You’ve probably seen shampoos with argan oil (Argania spinosa kernel oil ) in health and beauty sections of grocery or department stores and wondered why it’s there. What makes argan ideal for hair application is that it gives the hair volume and makes it look shinier because it seeps into the hair axis and damages follicles. (1) The idea that argan is a hair-loving oil is supported by few researches. It is not just based on folk beliefs or baseless theories.
Hair is composed of lipids, water, melanin, trace elements, and protein, (2) hence the preservation of protein in our hair is crucial. This is the reason why, different natural ingredients are being tested to see their effectiveness in terms of keeping the hair’s protein. The researches about argan oil that’s presented in this post studied and tried different formulations and treatment plans to preserve hair’s protein. This post presents two researches that prove why argan oil is good for your hair.
Argan oil as pre-treatment to prevent hair damage
As the old adage says prevention is better than cure, ergo, some people believe that preventing your hair from being damaged is a good way to keep a gorgeous hair. Some chemically formulated conditioners are available in the market, while others use natural oils such as coconut oil. (2) One natural conditioner that is less commonly known for hair prevention damage is argan oil. A 2022 research proved this claim when it investigated the preventive efficacy of argan oil as pre-treatment for hair before being exposed to oxidative damage. It tested whether argan oil has the ability to prevent protein loss as well as its reflectance.
The researchers of the study categorized the hair into three groups. The first group had damaged hair and used an oxidant agent. The second group had their hair pre-treated with argan oil before being exposed to oxidative damage, after which the oil was removed by physical cleaning. The third group also had pre-treated hair with argan oil before undergoing oxidative damage, but the washing procedure was done for oil removal. The result yielded that pre-treatment of hair using argan oil is effective in protecting hair from oxidative damage because it reduces the amount of protein loss in hair.
Argan oil as a Post-treatment for hair damage caused by hair coloring
Argan oil is not just effective to be used for hair damage prevention but also as a remedy. A 2013 study investigated the effect of argan oil and theobroma grandiflorum seed butter on damaged Caucasian hair due to hair dye. The hair samples they used were categorized into six. The first group had untreated hair, the second group had hair treated with hair dye, and the third group had post-treatment hair using base hair care formulation. The fourth group had hair post-treatment using the formulated hair care mixture with added argan oil. The fifth group had hair post-treatment using hair care formulation with theobroma grandiflorum seed butter. While the sixth group had post-treatment using the formulated hair care compound with both argan oil and theobroma grandiflorum seed butter. (2)
The researchers have already expected the effectiveness of their base hair care formulation because it used cationic compounds that are useful for hair adsorption or the ability of the liquid or oil to sit in outside the hair’s cuticle. (2)
However adding the conditioner agents – argan oil and theobroma grandiflorum seed butter to the base hair care formulation improved the reduction of protein loss for hair that had undergone a coloring process, regardless if they were added separately or together. Argan oil’s ability to penetrate into the hair fiber is a possible explanation for why it’s effective in treating hair damage caused by hair coloring. Oil’s composition is important concerning its ability to seep into hair fibers. Factors to consider depend on its oil polarity, chain saturation, and molecular weight. The main fatty acids in argan oil are oleic acid and linoleic acid which are monounsaturated and diunsaturated fatty acids. (2)
Testing natural ingredients whether by applying them purely on your hair or incorporating them into your base hair care formulation is important to see what works effectively. It could be a challenging process but when you find what’s effective, it’s rewarding. Knowing that it’s released in the market because it’s proven to be effective after going through rigorous tests, you’re assured that it is genuinely effective and potent, so you have more confidence to buy and re-purchase it.
Preserve proven wisdom from pretreatment and post-treatment tests
References:
- (1) Gharby S and Charrouf Z (2022) Argan Oil: Chemical Composition, Extraction Process, and Quality Control. Front. Nutr. 8:804587. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.804587
- (2) Faria P.M., Camargo L.N., Carvalho R.S.H., Paludetti L.A., Velasco M.V.R., Da Gama R. M. Hair Protective Effect of Argan Oil (Argania spinosa Kernel Oil) and Cupuassu Butter (Theobroma grandiflorum Seed Butter) Post Treatment with Hair Dye. Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications, 2013, 3, 40-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jcdsa.2013.33A1006
- (3) Sharifi, N., Hamedeyazdan, S., Shokri, J., & Monajjemzadeh, F. (2022). Argan oil as a pretreatment of human hair before exposure to oxidative damage: Attenuated total reflectance and protein loss studies. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 21(10), 5010–5017. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.14885
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