The extraction of Argan oil is a multi-step process that starts with the collection of the olive-sized fruit after it has actually fallen from the tree, or it may be knocked off. Gathering happens in between May and August. Then the fruit is dried out in the sun for about a week if it is sunny, longer if not. After that, the fleshy rind of fruit is removed and is often utilized as food for regional goats.

Inside the fleshy part of the fruit is an extremely hard-shelled pit that must be broken with stones to get to the kernels inside. Efforts have been made to mechanize this, but given that each pit can have in between one and 3 kernels, no dependable technique has actually been discovered for this process. Trained Moroccan women know ways to properly deal with splitting the pit given that this ability has actually been passed from generation to generation. The kernels inside the pit are what contains the oil.

The kernels are crushed and ground into a thick paste. There are two techniques of producing the paste. One is the standard stone hand mill and several hours of hand kneading the paste to extract the oil. The other is making use of newer mechanical equipment, which produces more oil than the hand process. At this point the process is different and relies on the technique chosen.