Posts Tagged ‘moroccan argan oil’
August 6th, 2011
Kim Kardashian reveals her psoriasis on "Keeping up with the Kardashians"
The auto-immune deficiency disorder that affects 2-4% of the world’s population has finally made it into mainstream media thanks to celebs like Leann Rimes and Kim Kardashian. Most recently Kim Kardashian announced her diagnosis on the hit-reality tv show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” Kim’s case is believed to be genetically passed down from her mother, Kris Jenner, who was also diagnosed with the disease at around the same age during her life. Kim’s doctor believed that her condition was most probably triggered by elevated stress levels. While psoriasis is part of many people’s lives and is treatable, it is uncurable.
Essentially psoriasis is a disease in which the body produces skin cells too quickly and pile up on the surface of the skin before they are adequately mature. Psoriasis typically looks like red patches on the skin, similar to a rash, that can be itchy and irritating. The areas that are typically affected are the elbows, scalp, knees and torso, but can appear anywhere on the body.
There are several different treatment options for psoriasis from heavy drugs that can affect other organs, phytotherapy, and topical treatments, such as creams, ointments and even argan oil from Morocco. Many milder conditions of psoriasis are able to be calmed by simply using a natural solution that has the ability to calm the irritated area and keep it moisturized, which is why argan oil for psoriasis has been a natural go-to solution for many. Everyone’s skin reacts differently to different treatments, so it is best to consult a physician about what is right for your individual case of psoriasis.
Tags: amal oils, argan oil, Argan Oil Morocco, Argan Oil Skin, Kardashian, moroccan argan oil, organic argan oil, psoriasis
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March 16th, 2011
Philadelphia's finest make-up artist, Béke Beau
Amal Oils is so excited to announce that Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil is now in Philadelphia, PA, at Béke Beau’s Studio in Ardmore, PA. Béke specializes in make-up for brides on their special day and for women of all ages who want one-on-one lessons whether it be for everyday or for a special event. Now, in addition to making women look beautiful and feel confident, Béke is going to bring moisture and vibrance back to Philadelphian’s skin, hair and nails one woman at a time!
Béke loves products that contain only safe ingredients and are cruelty free. She seeks out eco-conscious and body-friendly make-up alternatives to use in her work, and offers a 100% “green” (safe, eco-friendly and cruelty-free) make-up kit upon request. Aside from being a make-up artist, her other passion is doing her part to help preserve the environment through exploring the use of safe, natural and cruelty-free products. She insists that “women can look every bit as glamorous without the chemical preservatives and other ingredients that raise health concerns.” A little more about Béke Beau
Make-up artist Béke Beau comes to the Philadelphia area from New York City, where she worked with the rich and sometimes famous. Her mission is to help women think critically about the beauty industry and make wise choices when purchasing cosmetics. Béke’s work has been seen most recently in magazines like Philadelphia Wedding, Main Line Today, Southern Wedding, Brides Philadelphia and on national blogs, including Style Me Pretty and Ruffled. She is an adjunct faculty member at Immaculata University and teaches for Temple University and Main Line School Night. Béke’s studio is in Ardmore, PA and is open by appointment. To contact Béke, visit www.bekebeau.com, call 610-220-0042 or send an e-mail to beke@bekebeau.com.
Tags: amal oils, argan oil, argan oil products, Argan Oil Skin, Beke Beau, Eco-Beauty, eco-friendly, moroccan argan oil, Moroccan oil, organic argan oil, philadelphia, pure argan oil
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March 13th, 2011
I’ve been to Essaouira quite a few times now, but I had the most fun this time. Essaouira is notably a very windy town on the water (great for any surfers out there) and has awesome, pristene beaches not far south. I had the chance to see all of the artisanal work that was being done in this town, enjoy the old medina and since the weather was a little chilly, but not too cold or warm I really enjoyed being out and about. I especially enjoyed watching the wood workers, some of the most famous in Morocco do their magic on thuya, or cedar wood. They make tables, chests, boxes, chairs, anything you can think of they can make. They add little intricate details to wood as well that make it decorative and even more beautiful. Many hours of polishing with natural oils and lemon juice bring the magnificent appearance of the Thuya wood to life.
Moroccan Artisan in Essaouira working on thuya wood
Essaouira has lots of history and has passed through the hands of many different countries. One insteresting fact is that Essaouira, during the Roman Empire, was where the purple pigment was made for all of the royal textiles. In the 60′s and 70′s Essaouira was often a chosen destination for Jimmy Hendrix and Cat Stevens. Essaouira is home of the Gnawa Music festival every summer.
Elizir Restaurant in Essaouira
While I was there this time I ate at a restaurant called Elizir that appears to be an old aparment turned restaurant. It was awesome and I recommend it to anyone who visits Essaouira. It is a tiny restaurant that is decorated in 60s style, but veeeery ecletic. The food was very modern/fusion, nothing traditionally Moroccan, but the chef used Moroccan ingredients such as
argan oil.
Tags: amal oils, argan oil, Argan Oil Morocco, artisan, essaouira, moroccan argan oil, Moroccan Cuisine, organic argan oil, thuya wood
Posted in Amal Oils, Moroccan Culture | 1 Comment »
March 9th, 2011
Moroccan Berber Woman Cracking Argan Nuts to make Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil
Today I spent the day in the hilly mountains close to Agadir visiting the women cooperatives that
Amal Oils works with. Everytime that I get a chance to visit the women I can, and I try to spend as much time with them as possible to celebrate their accomplishments and to discuss their needs for the future. The cooperative, between Amal Oils support and other investments, was able to build a brand new facility for the women to work in to crack the argan nuts and new machines that will allow them to press their own argan oil. While I was there I was able to help them with packaging concerns, paperwork, organizing their facility and was able to see their current school work that they and their children were working on and was able to discuss their healthcare needs.
While I was visiting the area I learned about a new organization that is involved with education for underpriveledged children that live in rural areas far away from the closest school called Dar Talib (males) and Dar Taliba for girls.
His Majesty King Mohammed VI inaugurates Dar Taliba in Marrakech - 2009
The program started in 2005 by the Entraide Nationale, the National Federation of Charity Associations (FNAB) and the ALEF project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) created the boarding schools to enable girls from the most isolated areas in the Kingdom to achieve educational success. The program builds housing facilities for students who need a place to stay closer to school during the school week. The children return home on the weekends. Dar Talib/Taliba has been extremely succesful in Morocco and has increase student attendance and retention rates in middle school and high school tremedously in rural areas. While staying at Dar Talib/Taliba students perform minimal chores, compared to what they would be expected to do at home, and have the chance to get extra help if needed with homework and are able to participate in extra curricular activities that are all student organized. The students at Dar Talib/Taliba learn to take care of themselves and carry themselves with unwavering confidence, a character trait that is uncommon to rural students. Overall, I was very impressed by the program. To date, there are almost 1000 Dar Talib/Talibas built in Morocco and the program is continuing to grow and support more children.
Bedroom at Dar Talib
School boys at Dar Talib doing homework after school
Tags: amal oils, argan nuts, argan oil, argan oil hair, Argan Oil Morocco, argon oil, moroccan argan oil, Moroccan Women, organic argan oil, pure argan oil, women cooperatives
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March 7th, 2011
Argan Forest - Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve - Argania Spinosa
Today we drove down to Agadir from Casablanca. It was a little over 4 hours, but it was a wonderful drive compared to what it used to take before the highway existed. Just a year ago there wasn’t a highway that went all the way to Agadir and the only way to get there from Casablanca was to take the highway to Marrakech and then a 2-lane road that in total took around 7 hours to drive from Casablanca to Agadir. The new highway does a great job of pointing out the Argan Forest (Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve) and it actually takes you right through it!
As you probably already know from visitng the website, the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve is a 2 million acre area in the Agadir region of Morocco that is home to the endangered argan tree that gives us the miracle oil known as argan oil. The entire area is protected by UNESCO and is under constant surveillance because of the precious tree that it is home too. The argan forest is completely and 100% natural and organic. There are no pesticides or any added chemicals allowed in the reserve in order to preserve the natural argania spinosa species. This is why so many companies that produce and distributre argan oil are able to call themselves, “organic.” Essentially all argan oil has the potential to be organic, so long as it is processed, transported and bottled in the correct way.
Amal Oils shares UNESCO’s concern about the diminishing argan tree and do everything that we can to help protect it. Amal Oils donates a portion of profits to help in the replantation and research of argan trees. The women cooperatives that Amal Oils works with aid us in replanting the trees on our behalf.
More to come about our visit to the women cooperatives in tomorrow’s post…stay tuned!
Tags: amal oils, argan forest, argan oil, Argan Oil Morocco, arganeraie biosphere reserve, argania spinosa, argon oil, Berber Women, moroccan argan oil, Moroccan Women, organic argan oil, pure argan oil, women cooperatives
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February 28th, 2011
Today has been a day of Hammam Training for me. There are various traditions for public baths across the world and the methods vary from country to country and from region to region. Today I learned about the traditional Moroccan Hammam procedure, from the very small details to the big picture.
The hammam is traditionally a public bath, separated for both men and women. Tradionally hammams are visited about once a week, but it varies based on personal preference. The general purpose of the hammam is to cleanse, purify, detox and rehydrate the skin.
What to bring to the hammam…
Be sure to wear a dark pair of underware and bring everything that you would normally use for a shower, with the exception of soap, such as your shampoo and conditioner, shaver, bath robe/towel, flip flops, etc. and don’t forget clean clothes and under garmets.
What to expect….
The hammam is not a place for those that are shy about their body and others seeing it. Generally in a hammam there are several women (men and women have separate hammams) in a large, steam and moist room and the women are naked with the except of their underpants.
Process:
The hammam starts in a sauna/steam room, generally marble, where the skin is allowed to warm, open and start to perspire. The skin is then cleaned with Moroccan Savon Noir, a natural black soap that is make from olives that softens the skin and allows for the dead skin cells to be easily removed. The second step of the process is the removal of the dead skin cells on the surface of the skin with the help of a Moroccan Exfoliating Glove, or Kessa. The women lays on a slab of marble and is scrubbed down. This glove is exfoliating when rubbed onto the skin properly, the skin literally sheds the dead skin as the glove is rubbed. Next, one rinses with warm water to clear the area from the scubbing and a mask of Moroccan Rhassoul Clay is applied. A massage is perform at this time, allowing the clay to really absorb into the skin and clean deep within the pores. Moroccan Rhassoul is a clay that is natural to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Deep within the Atlas the clay is mined and processed into a dry protect and then mixed with water for the hammam. The clay is known for is absorbtion characteristics. Notably, rhassoul is able to absorb 1.66 times its weight in toxins and oils and it is filled with amazing natural minerals. Once the clay has sit for approximately 15 minutes, it is rinsed off and the women is allowed to wash her hair, shave, etc. before leaving the hammam and being massaged in the post-hammam room where the pores are allowed to close and Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil is applied to rehydrate the skin.
Tags: amal oils, Argan Oil Morocco, Argan Oil Skin, hammam, moroccan argan oil, moroccan oil hair, organic argan oil, pore, pure argan oil, rhassoul, savon noir
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February 24th, 2011
Today we drove about an hour north of Casablanca to the capital city of Rabat. Rabat is one of the cleanest, if not the cleanest, cities in all of Morocco. Rabat is where most everything relating to the government and politics takes place. Most government officials reside in Rabat in addition to His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the royal family. While I was in Rabat I had the chance to see some of my family, visit the Hassan Mosque and Mausoleum, and attend a wedding.
Hassan Mosque Rabat
Moroccan weddings are such an amazing experience because of the sense of family, community, faith and happiness. Moroccan weddings traditionally lasted 7 days, 6 days of pre-wedding ceremonies and then the actual wedding on the last day. In modern day Morocco, the wedding celebration is often shortened to 2 or 3 days. The day prior to the wedding is reserved for the traditional hammam treatment and the application of henna. The traditional hammam treatment for brides can often include a milk bath, but generally consist of cleansing with savon noir, scrubbing with a traditional Moroccan exfoliating glove, a ghassoul body mask, and a massage with argan oil.
Jalila, founder of Amal Oils, getting ready for a wedding in Morocco
Here I am getting ready for the wedding in my kaftan. The day of the wedding, family and friends from both sides of the family are invited to attend an evening filled with food, happiness, music, dancing, beautifully dressed Moroccan women in traditional kaftans and most importantly celebration of the married couple.
Tags: amal oils, argan oil, Argan Oil Morocco, Argan Oil Skin, moroccan argan oil, Moroccan oil, Moroccan Women, pure argan oil
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February 23rd, 2011
I finally made it to Casablanca, Morocco, this afternoon. There is nothing like arriving in Casablanca, the moment you step out of the airport you know exactly where you are because you can smell it. The air is Casablanca is everything but clean, but that comes with every big city. In a country of 32 million or so, Casablanca is home to about a fifth of the population. On the 30 minute, oh-so-stressful because people don’t follow any sort of western driving norms, drive from the airport to the bustling city I’ve already seen a super-overloaded truck carrying who knowns what inside, a truck full of live chickens that are killed and packaged on-demand in the markets, and I’ve used my horn atleast 25 times.
Overloaded Truck in Morocco
Today for the most part is a day of getting acquanted to the time difference and making my plans for the rest of of the week. I am going to be visiting several women cooperatives in Agadir and Essaouira that hand crack argan nuts for Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil and I am going to be visiting the garden and new plant where we grow and manufacture our brand new products. Can’t wait to tell you more about as the week goes on. Tomorrow the plan is to head north about an hour to the capital, Rabat, where I will attend a wedding. Weddings are so amazing if Morocco because of all of the culture that surrounds them, more to come tomorrow!
Tags: amal oils, argan nuts, argan oil, Argan Oil Morocco, argan oil products, Argan Oil Skin, argania spinosa, moroccan argan oil, Moroccan oil, Moroccan Women, organic argan oil, pure argan oil
Posted in Amal Oils, Moroccan Culture, Women Cooperatives | 1 Comment »
February 2nd, 2011
Amal Oils is an all-in-one product that's perfect for travelling
Traveling is already enervating enough between the lines, removing our shoes, scanners and lots of waiting around. The transportation authorities have added yet another bothersome detail, limiting the amount of liquid beauty products that can travel on board with us. Every time before a trip the question of what to pack arises, especially for beauty products. I personally try to limit my liquids to a minimum by packing powder makeup, including powder, eyeshadow, blush, bronzer, etc. The only liquids that I take are my 100% Organic Argan Oil, mascara, my facial cleansing milk, and my toothpaste. Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil is a perfect, travel-friendly product because it is a multi-use product. Argan Oil is a great moisturizer for the skin, hair and nails and can be used in so many ways that it eliminates the necessity of bring a separate facial moisturizer, body moisturizer, hand moisturizer, eye cream, and hair styling product because it fills all of those roles. So, if you are looking to travel light and smart make sure that you include
Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil in your toiletry bag or carry-on luggage on your next trip.
Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil offers is a 2oz. bottle of organic, pure Moroccan argan oil from the southwestern region of Agadir. The oil is known for being rich in vitamin E, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids. The 2oz. (60ml) size is perfect for the plane because it meets the TSA travel requirements for liquids.
Tags: amal oils, argan oil, argan oil hair, Argan Oil Morocco, argan oil products, Argan Oil Skin, moroccan argan oil, Moroccan oil, Morocco, organic argan oil, vitamin E
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January 30th, 2011
Most of us make it out to the slopes once a year to go skiing, if that, and because we are just so excited to get there and get on the slopes we can often forget about taking care of our skin while we are out on the slope, not to mention we are all covered in ski gear from head to toe. Cold weather can sometimes be misleading because even though we don’t see the sun, it is still shooting UV rays at our skin and the cold is drying up our skin leaving it more prone to sunburns and painfully dry skin.
First and foremost, try not to spend a ton of the time under a warm shower. Warm water can dehydrate the skin and leave it screaming for moisture. It’s best in the winter time to clean up as quickly as possible.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize and moisturize some more immediately when you get out of the shower so that you can lock in all the great moisture. Amal Oils 100% Organic Argan Oil is a great, winter-friendly and ski-vacation friendly moisturizer that is an all-in-one skin, hair and nail care product.
Next, protect your skin from the sun. Over your argan oil moisturizer, put a strong SPF protectant that is made for all-day activity or sports on your face and any other exposed areas to combat the UV rays that are coming off of the white snow. Did you know that snow can reflect up to 85 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet rays?? Crazy!
“Sun blocks that are made for lips are less irritating than those made for the skin,” Ellen Marmur, M.D., chief of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells WebMD. She suggests a zinc oxide-based formula with SPF 30, and recommends reapplying about every two hours.
Happy, healthy skin skiing!
Tags: amal oils, argan oil, Argan Oil Morocco, Argan Oil Skin, Eco-Beautiful, Eco-Beauty, moroccan argan oil, organic argan oil, pure argan oil
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