It seems everyone is aware of Argan oil these days. If you go to any store selling hair products, I’m pretty sure you will see some shampoo or conditioner with Argan oil in it. It became so popular that that whenever I go to Morocco, I have family members asking me to bring back Argan oil for them. I guess they figured it was , cheaper to buy it in Morocco and bring it back. In any case I had no problem to do this. So the first time I went to the souq (market) to purchase some of this miracle oil, I was surprised when the seller asked me what I needed it for.
I believe the conversation went like this:
Me – Could I purchase some Argan oil?
Seller – for what?
Me – what do mean for what?
Seller – what do want the Argan oil for?
Me – Well, I want it for my hair.
Seller – oh ok.
Me – there are other uses for Argan oil?
Seller – of course!
I was surprised that he told me there were other uses for Argan oil. Up until this point I thought that the only use was for hair. There are in fact 3 uses I found in Morocco for Argan oil. Let’s go into detail for each of the uses.
Hair
This is probably the most popular use of the oil. You find a lot of shampoos and conditioners that say they have included Argan oil in their products. While many people will claim all sorts of miraculous benefits with the oil. From speaking to native Moroccans, they use it for the following reasons:
- To help the hair grow
- To strengthen the hair
- To remove the frizzy look
- To let the hair be shiny
Let’s take a look at the next use.
Cooking
Moroccans use Argan oil for a variety of tajine dishes. 
They say that adding Argan oil to Tajine dishes gives the dishes the taste of the of dishes cooked by native Moroccans. In addition to cooking, Argan oil is used in Amlou (a sort of peanut butter that consist of Argan oil and almonds). The oil is also used a dip for bread which is normally served during tea time (around 5-6pm).
Body
Finally the last use for Argan oil is the body. While this was the biggest surprise to me, when speaking to Moroccans it seems to be best use for the oil. Here are the reasons that were told to me for the uses:
- To remove wrinkles
- To remove collagen
- To lighten the skin tone
- To help the skin to remain soft
Generally the oil is applied to the body after partaking in the hammam (Moroccan bath)
The oils should not be used interchangeably, especially the oil to cook and the oil for the hair or body. These should always be used separately. The oil for cooking has salt added to it and this salt is not good for the body or hair. On the other side the oil used for the hair and body has a very bitter taste so it’s not good for cooking.
The last thing I want to discuss is price
. If your looking to get the oil for a cheap price your going to have to be careful. With the popularity of Argan oil, many merchants are looking to rip you off. I usually spend most of my time in Marrakech. I don’t think there is one store in the entire city that is willing to give any tourist a fair price for Argan oil, especially in jma3 el fna. The only place that I found that provides good prices for Argan oil is Agadir. I’ve also asked others and they say the same thing.