What is Argan Oil?
The Moroccan Argan tree, the sole source of authentic Argan Oil, grows in the arid region between Marrakech and Agadir in Morocco. It grows very slowly and produces a green fruit containing a nut which has 3 milky white, oil-rich kernels.
These nut / seed kernels are extracted by hand by Berber women in cooperatives and cold-pressed into pure Argan Oil. The oil is totally natural, organic and also vegan friendly.
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Where Does Real Argan Oil Come From?
The Argan Tree
Argan Oil comes from the Argan tree which grows in Morocco. It is an ancient tree that is a relic of the Earth’s Tertiary Period which ended about 1.6 million years ago.
Argan trees grow in arid, salty soil and grow most prolifically near the coast and in the low mountains. You will find the densest Argan forests in a narrow band of the country between Essaouira and Agadir.
The tree may grow up to ten meters tall and can live for over 200 years. It has small leaves 2–4 cm long and silver-green in colour. In April it produces small flowers with five pale yellow-green petals.
The Argan fruit that it produces is 2 to 4 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm in diameter. Each fruit has a thick, fleshy, bright green peel surrounding the hard nut held inside.
Argan trees protect soil against water loss as well as rain or wind-induced erosion. This helps to maintain soil fertility and slows down desertification. A hybrid version of the Argan tree in israel is actually being grown in an attempt to reclaim arid desert lands.
To protect the tree, UNESCO declared the area in which the Argan tree grows a “biosphere reserve”. International support and modernisation of Argan Oil production have become a model for Agro-Forestry and the cooperative system of working.
The Berber Women’s Cooperatives
Argan Oil is made almost exclusively by the Berber women’s cooperatives of Morocco, representing one of the most successful examples of ethical beauty production in the world. The cooperative movement was started in the 1990s in part by Professor Zoubida Charrouf, a Moroccan chemist who dedicated her career to preserving traditional argan production methods while empowering local communities to compete with foreign-owned industrial pressing plants.
Before the cooperatives, Berber women extracted it using centuries-old hand-cracking techniques but received minimal compensation from middlemen. The work was backbreaking—it takes approximately 30 kilograms of argan fruit to produce just one liter of oil—yet the women had no direct access to markets or fair prices.
The cooperative model changed everything. By organizing into collectives, these women gained direct control over production, pricing, and distribution. Today, there are over 300 women’s cooperatives across Morocco’s argan-growing regions, primarily in the southwest near Essaouira and Agadir.
When you purchase authentic, cooperative-produced Argan Oil, you’re not just buying a skincare product—you’re supporting a network of women entrepreneurs, preserving biodiversity, and investing in sustainable rural development.
The Argan Oil Production Process
Harvest
Argan Oil is produced by groups of families that have owned areas of Argan trees for generations. When the Argan fruits are ripe they are 2 cm or more long and bright green. They are harvested in June or July.
The fruits are left to dry until they form a dark brown husk. These husks are removed to reveal the brown Argan nut. These nuts are hard to break and the process is still done by teams of women who crack the nuts open by hand.
Inside each nut are 2 or 3 pale yellow, bitter tasting kernels. Over 2 Kg of nut kernels are cold-pressed to extract one litre of pure oil.
Oil Extraction & Processing
After pressing, the oil is filtered to yield a yellow oil with an Argan nut scent. This oil may be filtered a second time to yield “deodorised” Argan Oil, which has almost no smell.
Culinary Argan Oil is produced differently: the nut kernels are toasted before being cold-pressed to create an edible oil with a deep nutty flavor.
The Different Grades of Argan Oil
Pure Argan Oil 2.03 fl oz
Pure double filtered Organic Argan Oil for a lighter Argan scent.
- 100% Pure Oil
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Culinary Argan Oil is not suitable for cosmetic use. For skin and hair, there are 3 main grades:
- Single Filtered Oil: Natural olive/citrus scent and medium yellow colour.
- Filtered with Active Carbon: Doubled filtered, lighter colour, and a more perfumed, sweeter smell.
- Double Filtered Oil: The purest grade, filtered twice to remove all sediment. Pale yellow with almost no fragrance.
You can buy both single filtered scented oil and odourless Argan Oil on our online store.
The Ultimate Guide to Argan Oil – Free Ebook
Our 34-page eBook is a complete inside guide to the history of Argan Oil. Learn about the origins of the forests, the chemistry of the oil, and how to use it for skin and hair care.
What is Argan Oil Made From?
Common Questions About Argan Oil
Analysis of Argan Oil has revealed the specific nutrients responsible for its legendary benefits:
- Anti Oxidant Tocopherols: Over twice the Vitamin E of Olive oil. Helps prevent “free radical” damage that ages cells.
- Essential Fatty Acids: Rich in Omega 6 and Omega 3 to keep skin pliable and reduce inflammation.
- Triterpenoids (Tirucallol): Plays an important role in healing damage to the skin.
- Beta Amyrine: Stimulates cell growth and synthesises new collagen. [1]
- Butyrospermol: Powerful anti-inflammatory effect.
- Lupenol: Strong antiseptic properties.
Moroccan Oil is a name widely used to describe products which may, or in many cases may not, be genuine Argan Oil. Genuine Argan Oil is produced from the seed kernel of the Argan tree fruit, this is why some companies use the name Moroccan Oil to refer to it. However, there is also a brand with the name “MoroccanOil”— this is not pure Argan Oil but a hair treatment brand which does not claim to be pure but uses the name as a brand only.
Argon Oil is simply a mis-spelling of Argan Oil. If you have been searching to learn about the benefits of “Argon Oil,” hopefully you will not have come across any websites selling a product labelled “Argon.” In fact, if you find companies or websites advertising “Argon Oil,” incorrectly spelt, they are probably best avoided. After all, if they have not checked that the name of their product is spelt correctly, what chance is there that it is genuine Argan Oil!
Be careful of very cheap Argan Oil—it does not exist. For over 19 years, we have worked only with genuine, authenticated suppliers that we know. I was born in Morocco and my family are Berber; we started by working directly with friends and family in the cooperatives. Our goal is to increase trade for the cooperatives of Morocco while keeping our prices as low as possible for real, authentic, fair-trade, pure Argan Oil.
We avoid unnecessary packaging and use light-weight packing to reduce environmental waste. This also allows us to offer free world-wide delivery for any order, ensuring your money goes toward the quality of the oil rather than the box.