As it's Earth Day, I'm going totally green today. Whatever I do has to be green. So I'm walking or riding my bike, I'm bringing my "I'm not a plastic bag" bags to the store, and I'm reading green, too--as in the Elle magazine May '08 Green Issue (which for those of you who will question is printed on recycled paper). There's a brief but newsworthy natural skin care story there by Nicole Catanese about Argan Oil. Argan Oil isn't new--in fact, Liz Earle has long been a devotee of Argan Oil and you'll find Argan Oil in Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate (at right).

But here's what you may not know about Argan Oil--according to the article in Elle, in 2002 the Moroccan government (Argan Oil is found in the fruit of the Argan tree, shown at left with goats foraging for the fruit in the tree's branches, is indigenous to Morocco) helped establish female cooperatives to produce Argan Oil. The program helps with sustainability of Morocco's Argan trees and it also helps provide the co-op workers with steady income and basic education classes.

Josie Maran is quoted in the Elle article: "Purchasing the oil from the women's cooperatives supports their social and economic welfare." Josie Maran has her own line of cosmetics which includes "bestseller" Argan Oil (at right).

Argan Oil, referred to as "the gold of Morocco", is touted as a super-antioxidant that's loaded with essential fatty acids (for moisturization) and, according to Elle, "nearly three times the amount of vitamin E in olive oil".

Argan Oil has been used for centuries by the Berber woman of Morocco, and Liz Earle has been quoted as saying the facial she received in Morocco--which was with Argan Oil--is the best she's ever had. That's a good enough endorsement for me to want to pack my bags now!

How about you? What do you think about Argan Oil?

posted by skintoxicated