All the ads you see say that argan oil is something truly meant for your hair. They don’t specify, why exactly it is, but hey — buy our miraculous product and leave, see — it says “argan oil”. But here, in Dead Sea Shop, we’re all for understanding. Argan oil could really benefit your hair in many ways, so let’s get to the core — how it actually works.
Argan oil is native to Morocco, and while it can sound exotic for those of us living in the boreal climate of Europe and America, it is a pantry staple for people who live in Northern Africa. It is used for cooking, salad dressing, and many other culinary applications. It has certain health benefits as a food source of unsaturated fatty acids. But it has also been used for centuries as a cosmetic product, and no wonder that in a globalized world we have the possibility to use the best ingredients from all over the world.
Fatty acids: lubricating, coating, hair growth
There are two main fatty acids present in argan oil: oleic (omega-9) and linoleic (omega-6). They coat your hair in a thin film helping to keep the moisture inside, making your strands more elastic. This helps to make your hair look smooth naturally, and it also prevents the split ends.
As far as stimulating hair growth is concerned, the argan oil can help with this indirectly. It doesn’t contain substances that could actually promote hair growth like castor oil does, but it helps a lot with keeping the hair you already have healthy and vigorous. You lose less hair to shampooing, styling, and other damaging practices, and thus your hair looks thicker.
Antioxidants: protect from damage
The first thing you think about hair damage is what you do to it with styling products, dyes, straighteners, and so on. But what we often forget about (as we simply don’t see it directly) is the sun damage. The UV-rays aggressively break the large biological molecules present in our hair. The protein filaments mostly made of keratin are damaged by the invisible light, and this leads to hair breakage, frizz, and a rather dull look. The solution to this problem is using antioxidants — molecules that are capable of taking the hit from free radicals and thus protecting keratin. The argan oil is particularly rich in one of the most common and yet effective anti-oxidants — the vitamin E, or the tocopherol. Applying the products with argan oil helps to reduce the damage from UV-light.
Anti-fungal properties: fighting dandruff
Often (but not always) the dandruff is caused by the yeast-like fungus that finds our scalps a convenient place to live. For complicated cases, you probably should talk to the dermatologist, as the natural remedies usually aren’t as effective as prescription drugs, but for light cases, you could try argan oil hair products that naturally have anti-fungal properties.
There are plenty of natural oils that could be used to treat your hair to make it look shinier and healthier. Argan oil is one of the most powerful and effective components of hair care products intended for this.
