Pure argan oil is generally considered safe to use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, but check with your doctor or midwife before starting anything new. Argan raises fewer questions than most oils, and the reasons are worth knowing.
What pure argan oil contains
Cold-pressed argan oil is pressed from the kernels of the argan tree and contains oleic and linoleic fatty acids, natural tocopherols, and squalene. It has no retinoids, no salicylic acid, no essential oils, and no hormonally active compounds. The ingredients people are usually told to avoid during pregnancy simply aren't in it.
It's also worth saying that topical oils largely sit in the upper layers of skin. That's a different situation from an ingested supplement or a prescription active, which is part of why simple botanical oils are a common choice during pregnancy.
The question isn't argan, it's what's with it
Almost every concern about argan oil during pregnancy turns out to be about a blend rather than the oil itself.
Many products sold as argan oil are formulations. They may include added fragrance, essential oils, preservatives, or actives. Essential oils in particular are the ones people most often want to discuss with their provider during pregnancy, and they're common in scented body and hair oils.
A pure argan oil lists one ingredient: Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil. That's the whole label. If yours lists more, read what else is there.
What people use it for while pregnant
Argan is popular during pregnancy for the ordinary reasons it's popular generally. Skin gets drier and stretches, hair changes, and a single, unscented oil is easy to use on the face, body, and ends of hair without adding anything to a routine you may be simplifying anyway.
The absence of scent matters more than people expect. Heightened sensitivity to smell is common in pregnancy, and an unfragranced oil is often more tolerable than a scented cream.
Where we stop
We make beauty oils. We're not able to tell you what's right for your pregnancy, and anyone who claims otherwise about a cosmetic is overreaching. What we can do is tell you exactly what's in the bottle so the conversation with your provider takes thirty seconds.
The product
Canadian Grace Organic Argan Oil is single-origin, cold-pressed, unrefined argan kernel oil from Morocco's UNESCO-protected Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve. One ingredient. No fragrance, no fillers, no synthetics. Bottled in Canada.
