Description
The Berber women have long used argan oil to protect their
skin against the powerful Sahara sun. Their skin, even into their eighties, is
amazingly supple and smooth. Our Moroccan Argan Extra Virgin Oil is brimming
with vitamins A and E, as well as natural plant squalane, giving it an amazing
ability to repair skin and hair from the ravages of time and various
environmental factors. Use argan oil on your face and body to increase
elasticity and reduce the appearance of wrinkles for incredibly soft, younger
looking skin. Apply argan oil to the roots and strands of your hair to
condition dry hair and aid in the repair of damaged hair. Shea Terra is
respected as the authority on argan oil, having introduced the oil to America
in 2003. Our founder, Tammie Umbel, spent years traveling from village to
village, seeking the best quality argan oil available. Most argan oil is
diluted with cheap oils and produced from nuts gathered along the ocean shore
of Morocco, since that’s a well-established trade route. Unfortunately, the
high salt content in this region produces inferior fruits. Our Moroccan Argan
Extra Virgin Cold-Pressed Oil is chosen from a small town deep within the
Atlas. Far from the salty conditions of the ocean side, argan oil from this
remote village is found to have higher levels of vitamin E than argan oil from
any other region.Shea Terra has established a strong relationship with this
producer, visiting several times a year to ensure quality. Our argan oil is
not pressed until we order it, it’s also not refined or deodorized so it has a
natural aroma that can smell soured or nutty depending on the time of the year
it’s pressed.This aroma is normal and preferred. Tammie Umbel, Shea Terra’s
founder, has been exploring remote villages throughout Africa for the rarest,
power-packed ingredients on the planet since 2000. Shea Terra works with
indigenous tribes to discover these potent ancestral plants and minerals and
offers these Superhero Ingredients through our concentrated formulas. Argan
Oil One of the rarest, most exotic oils in the world, the golden oil of the
argan plant is found only in a small region of Morocco. A close relative to
the shea tree, the argan fruit kernel produces rich, anti-aging oil high in
antioxidant vitamin E, polyunsaturated and fatty acids. The unique combination
of antioxidant and moisturizing properties in this oil can help to maintain
skin elasticity while preventing moisture loss that can contribute to the
aging process. This oil can make the skin look softer while limiting the
appearance of stretch marks, under eye circles, burns and wrinkles as well and
damage from smoking, pollution or harsh sunlight. It can help to regulate
sebum so the skin will not look greasy and manage the body’s pH so the skin is
less likely to become irritated. Since 2000, Shea Terra has been on a quest
for natural beauty wisdom throughout Africa, exploring remote villages,
trekking through miles of desert on camel back, and sailing into the depths of
Nubia. Our journey has allowed us to tap into a wealth of indigenous knowledge
and share these remote beauty secrets with the world. Through our diverse line
of skin and hair care products, you can embark on this journey of beauty
wisdom with us. The Cold Pressed Method Preserves Potency Please be aware that
our 100% pure, cold-pressed extra virgin oils are not the same as infused oils
or essential oils. Distillation is commonly used to derive essential oils from
most plants: flowers, trees, vegetables and nuts. The distillation process
involves high temperatures, as well as steam and water or a combination of
both. For example, plants are sealed in a specialized still as water and/or
steam is forced inside. The pressure squeezes out the oil, which is then
condensed and collected. Unlike essential oil, which is distilled from the
seed, our cold-pressed extra virgin oil is the whole, complete oil cold
pressed from the seed. The seeds for our oil are wild harvested by local
inhabitants and sent to the mill for pressing before being sent by air to Shea
Terra in its most desired virgin state. This method preserves the fragile
vitamins and phytonutrients of the plant. Our oil is not pressed by hand until
we order it, it’s also not refined or deodorized so it has a unique, natural
aroma. The first step to extracting oil is to ground the seeds or nuts into a
paste. The paste is then mixed in an effort to make the oils better coagulate.
In the cold pressed method, oil extraction relies solely on the pressure. No
heat is added to the paste. This differs from heated oil extraction methods,
which involve heating the paste. Adding heat to the paste increase the amount
of oil produced, but the heating process degrades the quality of the oil. Oil
created through heating sometimes loses its color, as well. Cold pressing
usually produces lower yield, but higher quality oil. That’s why we prefer the
using the cold pressed method for our oils. Is Your Argan Oil the Real Deal?
Since high-quality argan oil is costly to source and produce, requiring hours
of labor, there are lots of imitation or inferior argan oil out there. If
you're paying little for your argan oil, you are probably not getting pure,
high-quality argan oil. Argan oil is commonly diluted with oils such as
sunflower. Some "argan" oils have been found to not contain any argan oil at
all. Argan oil is often diluted by producers in Morocco or by
middlemensomewhere between the sale of the oil and the bottling process. Our
100% pure argan oil can be used to determine the authenticity of the texture,
feel and smell of argan oil of other brands. 100% pure argan oil has a natural
aroma that can smell sour or nutty depending on the time of year it’s pressed.
Argan oil that has NO smell is often NOT argan oil at all. If it is, it has
been highly heated, refined and deodorized, which denatures the oil and
decreases its vitamin content. Argan oil that smells like toast most likely
has been roasted, which is great for eating but not for cosmetic use.
Practically all argan oil, except ours, is produced from nuts gathered along
the ocean shore of Morocco, since that's a well-established trade route for
argan oil. Unfortunately, the high salt content in this region produces
inferior fruits. The trees that bare our argan oil grow high in the Atlas
Mountains where the fruits grow large and healthy. It has been shown that
argan oil produced from the fruits in this area is much higher in vitamin E
than the oil produced from the fruits along the coast. Shea Terra is founded
by Tammie Umbel, an enterprising super mom, who built the company while
homeschooling 14 of her children. Shea Terra grew out of Tammie’s vision to
develop natural skin care treatments that would not only heal and beautify
those who use them, but also empower and enrich the lives of many impoverished
villages and families throughout Africa. Since early 2000, Shea Terra Organics
has been working with cooperatives and conservation groups to source natural,
organic ingredients in a sustainable and ethical way that would create
economic opportunities and preserve wildlife. We share these indigenous, time-
tested healing ingredients through our breadth of product lines, which include
facial care, body treatments, hair herbals and maternity & newborn remedies.
Mama & Baby Collection Facial & Body Cleansing Collection African Black Soap
Bar Collection Nilotik’ Shea Butter Body Lotion Collection Kigelia Collection
Cold Pressed Virgin Shea Butter Collection Serum Collection Herbal Hair Care
Collection Moroccan Mud-Poo Collection Camel’s Milk Collection Lip Savior
Collection African Black Soap Body Wash Collection
