The Benefits and Uses of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Skin
Olive oil isn't just a kitchen staple. For centuries, people have used olive oil as part of their skincare routines, and today, it's found in everything from soaps and lotions to body butters and salves.
Olive oil can benefit skin by helping reduce moisture loss, soften dry skin, support the skin barrier, and improve the feel of rough areas like hands, elbows, heels, and cuticles. High-quality extra virgin olive oil naturally contains fatty acids, squalene, vitamin E, and polyphenols that make it a nourishing ingredient in skincare.
At Pasolivo, we use our own certified extra virgin olive oil in our Bath & Body collection because we believe the quality of an ingredient matters, whether it goes on your skin or into your food.
Olive Oil Benefits for Skin
Using olive oil on your skin can provide several benefits, especially when it comes to dryness and maintaining a healthy-looking skin barrier.
- Helps Reduce Moisture Loss: Olive oil is rich in fatty acids and naturally occurring lipids that can help create a protective layer on the surface of the skin. This can help reduce moisture loss and leave skin feeling softer and more hydrated.
- Softens Dry, Rough Skin: Olive oil can help condition and soften dry skin, making it especially useful for areas that tend to become rough or dry, such as hands, elbows, knees, heels, and cuticles.
- Supports the Skin Barrier: Your skin barrier helps keep moisture in while protecting your skin from environmental stressors. Nourishing oils like extra virgin olive oil can complement the skin's natural lipids and help maintain soft, comfortable skin.
- Helps Improve Skin Texture: When dry skin becomes rough or flaky, adding moisture can help improve how the skin looks and feels. Olive oil's emollient properties help smooth and soften dry areas, improving complexion.
- Supports Hydrated, Glowing Skin: Well-moisturized skin often looks smoother and more supple. By helping reduce moisture loss, olive oil can support soft, hydrated-looking skin as you age.
The Science Behind Olive Oil for Skin
The benefits of extra virgin olive oil come from its naturally occurring compounds:
- Squalene is a lipid naturally found in both olive oil and human skin. It has emollient properties and can help soften skin. You may also recognize squalane, a more stable, hydrogenated form of squalene commonly used in skincare products. Although the names are similar, squalene and squalane are not the same ingredient.
- Vitamin E is a naturally occurring antioxidant in olive oil that helps protect against oxidative stress and supports the skin's natural barrier.
- Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds naturally found in extra virgin olive oil. Higher-quality EVOOs can contain significant amounts of these naturally occurring compounds, depending on the olive variety, harvest, processing, and storage.
Together, these compounds contribute to the nourishing qualities that make extra virgin olive oil a valuable ingredient for skincare.
Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil Quality Matters for Skin
Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade of olive oil and is produced without chemical refining. It naturally retains compounds that can be reduced through refining and poor storage.
Look for an EVOO that is fresh, single-origin, minimally processed, and transparent about where and how it was produced. Harvest date, proper storage, and protection from light, heat, and oxygen are also important indicators of quality.
At Pasolivo, our extra virgin olive oil begins with olives grown on our 43-acre estate in Paso Robles, California. Our olives are hand-harvested and milled shortly after harvest, then our oil is carefully stored and bottled to help protect its freshness and quality.
Our olive oil is also certified by the California Olive Oil Council (COOC), an independent organization that evaluates California extra virgin olive oils through chemical and sensory analysis.
How to Use Olive Oil on Your Skin
There are plenty of ways to incorporate olive oil into your skincare routine. You can apply a small amount of olive oil to dry areas of the body or choose a skincare product formulated with olive oil alongside other nourishing ingredients.
Olive oil can be especially beneficial after showering to lock in moisture, in daily skincare routines, and applied to stubborn skin spots prone to dryness.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Hand Soap for Dry Hands
Your hands go through a lot every day. Between washing dishes, cleaning, cooking, and frequent hand washing, it's easy for hands to become dry and uncomfortable.
Our olive-oil-based Hand Soap gently cleanses while incorporating the nourishing qualities of extra virgin olive oil into your daily routine. It's an easy way to make one of the most frequently used products in your home a little more nourishing.
Best for: everyday hand washing, dry hands, and frequent hand washing.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Hand Lotion
Dry hands need more than just soap. Our Hand Lotion is formulated with Pasolivo extra virgin olive oil to help moisturize and soften dry hands while leaving them feeling smooth and comfortable.
Apply it throughout the day, especially after washing your hands, and massage a little extra around dry cuticles.
Best for: dry hands, rough hands, dry cuticles, and everyday hand moisture.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Body Butter
When skin needs more than a lightweight lotion, reach for a richer moisturizer. Our Body Butter combines Pasolivo extra virgin olive oil with nourishing ingredients to provide rich moisture for dry skin.
It's especially useful on areas that tend to become rough or dry, including elbows, knees, hands, and heels. Massage it into slightly damp skin after a shower or whenever your skin needs extra moisture.
Best for: dry skin, rough elbows, dry knees, dry heels, and deeply moisturized-feeling skin.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Bar Soap
A good bar soap should cleanse without leaving your skin feeling unnecessarily stripped and dry. Our Bar Soap incorporates Pasolivo extra virgin olive oil into an everyday cleansing formula.
It's a simple way to bring olive oil into your daily body care routine. Use it in the shower, at the sink, or anywhere you reach for a bar of soap.
Best for: everyday body cleansing and those who prefer bar soap to liquid soap.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Healing Salve
Some areas need more concentrated care. Our Natural Healing Salve combines Pasolivo extra virgin olive oil with organic botanicals to create a rich, multipurpose salve designed to moisturize dry, rough, and chapped skin.
Keep it nearby for chapped lips, dry cuticles, rough hands, dry elbows, cracked heels, and other areas that need extra moisture and protection. The rich texture creates a protective layer over dry skin while the olive oil and botanical ingredients provide nourishing moisture.
Best for: chapped lips, dry cuticles, rough skin, dry hands, elbows, heels, and other dry areas.
Please note: Customer review. Individual results may vary. Pasolivo's Natural Healing Salve is not a verified medical treatment. Consult your health care provider before using.
Bring Olive Oil Beyond the Kitchen
At Pasolivo, extra virgin olive oil has always been about more than flavor. It's about growing great olives, protecting their natural qualities, and creating products with ingredients we feel good about using ourselves.
That's why our certified extra virgin olive oil isn't only reserved for your kitchen. We use it as the foundation of our Bath & Body collection, bringing the same California-grown olive oil into the products you use every day.
From dry hands and rough elbows to chapped lips and everyday body care, discover what high-quality extra virgin olive oil can bring to your skincare routine.
Frequently Asked Questions About Using Olive Oil on Skin
Is olive oil good for your skin?
Extra virgin olive oil contains fatty acids, squalene, vitamin E, and polyphenols that can help soften dry skin, reduce moisture loss, and support the skin barrier. However, olive oil may work better for some skin types than others.
Can olive oil help dry skin?
Yes. Olive oil can help soften rough, dry skin and reduce moisture loss. It can be particularly useful for dry hands, elbows, knees, heels, cuticles, chapped lips, and other rough areas.
Can you put olive oil directly on your skin?
Yes. A small amount of olive oil can be applied directly to the skin, particularly on dry areas of the body. If you're using it for the first time, patch-test a small area before applying it more broadly.
Can olive oil be used as a body moisturizer?
Yes. Olive oil can be used on its own or incorporated into a body moisturizer. Applying an olive-oil-based lotion or body butter to damp skin after bathing can help reduce moisture loss and leave skin feeling soft.
Is olive oil good for aging skin?
Extra virgin olive oil contains antioxidant compounds such as vitamin E and polyphenols. It also helps moisturize the skin, which can improve the appearance of dryness-related fine lines and leave skin looking smoother and more supple.
Does olive oil clog pores?
Olive oil may be too rich for some people and can contribute to clogged pores, particularly on acne-prone facial skin. If you're prone to breakouts, patch-test first or reserve olive oil-based products for your body.
Is olive oil safe for sensitive skin?
Olive oil may be suitable for some people with sensitive skin, but everyone's skin is different. Patch-test new products first and consult a health care provider if you have a diagnosed skin condition or persistent irritation.
What is the difference between refined and extra virgin olive oil for skin?
Extra virgin olive oil is produced without chemical refining and naturally retains compounds such as polyphenols and vitamin E. Refined olive oil undergoes additional processing and generally contains fewer of the naturally occurring compounds found in extra virgin olive oil.
When choosing olive oil for skincare, look for a fresh, high-quality extra virgin olive oil from a producer that is transparent about its sourcing, harvest, and production.
