Great Hair and Goat Poop

Let's all just admit it now. We do some strange things to ourselves in the quest for beauty, great hair, and younger-looking faces.

When the world is filled with perfectly good razors, we willingly hold still while an esthetician spreads hot, melted wax on our faces or bodies, presses down a linen strip and then yanks out hair.

When age brings the onset of some wrinkles or furrows in once-smooth foreheads, lots of people willingly let doctors inject Botox -- a protein derived from a toxin that "decreases the activity" of the facial muscles.

Rumor has it that the Japanese used ground nightingale droppings and urine in their facial products. So.... some of the same women who cringe when their dog rolls in a fragrant pile of bird crap, might pay big chunks of money to have bird crap powder rubbed into their faces.

That totally weirds me out.

Earlier tonight, while tilting my head back on the chair so Angelina could wax my eyebrows (Okay, so I might think some things are strange but still choose to have them done. I draw the line at bird poo.) I asked her about Moroccan Oil products. I have the actual oil and see good results on my hair. My stylist suggested I look into one of their styling creams. Why is this line of products so hot, I wondered.

Angelina told me that the argan oil in the products really enters the hair and helps it, rather than just sticking to the top. I wanted to know how argan oil accomplishes this and others don't.

I'm not sure I ever heard the answer because Angelina proceeded to tell me a story about argan fruit, goats in trees, and goat poop. Huh? Apparently, over in Morocco, goats climb argan trees to eat the fruit. Then, a while ago, people harvested the argan fruit seeds to press out the oil. From the goat poop. They sifted shit to get the seeds.

So.... does that mean that the products I like are made from goat poop? I'm not sure why, but this struck me as outrageously funny and I couldn't stop laughing. This is not the wisest action when someone is trying to apply hot wax to your eye brow. I finally settled down long enough for Angelina to finish. She then walked over to the computer to show me the video of argan-eating goats feeding and then jumping out of the trees.

Wikipedia says:
For centuries before modern times, the Berbers (indigenous people of Morocco) of this area would collect undigested argan pits from the waste of goats which climb the trees to eat their fruit. The pits were then ground and pressed to make the nutty oil used in cooking and cosmetics. However, the oil used in cosmetic and culinary products available for sale today has most likely been harvested and processed with machines in a verifiably clean and sanitary way.

I'd like to believe that the modern harvesting process bypasses the goats' gastrointestinal system but, you know... How far can we trust Wikipedia?

Think on it while you watch the video of tree goats.