Argan oil however that’s not the only one. 

Hope you find this helpful and as always thanks for dropping by.