about a month ago, a reader sent me a link the video, the story of cosmetics. it's about all the awful things that are in our cosmetics and skincare products. you can watch the video here. anyway, i thanked her and jokingly said that maybe we should all just use olive oil on our skin. so i did. well, first i googled it and found out that lots of people do this with olive oil. so for the last month after every shower or bath, while my skin is still wet (this is important) i put on olive oil. then i lightly towel dry and my skin has never, ever, ever been this soft. and i have really, really dry skin. ask larry, all day long i can't stop stroking my arms and saying...feel this!
so the reason this is working so well is because olive oil is high in polyphenols. These are antioxidants that help stop free radical damage. Free radicals damage cells and lead to aging skin and sometimes disease. polyphenols are also thought to have anti-inflammatory properties.
olive oil as a moisturizer is also effective in part because of its fatty acids. They along with vitamin a, e and k nourish skin when consumed and when applied topically. squalene is a natural organic compound used in cosmetics as a moisturizer. it is normally taken from the liver of sharks, but it is also found in olive oil, a more environmentally friendly and compassionate source. squalene helps to regulate sebum which is produced by the sebaceous glands in our skin and is secreted through our pores. It forms a coating on the skin that acts as a barrier, inhibits the growth of micro-organisms and lubricates our skin and hair. and yes, i've also been using it as a deep conditioner once a week on my hair.
and don't get me started on just how inexpensive this is as a moisturizer. when i think of the thousands of dollars i've spent on skincare products...
i am going to start experimenting and trying it on my face and i'll report back. and don't worry about smelling like a salad because you won't. the scent is very, very light and dissipates by the time you are dried off.
so give it a try and see you can't keep your hands off yourself too.
xo
janet
and don't get me started on just how inexpensive this is as a moisturizer. when i think of the thousands of dollars i've spent on skincare products...
i am going to start experimenting and trying it on my face and i'll report back. and don't worry about smelling like a salad because you won't. the scent is very, very light and dissipates by the time you are dried off.
so give it a try and see you can't keep your hands off yourself too.
xo
janet
Wow! I have to try this!!! Thanks for sharing;)Alyssa of Boston Bee. Come visit me sometime ;)
ReplyDeleteI've tried this also,, my skin is really sensitive,, I foundit a little heavy but I have friends who use nothing but olive oil and love it.I made a lotion from grapeseed oil a bit of beeswax and distilled water blended,, it made a light lotion, I found it lighter than almond oil,,I'm always interested on more frugal ways to keep healthy skin,
ReplyDeleteDo you think it would tend to clog your pores more? I thought we were supposed to avoid oil in moisturizers.
ReplyDeleteHello Janet:
ReplyDeleteWell, it certainly sounds as if it works well for you and must, as you say,be a fraction of the cost of many moisturisers. We swear by Nivea cream and have been using it for almost half a century. It even comes in the same blue tin!
I love using natural oils on my skin, skincare is the only thing I'm really super thrifty about, I just won't splurge at all past the basics.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thrifty and healthy tip! Something I'll have to look into as I try to avoid chemicals in my life (not always possible) and am always looking to save money, as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's also good as a scrub when mixed with sea salt :)
ReplyDeleteI use to use it as a conditioner on my hair..left on over night, and it left the hair so glossy & healthy.Ida
ReplyDeleteThis is fabulous news!! Thanks for posting all your wonderful information. I look forward to your follow-up post about how it works on the face. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJanet, I have used olive oil as a deep conditioner for the hair and scalp for 30 some odd years. Other than it is really hard to wash out it is wonderful. I haven't used it on my skin however. I may be my next new find, thanks to you. Bonnie
ReplyDeleteI knew that olive oil was good to consume, but I didn't know much about it as a topical product.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try it, but isn't it messy and difficult to use.
The ancient Greeks covered themselves in it then had a special tool to scrape the oil off of their skin. Do we need something like that too?
oils are amazing - even if you have oily skin! Really helps the skin balance itself out - though I'm a fan of jojoba oil instead of olive oil. It sinks in faster, is the closest you can find to oils the skin produces naturally, and has no scent at all. No nasty chemicals either. Dirt cheap and my hair/skin have never looked better - woohoo!
ReplyDeleteI've been experimenting with argon oil lately, but it's not cheap like olive oil. For anyone who grew up with 'problem' skin, it's so hard to get beyond all the negative associations with oil in products. But I think you're on to something, I'm going to raid my kitchen cabinet right now.
ReplyDeleteJanet, if you add the tiniest drop of neroli oil to your new moisturizer you won't be able to stop smelling yourself either. Rosanne :)
ReplyDeleteI would be afraid of leaving an oily residue, has that been an issue for anyone who uses oil as a moisturizer?
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to read your latest post Janet. Have been using Olive Oil for a while and not let on in case I was thought to be a little dippy:) Use it with sea salt too as a scrub and have just found Argon Oil thanks to my daughter in Paris. Find I need to use a very light Olive Oil to protect my bath towels though. love Pam
ReplyDeletelana - yes, you are right. i've used that scrub for years but never thought to moisturize with the olive oil.
ReplyDeletesteve - try the oil on your bod first. if you like it try it on your face. so far so good for me. remember the squalene balances the natural production of oil on the skin.
belle - no it isn't messy at all. i put it in a small plastic pump bottle and put it on wet skin. that's it.
mag - you are right about the neroli oil or any other essential oil. i actually love the smell of the olive oil.
candy - don't worry about any residual oil, it is absorbed quickly and just leaves you silky smooth.
OOh this could be a good excuse to go on holiday to the Med! I'm interested to hear how you get on with the olive oil moisturiser - isn't it a bit greasy?
ReplyDeleteHuh. I'm looking forward to hearing how it works on your face. I believe in the power of olive oil. I was a lifeguard and taught swim lessons when I was in college. By the end of the summer, my hair quite literally felt like straw. I tried everything, every product to no avail. My mom suggested olive oil. I put in in my damp hair, slipped on a shower cap, and slept over night. The next morning, my hair was back to normal.
ReplyDeleteCamille
I have been using Almond Oil as my only body moisturizer and sometimes pat it around my eyes at night. I have also read that one can use these oils (olive, almond, jojoba, etc) to remove make-up as well. I am a firm believer that if something is 100% natural from nature, it has to be better than anything else out there...just like eating whole foods instead of processed. xxBliss
ReplyDeleteI have very oily skin, so I would be hesitant to use it. But, what a great and natural way to help your skin!
ReplyDeletexo
Claudia
Yes! Thank you for reminding me of the skin care advice I learned from my Italian, born and bred, mother-in-law. "Use olive oil for all that ails you!"
ReplyDeleteBut especially for hair, skin and salad! She passed in her 90's and her skin was beautiful!
Years ago, I put the oil on a wet, wrung out, wash cloth at the finish of my shower and wiped myself 'dry' with that. It worked so well then, why did I stop that?
Thank you for the reminder!
Mother has been giving her hair the olive oil treatment for years!
ReplyDeleteI think Italian women have been onto this trick for centuries!
You have got to love soft skin...great discovery Janet and thank you for sharing...I'll want to know how it works on your face.
Italian olive oil made with Spanish olives from Spain... In Andalucia, southern region of Spain which is the 25% of the Spanish territory we have around 303 million of olive trees. During the First century A.C., the Roman Empire public officers counted up to five million olive trees in the ancient Spain, then so-called, Hispania. There are, even today, some trees 2000 years old. The production of olive oil in Spain is counted by billions of tons, exported event to Italy, where is packed and sold all around the world as an italian product. Olive oil industry in ancient Spain was so important that many rich tradres became Roman Senators, so that one of them, TRAJANO, was appointed as Emperor of the Roman Empire. Unfortunally, olive trees could not be addapted to the American wheather when Spanish conquerors created the American Spanish Empire from "Tierra del Fuego", in Argentina, to Cordova, in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteMaría.
GOT to be worth a try! Thanks janet.x
ReplyDeleteI've used olive, almond, coconut, etc. oils as moisturizers on my body and face; and they've all worked well.
ReplyDeleteA few drops in the hand, rub, and then "palm" onto a slightly damp face... viola!
I still use Argan and Maracuja oils as they are lighter (to me), and they tend to be absorbed (by my skin) more easily. However, I've found less expensive alternatives to Josie Maran's and Tarte's offerings of each.
Brilliant idea! I will try it out! Looking forward to hearing about the facial use of it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, as always...
-Suzanne in illinois
Hi Janet,
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who says her mother in law swears by this...and I have to say she's in her 70's and has beautiful akin. I must try this! It goes well with my stopping shopping (I think that's what you call it) or spending freeze. Skin care products are so expensive. I hope this is the answer to beautiful skin.
xo annie
i have been doing the same thing w baby oil after showering...but i will def try this! after menopause i do not know my skin!
ReplyDeleteI could see how this would be fabulous. I starting using a pure olive oil bar soap for the little one since she has sensitive skin and it's worked really well. Now I use it and will be giving this a try. Thanks Janet.
ReplyDeleteI have read on more than one occasion that olive oil is what Sophia Loren has been using on her skin for years, and she certainly is aging well. Think I will give it a try. My skin and hair are dry. I may buy the light clear olive oil, though, so as not to stain my pajamas.
ReplyDeleteChristine, I like the wash cloth idea. Seems less messy than my hands. Thanks.
ReplyDelete~ skye
P.S. Of course, we'll all be using Extra-Virgin, right?
I like getting vitamin e capsules and squeezing the oil out. One capsule does my face, it is icky, but a great night cream, also a great hand cream.
ReplyDeleteJaney
I remember once I was on vacation, and my normally oily skin dried out so badly, my face started flaking. My usual skin cream was completely ineffective. In desperation, one night I grabbed some olive oil from the kitchen and slathered it on my face. The next day, my skin was soft and healed and it didn't peel again!
ReplyDeleteAnything natural is a must for me. I'm usually disgusted with all the ingredients that go into makeup and beauty products anyway.
ReplyDeleteKeep on keeping us beautiful!
Janet, I also have fair, dry skin and use olive oil on my face. It works fine. I also use it as my facewash, because all the others dry out my skin. I never break out, either. Allegra
ReplyDeleteOK, Janet, I filled a pump bottle with olive oil, and threw in a few drops of tangerine essential oil that I had from the health food store because it is suppose to promote "happiness." :-) Let's hope this olive oil as face and body moisturizer promotes much happiness and oh so smooth skin. I wonder if it can tighten up my neckline? :-)
ReplyDelete-Suzanne in Illinois
P.S. Add this to my list of "The Gardener's Cottage Things I Do." :-)
Wonderful post Janet! Can't wait to hear how it does for your face.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/
:) jill
oops, I meant how it works for your face. eep.
ReplyDeleteI have an oil I found in an organic store and it is called miracle oil and I love it. I also love olive oil, just not today, it is 103 here where I am today in Albany, NY-
ReplyDeleteLove all the tips you share!
Now if only we could share a salad with olive oil and some yummy vinegar too.
pve
Wow! I am definitely going to give this a go Janet ..... Many thanks for the tip! Sorry have not been around for a while - just catching up - LOVE your Ralph lauren look a like bag (but even better!! - an original design) and the marmalade from your previous post. Perfect and my favourite. XXX
ReplyDeleteJanet, My grandparents swore by it, always! I have used it for years then stopped, thanks for the reminder. When I had 19 stiches in my forhead from a car wreck, my grandfather made me use olive oil every day and it really worked. Truly a wonder.
ReplyDeleteErrrrr, OK then. I'll give it a try.
ReplyDeleteMight start on the feet first though.
Sort of makes me think the Dodgy Brothers will want to lick me a lot.
Speaking if the Dodgies, I'm 3 days out of hospital, can walk a little bit, and the Dodgies are flying from Townsville to the Gold Coast right this moment. I'm going to have some post operative Chihuahua therapy.
What's happening with your hair Janet?
Louise
Xxxxxx
I'm going to have to look into this. A few years ago these two british guys swore that their mom wore olive oil for years and she looked amazingly young--although yucky when she bent down to kiss them goodnight. A small price to pay for wonderful skin. Glad you are enjoying it!
ReplyDeletexo Mary Jo
I use olive oil as moisturizer and in a body scrub I make & use. I've done this - over 10 years now? My skin is soft and looks great. I'd recommend it to anyone =)
ReplyDeleteThe toxicologists I used to work with always explained to me that unbroken skin kept things out of our body. There are very few chemicals that actually cross the skin - benzene is one (and it's why they offer plastic gloves when you put petrol in your car). That said, oil is nice for slicking down that dry skin (after you've scrubbed off the excess). I'm skeptical about needing to use olive oil for this reason. I have used regular vegetable oil, however, and got good results.
ReplyDeleteI use jojoba oil to remove my makeup and find that I don't need moisturiser after that. Once a week I mix oats and honey together and use as an exfoliant, followed by mashed avocado as a mask and I have very soft skin. I stopped using bought products a while ago as I found that they were making my skin dry and rough (and yes, that's even the expensive brands).
ReplyDeleteSuzanne
Oh, I forgot to add - olive oil is GREAT for chapped lips. Better than anything you could buy from the chemist.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne
I'm in! I have some precious olive oil that I brought back from my last trip to Italy.
ReplyDeleteI think that is good enough for ME~
This is a friday's favorite for sure :-)
I've just learnt that olive oil should not be used for cooking at high temperatures, (something that I've done all my life) so now I can use it on my face instead!
ReplyDeleteCooking stores and most well stocked groceries sell spray bottles especially intended for oil.This should work well to spray the oil evenly and with less mess.
ReplyDeleteI have oily skin but with menopause, I am looking to change my skin care and this sounds like a great idea!
In addition to olive oil, try dry body brushing. This is not only healthy for you, but it will keep your skin looking young and incredibly soft. Always dry brush before a shower or before exercise. And, there is a correct method. Go to youtube to see it, or google to read more!!!!! You will love this!
ReplyDeleteI've been using baby oil in this way for years. It helped to get rid of itchiness I felt after a shower, I presume it was caused by dryness. Interested to try it as a hair conditioner.
ReplyDeleteTo Shelley: Oliven are veggies too...
ReplyDeleteA tip for everyday breakfast: white bread, oliven oil, and one grated tomato on it (yes grated as a cheese). It is so health and delicious!!!!!!!!!
Oliven oil, you can cook with in high temperatures, not so with another kind of vegetal oil.
In Spain we call it "Liquid Gold"
janet-audrey-jackie,
ReplyDeletei have come back a few times to this post. the beauty and simplicity of the flowers in the clear glass, the reflective light... just exquisite.
you have a gift for creating beauty with the ultimate in simplicity. like shaker furniture somehow. it never grows old.
i have used canola oil before. it absorbs also and there is literally no fragrance. but it probably doesn't have the health factor that the olive oil does.
thanks for sharing!!
love,
tammy j
tammy, you are way too sweet!
ReplyDeleteI am so going to try this. In the winter the skin around my eyes gets so dry and all moisturizers irritate my skin there so they jut make it worse. The only thing that works is putting vaseline around my eyes before I go to bed...I got this one from Tyra Banks who slathers it all over her face. But it just does not seem good to be putting a petroleum based product around my eyes or on my face. I'll be trying the olive oil.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a half-Italian family. All the ladies in the family ate everything with a side of light olive oil, everyday. They also would massage it into their face and hands. They ages to perfection. I quit using traditional moisturizers a few months ago. I switch to an organic shea butter oil. You would think with oily skin it would be a mess but so the opposite. I glow and people have noticed. And I don't break out like I used too. The only other thing I use is Dove bar soap to clean my face morning and night. I am going to start slathering the rest of me in olive oil and see what happens. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteJanet, This is a great post. It's so true that there is a lot of mysterious (read: nasty chemicals!) ingredients in cosmetics and "beauty" products. I have a general rule that I don't put anything on my face that I wouldn't be able to eat. Olive oil is a wonderful natural skin moisturizer, as is coconut oil and shea butter. I'm happy that you have discovered the world of natural skincare, you will see great improvements. I know because I have struggled with bad skin my whole life- trying everything under the sun- and have finally, FINALLY, seen my skin calm down and begin to look healthy ever since I made the switch away from chemically products. Better for you and better for the earth, too!
ReplyDeleteI agree with using olive oil and love using it especially when doing ishnans (traditional Indian cold showers and massage) but also love love love coconut oil on my skin. I have been doing a fair bit of research over the past few years and anything natural is always so much better. What an interesting post! Fifi
ReplyDeleteHi Janet, wondering if you ever reported your use of olive oil on your face? I tried it last night as a makeup remover and my skin felt wonderful afterward. I think I'm going to use it every night and give it a go. Are you still using it a body moisturizer?
ReplyDeletehi camille! i am working on a post as we speak about that very subject! but i will tell you right now that yes i am still using it. and on my face and i'm pretty dang happy with it. thanks for asking!
Delete