Where does it come from? Essaouira

I went on a lovely holiday to Morocco with my sister and a couple of friends in January. From the minute we bought our tickets, I knew the one thing I had to do was see where Argan oil comes from. Argan Oil is only produced in Morocco you see. As it is all the craze in the cosmetic world at the moment, I was tres excited to see how it is made.

We took a two hour drive from Marrakech to the sea side town of Essaouira during which I got to see the beautiful Moroccan country side while my wonderful counterparts slept and snored quite a bit. (Girls, if you have a problem with this statement of fact, show yourselves and leave a comment below LOL)

About 20 minutes from Essaouira, we arrived at one of the biggest Argan Oil producers in the area. A small women's cooperative. 

We were greeted with loud cheerful singing from the Berber women as we entered this little "factory" and then assigned a guide who walked us through the still very traditional production process of Argan Oil production.

Raw argan nut on the left, roasted nut on the right

Baskets of Argan in the background

The nuts are roasted and then cracked open

Cracking the pods open

The roasted nuts are then ground and the oil extracted

 From the top left, plain Argan oil,  top right, Argan oil mixed with honey, bottom left, Argan oil mixed with spices, bottom right, Argan oil blended with almond oil popularly used in cooking in Morocco

We got to taste the just produced Argan oil which was amazing but I was more excited about buying some of the famed "Moroccan Elixir" to try out when I got back home to London. There is a long list of cosmetic benefits the oil is supposed to have. 

• Moisturises the skin 

• Slows the appearance of wrinkles 

• Improves skin elasticity 

• Regenerates and rejuvenates aging skin 

• Restores the life and shine to hair 

• Promotes scalp health to restore hair growth and vitality

• Prevents split ends 

• Relieves skin damaged by sun and smoking 

• Prevents stretch marks 

• Moistens dry itchy scalp 

• Aids dry brittle nails

So far I have only used it in my hair and I have found it excellent for my hair. It was also amazing to see those women make it and I would recommend the stop for anyone who happens to be travelling through Essaouira. If you do make the stop, buy me some Argan oil please!

xx