The Beauty of Olive Oil

Posted by Olivia on Mon, March 08, 2010

Sometimes, in Winter, my skin gets terribly dry. Lotions and creams help a little, but it seems to be a never-ending cycle of drying out and reapplying. Until, that is, I discoverd that a few drops of olive oil rubbed in after I get out of the shower or bath leaves my skin soft and smooth all day. Plus, since I buy olive oil anyway for cooking and eating, I always have it on hand. I recently found this great list of beauty uses for olive oil from The Beauty Bunny . The main reason behind the effectiveness of olive oil for beauty is that it "...is rich in squalane, a natural emollient that penetrates skin without leaving a greasy film behind. Beyond that, it’s packed with Vitamins A & E and a number of polyphenols that already make it a popular inclusion in beauty products." See below for 15 great uses for olive oil:

1. A little EVOO makes a fabulous substitute for foot cream. Just rub some on your feet before you go to bed, put on some socks and wake up with super soft tootsies.
2. Bad sunburn? Mix olive oil with white vinegar and apply before a warm bath to soothe and heal the burn.
3. Banish frizzy hair by putting a couple of drops of olive oil in dry hair.
4. Smooth generously onto hands before bed, put on white cotton gloves, and wake up with soft, youthful hands.
5. Dandruff issues? Mix olive oil with almond oil and leave on scalp for five minutes. (If it starts to burn, rinse it out.) Rinse well to clear hair of dandruff.
6. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to your bath to calm red, irritated skin.
   
7. Soothe chapped lips by smoothing on some olive oil.
8. Olive oil makes a great anti-aging moisturizer, since it contains polyphenol hydroxytyrosol, an antioxidant that helps to hold cell walls intact and thus reduce the signs of aging.
9. Apply a little olive oil to a Q-tip and use it as a makeup remover. (Yes, that’s why the store-bought kind is often so oily!)
10. Soak thin, brittle nails and ragged cuticles in a small cup of olive oil to soften, smooth and strengthen them.
11. Massage olive oil into your hair, then leave hair covered with a shower cap for 30 minutes. Shampoo and discover softer, more lustrous hair with fewer split ends.
12. Sensitive skin? Go easy on your legs by using olive oil as a shaving cream.
    
13. Slather on olive oil before braving the sun – it’s rich in Vitamins A and E, keeping skin from drying out in the heat while protecting you from UV rays.
14. Rub on elbows and knees for intense moisturizing. (My elbows are actually soft now – I’m not kidding.)
15. For stained nails and fingers, simply add a few drops of lemon juice to olive oil and soak your fingers in it

The Olive Press also offers a wonderful array of olive oil spa and body products, for an even more luxurious beauty experience.