All About Olive Oil

Olive oil is one of my favorite beauty ingredients. A highly versatile product, it has powerful antioxident properties, will not clog pores, and is highly moisturizing. Better yet, it works well with most skin types and is available at supermarkets and specialty food shops everywhere!

Olive oil is well-known as a cooking ingredient in many Mediterranean cuisines. It is believed by many people that ancient Mediterranean cultures understood pure olive oil as a skin care product as well! Women have used olive oil directly as a moisturizer in a variety of more recent contexts, and in recent years, natural lifestyle communities have re-appropriated olive oil as a popular ingredient for skin care and natural health regimens.

I personally do not have a preference as to which type of olive oil I use for skin care-- my current favorite is plain, cold-pressed olive oil. Some people prefer Extra-Virgin, but I have found regular, cold-pressed olive oil to be perfectly useful for me. I use it in a body scrub (recipe to be posted soon!), and it can be used in lotions, aromatherapy products, and sprays. Many people enjoy massaging a small amount directly onto the skin as an all-natural overnight moisturizer. If you have very sensitive and oily skin (like I do), I would recommend sticking to olive oil as a body product, not as a face product-- it is a very intensive moisturizer, and might be a bit much for very oily skin.

A word of caution-- there have been concerns of late around adulterated olive oil in the marketplace. Be sure to check the prices of your olive oil (a quality olive oil should cost a bit more than other household ingredients-- but a little goes a long way!), and go with an established or boutique olive oil company.

In any case, don't write off olive oil as only good for cooking. It's great to have around for all sorts of beauty and skin care purposes!