Beware of cheap, and sometimes not so cheap, imitations.
Because of the high cost of argan oil some retailers sell it in a diluted form or even sell less expensive oils as “argan oil”. Of course, we would be delighted if you want to purchase argan oil from us, but if you do buy from elsewhere please refer to our free guide to buying the best argan oil. In fact, adulterating oils is unfortunately common – click here to read newspaper report that 1/3 of olive oil sold in the UK is fake!
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
However, if you examine the list of ingredients on the so called “argan oil”…
…the first ingredient (meaning most in it) is isopropyl myristate (which is used as a treatment for killing head lice by dehydration, which will actually dry out your skin) and the second ingredient is actually almond oil which is much cheaper than argan oil! Argan oil is listed as one of the last ingredients. The price of this bottle is under £7 for 30ml and the reason – because it is not pure argan oil.
You are sometimes not even safe with big name high street retailers…
…many of which sell items labelled as argan oil but is no such thing. Just check the ingredients on the back before you buy, if it is pure argan oil then the only ingredient listed, to conform to eu cosmetic regulations, should be argania spinosa kernel oil (which is the scientific name for pure argan oil and which must be used).
For example, one very well know high street chain sells a bottle which is labelled prominently on the front of the bottle as “argan oil” with further details underneath stating “perfecting facial oil”, leading any reasonable consumer to believe they were purchasing pure argan oil.
We have tested argan oil sold at major high street retailers and by major online brands and the results have been mixed.
Of course, there are brands we have tested which have been reasonable quality argan oil (but in all truth we have never found an argan oil in the uk to be as pure and good quality as ours), but these have been at the high end price range of the market and generally a lot more expensive than what we sell simply argan oil for.
Not All Oils Are Equal
A recent government investigation has found that one in three olive oils are either fake, adulterated with cheaper oil or poor quality oil being sold as good quality.
We have been saying for years now that the market for oils, such as argan oil and olive oil, is not properly regulated and consumers are being ripped off. We ourselves have tested several brands of argan oil which have been sold as high quality pure argan oil and which have been nothing of the sort. We even tested pure argan oil being sold by a major high street retailer which came out at just 73.5% purity and was very poor quality, but was being sold at a premium price!
The Sunday Times broke the story that the reason why this is happening to olive oil, it is reported, is because it is relatively expensive and in relatively short supply. If this is happening with olive oil then we think you will agree there is much greater risk with argan oil, which is significantly more expensive and is far more rare.
We sell only the finest pure organic argan oil and we test every batch we import and publish the results on our website. We would love you to buy argan oil from us but if you do buy from elsewhere be wary and make sure you are buying genuine good quality argan oil. If you are not then at best you won’t benefit from it and you will be wasting your money and, at worst, you could be buying something that may harm your skin or hair!
If you have any questions about argan oil or want guidance on buying it just email us at info@simplyargan.co.uk and we will get back to you. we are always happy to help.