Review: Mountain Rose Herbs Argan Oil

Review:  Mountain Rose Herbs Argan Oil

Goal: Finding a high-quality yet affordable argan oil

This is replacing: Acure Organics Argan Oil

Fair Trade: Yes

Certified Organic: Yes  (through the OTCO)

Company Information: Mountain Rose Herbs is perhaps one of my all-time favorite companies. Besides having excellent products and customer service, their business ethics are inspiring. It would take me pages to describe all the fantastic things this company does for its employees, customers, community, and environment. So instead, here’s a link describing their business practices: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/about/guiding.php Just wow.

Their Description: “This rare and exquisite oil is meticulously expeller pressed from the fruit kernels of the Moroccan Argan tree. Argan oil is rich in natural tocopherols (vitamin E) and phenols, carotenes, squalene and fatty acids, making it a truly luxurious oil. Argan oil absorbs quickly and is often used in skin, nail and hair treatments to deliver deep hydration, strengthen brittle hair and nails, and prevent/reduce stretch marks.”

Ingredients: 100% pure argan oil

Price: Here’s the beautiful part… 4oz $17 (that’s $4.25 per ounce!), 8oz $29, 16 oz $49

Price Comparisons: Kahina Giving Beauty $36 per ounce, Acure Organics $29 per ounce… need I go on?

Texture: light-weight oil, absorbs quickly (even with my oily skin)

Scent: somewhat strong earthy scent. I don’t like the smell at all, but I don’t smell it while it’s on my skin so it’s not a big problem for me

Packaging: I got the 4 oz size container because I didn’t think I’d be able to go through a larger size before it expires. The 4 oz container is a dark amber glass color jar and pretty label. The bottle is a screw cap. (Quick Tip: To keep oils at their most potent, it’s a good idea to store them in cool, dark places and try to limit their exposure to air. Because of this, I bought a one ounce cobalt blue glass bottle with dropper [available from www.mountainroseherbs.com for $1.50 or www.sunburstbottle.com for $1.00] and transferred some of the oil into that. Now I have a smaller container for my medicine cabinet and the ability to get the precise amount of oil I use per application.)

Application: 2-3 drops for my face (I blend the oil into my moisturizer on my hand and then apply to face). 2-3 drops for my hair which I apply to my hands and then run through the ends of my hair after a shower. 1-2 drops for my cuticles. 1-2 drops for my lips. 3-5 drops for my body lotion.

Product used for: 4 months

Can be purchased at: www.mountainroseherbs.com (under their product tab, go to the “carrier oils” section)

Loved: Let me take you on a journey… my quest to find the holy argan oil. I first experienced its small miracles with the Acure Orgaincs Argan Oil product. I really loved it and still absolutely recommend it. However, I admit I only bought the Acure one because it was the cheapest (but still high-quality) product that I could find (and I was buying a bunch of other Acure Organics skin care goodies at the same time). Then one day a couple months ago I saw that Mountain Rose Herbs finally started to carry the oil (as I’ve stated I have a small obsession with this company and I’d been hoping that they would carry it for ages). So not only did they have it, but then they were selling it for a beautifully low price! For my frugal, college student soul, this was simply awesome. It arrived and not only was priced fantastically, but it also works better than the Acure product! The texture is lighter, the color is darker (perhaps because it is better preserved in the dark glass better as opposed to Acure’s clear glass?), and it seems to absorb into my skin faster.

Why argan oil? Well argan oil is one crazy multi-tasking workhorse. I use to be a product junkie, but I became frustrated by how expensive all my assorted products were and by my shrinking cabinet and vanity space from various bottles and jars. So instead of a bunch of separate creams and serums for specific problems, I have just one grand over-achiever. Argan oil can be used alone or added to just about anything for the skin, hair, and nails. It’s extremely effective yet gentle on even the most sensitive skin (believe me I know!). It promotes healing and can help fade scars, stretch marks, and discolorations. I’ve used it for all of the above and saw improvement on all fronts but most especially on dark spots from old acne scars. It’s fantastic at moisturizing without being greasy. I have very oily skin, yet this seems to help my skin produce less oil. (It’s bizarre and may seem counter-intuitive in the skincare age of oil-haters but trust me on this one). It also helped repair my brittle, short nails; they now grow faster and stronger. I have damaged, long curly hair, and it has really helped with keeping the ends soft and healthy. Also, I’ll add a little to my lips at night before bed, and I wake up with much softer lips (NOTE: this product is not intended for internal use so I’m not all together certain that that is 100% safe. However, I use only one drop and don’t lick my lips or anything. Just thought that y’all should know). Added to any facial or body lotion and it bumps up performance. It’s just fantastic. I can’t recommend this highly enough!!!

Hated: the smell. I really wish I could find a better way to describe it, other than just earthy-in-a-bad-way. Now again, I only really smell it for a second and then it’s gone, so it’s not a terribly big deal. Also, I do not apply this to the eye area. I tried and it resulted in milia. Now to be fair, I’ve yet to find any product that does not have this result when applied to my eye area (also it was never advertised to be good for that area. That was the result of my own curiosity). I have one other negative: the shipping. This is the one downside to Mountain Rose Herbs that I can think of. The shipping to the East Coast (they are centered in Oregon) is pretty expensive and takes a long time. Now that may be partially UPS, but it’s very frustrating. The nice thing though is that every order I’ve ever made to Mountain Rose Herbs has come lovingly packaged. Every glass item is individually bubble wrap and taped, all liquids are securely sealed, and then there is packaging paper to keep everything from moving around.

Overall Rating:  5/5 This is my If-I-could-only-have-one-product product J

This product was purchased with my own money. I have no affiliation with this company (now an obsession with them? Perhaps ;) My reviews are my honest opinion. Image from www.mountainroseherbs.com. Please leave comments, comparisons, or questions. Thanks!