Oil manufacturing / origin
Not all oils are created alike
At ALZOE, we understand the unique value our oils offer. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for consumers to evaluate an oil's true quality – you can't just tell by looking at it. How high-quality an oil is depends on multiple factors. Assessing the quality of our Argan oil and prickly pear seed oil requires knowledge of the oils’ origins and manufacturing process.
Oils with African roots
Both ALZOE’s Argan oil and prickly pear seed oil originate from Africa, which is where both the Moroccan Argan tree and the prickly pear grow. In contrast to the prickly pear, which is a widespread cactus species, Argan trees grow only in Morocco – in an area named a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1998, and serving as a conservation area for sustainable economic development. The climate conditions in the Moroccan regions of Sidi Ifni and El Kelaa des Sraghna are ideal for growing prickly pear, and are highly prized for that reason.
The origins of sweet-smelling Argan oil
The Moroccan Argan tree (Argania Spinosa) is one of the world's oldest trees, with a life expectancy of 200 to 400 years. The fruit of the Argan tree – its seeds, to be exact – are used to manufacture the oil. However, these seeds are locked within nuts. Roughly 36 kilograms of Argan fruit are needed to produce 25 kilograms of Argan nuts or around 2.7 kilograms of Argan seeds (a process that takes about two days), which can then be processed into one litre of Argan oil.
Manufacturing step 1: Extracting the seeds
Argan oil comes in two variations – edible Argan oil made of roasted seeds for gourmet cooking, and native Argan oil made of unprocessed seeds for the cosmetics industry. Manufacturing native Argan oil takes a huge amount of manual labour. The first step is to collect the fruit of the Argan tree from the ground. Picking the fruit would interfere with the tree's natural growth. Fruits are then set out in the hot Moroccan sun until the husks are dry. Finally, these husks are separated from the Argan nuts by hand using a stone, as are the hard shells around the seeds themselves.
Manufacturing step 2: Pressing the oil
Native oil is cold pressed – either using a traditional oil mill and adding water, or using a machine. The advantage of mechanical processing is that it is less work-intensive, producing much more oil while also being more hygienic. In addition, screw presses require no added water, which makes the Argan oil more shelf-stable. It also produces a press cake, which can then be pressed once again to produce a lower-quality oil, or fed to animals.
Manufacturing step 3: Decanting and filtering the oil
After the Argan oil has been pressed, it is poured into bottles or decanted, and filtered. The initially cloudy Argan oil is clear at the end of this process, as the pressing residue is removed. The Argan oil is filtered up to two times to achieve a higher degree of purity.
Argan oil quality
In this case, unfortunately an organic seal does not tell you anything about the quality of the product itself. So, how can we assess how high-quality Argan oil truly is?
Argan oil can be evaluated based on the following features:
- How high-quality are its raw ingredients? 1st class Argan nuts are higher quality than 2nd class nuts.
- Is the oil hand pressed or machine pressed? Machine-pressed oil is considered higher quality.
- Is the oil produced through chemical extraction, known as maceration? This has a negative impact on the oil.
- Is the oil processed, for instance by being refined or deodorised? This can also negatively affect the quality of the Argan oil.
The origin of tangy prickly pear seed oil
The name says it all: Prickly pear seed oil is manufactured from the seeds of the fruit produced by the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica). And it takes a lot of seeds to make that oil: One litre of oil takes around 50 kilograms of seeds to produce – and around a ton, or 8,000 prickly pear fruits. Each fruit contains just a few seeds, which explains why prickly pear seed oil is so expensive.
Manufacturing step 1: Extracting the prickly pear seeds
Manufacturing high-quality prickly pear seed oil takes a huge amount of work. During the first step, seeds are painstakingly extracted from the fruit itself and carefully washed. The seeds are then air-dried by the sun. They are then stored in a cool, dry place.
Manufacturing step 2: Pressing and filtering the oil
Prickly pear seeds are cold-pressed. The pressed oil is then filtered several times to increase its purity. After this process, the prickly pear seed oil is also purified of any remaining suspended particles. This produces a high-quality, pure and precious oil with a rich, golden yellow colour.
Prickly pear seed oil quality
The quality of prickly pear seed oil can be assessed based on a variety of features:
- What region does the prickly pear used to produce the oil come from? The more optimal the climate conditions in the region of origin, the better the oil.
- Does the oil undergo careful machine pressing? Thumbs up!
- But don’t get confused: Is the oil produced through chemical extraction, known as maceration? If this is the case, then it is not considered prickly pear seed oil, but rather prickly pear blossom oil, or just prickly pear oil.
- Is the oil processed, for instance by being refined or deodorised? This makes for lower-quality prickly pear seed oil.
Take a closer look
Taking a closer look can pay off, especially when you are investing in an expensive skin care oil. Appearances can be deceiving when purchasing such a high-price oil. Neither the buyer who snaps up a high-priced product that doesn't live up to quality expectations, nor the buyer who purchases a lower-value product at an inexpensive price will be happy in the end. Unfortunately, quality seals still provide quite a bit of leeway and may not always help consumers make a good decision.
ALZOE promises excellent quality
Ultimately, just one thing matters: having plenty of information, doing your research, and making your own decision – to find out the true difference between higher-quality and lower-quality oils. At ALZOE, all we can do is speak for ourselves and our products: We stand by our promise of outstanding quality, while offering attention to detail and pure, natural beauty.