Is argan oil worth buying in Morocco (and how to spot fake)?

Real argan oil is absolutely worth buying — but the souk is full of fakes, so where you buy matters more than almost anything else. Argan only grows in southwest Morocco, and the authentic stuff is hand-pressed by women's cooperatives around Essaouira, Agadir and the Souss valley. I always send guests to a genuine cooperative (you can watch the women cracking the nuts and grinding the paste by hand) rather than a back-alley stall, because that's where you know it hasn't been diluted.

There are two kinds and people mix them up. Cosmetic argan oil is cold-pressed from raw kernels: it's pale gold, almost odourless or very faintly nutty, and sinks into skin and hair without leaving a greasy film. Culinary argan oil is pressed from roasted kernels: it's darker amber, smells distinctly toasted and nutty, and is delicious drizzled on bread or in amlou (that almond-argan-honey spread). If a bottle sold as cosmetic smells strongly roasted, it's the wrong type or it's been mixed.

How to spot a fake: real argan oil absorbs in a minute or two and leaves your skin soft, not slick — cheap blends cut with sunflower or other oils stay greasy and smell bland or oddly perfumed. Genuine oil is never dirt cheap, because it takes hours of hand labour to make a little; a 'bargain' litre for a few euros is not argan. Look for a cooperative name, ideally an ECOCERT or USDA organic label, dark glass packaging (light degrades it), and a real production address. Smell, feel, and a fair price are your best tests.

Honest price guide from a real cooperative: cosmetic argan oil runs about 120–250 MAD for 100ml, culinary oil a little less per volume, and a jar of amlou around 80–150 MAD. You can haggle a bit at cooperatives but they're usually fairer and more fixed than the souks, and that's the trade-off worth making — you pay slightly more for the confidence it's the real thing. It's the one souvenir where I'd rather pay full cooperative price than save money on something fake.