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Olive Oil Beauty Benefits & Tips
Olive oil is well known for its uses in the kitchen as a cooking oil or as part of a salad dressing due to its low in fat and health benefits. But, when used as a beauty ingredient, it is a natural hypo-allergenic product that is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins A & E, hydrating squalene and anti-ageing properties.
Its been known to stimulate new cell growth and helps in making your skin, smoother, softer and firmer, so not only is it great for your health but it is also amazing for your skin, hair and nails.
Now let’s discover the olive oil benefits for your beauty regime.
1) Multi-purpose body beauty scrub
An olive oil and sugar beauty scrub can be used all over your body to assist in the removal of the dead skin cells that sit on the surface. Use it in the shower after using your body wash, the sugar will exfoliate your body while the olive oil will soften and moisturise your skin.
- If used as a lip scrub, it can assist in the removal of dry dead skin and cracked lips. Add a few drops of lemon juice for acidic properties for exfoliation of dead skin while the olive oil nourishes and conditions your lips.
- If using as an acne scrub for your face, olive oil combined with salt can act as a natural exfoliator for your skin. Salt will help to clear out and dry up your acne and the olive oil will prevent the salt from overly drying out your skin.
2) Stubborn makeup and eye makeup remover
Did you know that olive oil is one of those oils where “like dissolves like?”, meaning it can attract and help to break up other oil-based products effectively.
Olive oil for your face can act as a natural pre-cleansing step for your makeup and waterproof eye makeup products that are stubborn to remove. Even if you have acne prone skin, olive oil can provide you with a deep cleanse.
- As a pre-cleanser, apply olive oil to your face and massage it gently and thoroughly all over your face. Either rinse your face with warm water or wipe it with a warm damp cloth and follow with a gentle ph balanced face wash for a squeaky clean, soft and moisturised face.
3) Stretch Marks
Olive oil helps to stimulate new cell growth, aiding in the regeneration of your skin and increasing elasticity. Applying oil to the affected areas will help to heal and improve the regenerative abilities of your skin.
4) Hair serum for frizzy hair
Use olive oil in your hair as your all-natural hair serum for extra shine and glossiness and to control frizz, but be careful not to overdo it, as too much oil to your hair will look greasy. Just add a few drops in your hands, rub them together so that the oil is evenly distributed and run your hands gently and lightly over your hair, spreading it evenly throughout. You can do this after styling for a glossy finish or for those of you with curly hair you may find it useful to apply some oil to your fingertips and go through your curls individually.
5) Hair shaving oil
Applying olive oil all over your legs will provide a smooth, gliding surface for your razor. It has anti-inflammatory properties making it ideal for razor bumps and burns. Putting olive oil on your legs pre-shaving and applying it to damp skin after your shower will keep your skin soft, supple and moisturised while helping to remove the hairs. So if you ever run out of hair removal cream, just grab that natural lubricant from your kitchen and get shaving.
6) Hand moisturiser
Olive oil is really great for conditioning and providing moisture to your hands, particularly in the colder seasons. So that you don’t have the feeling of greasy hands, apply some oil to your hand cream for an extra boost.
7) Lash serum
For luscious lashes, apply olive oil to your eyelashes every night as an overnight lash treatment. This will provide them with a lot more strength and softness, preventing them from breaking and helping to assist in your growth for longer lashes.
8) Cuticles and nail care
Fake it like a manicure by keeping those fingertips looking freshly buffed and tidy with olive oil. It’s actually a better way to manage your cuticles than cutting them as they are there to protect your nail beds from getting infected, so instead of removing your cuticles just apply some oil to soften them and push them back gently. This will also condition and moisturise your nails for healthier, stronger nail growth.
9) Olive oil body moisturiser
Olive oil can be used as an excellent all over body moisturiser, particularly if you have extra dry skin and for those with eczema. It can be applied as is directly to your body or if you prefer not to feel like you are making your skin oily and greasy, you can add some to your daily body lotion for a boost. A great way to use olive oil on your body is straight after a shower for extremely soft, smooth, moisturised and healthy looking skin.
10) Cracked feet and heels
Olive oil is a really good remedy for rough, cracked heels. Especially if you suffer from extra dry cracked feet during the winter seasons, it will provide softness and moisture.
Apply some oil directly to your feet or add some to your foot cream and rub it in well (might as well give yourself a little foot massage) all over your feet and then put socks on and keep them on overnight to lock in moisture.
For an extra tip, use a pumice stone while in the shower to get rid of all the dead dry skin on your feet to provide your feet with a smoother surface and to help the olive oil work better.
11) Pre-shampoo hair treatment
Olive oil can be applied to your hair as a pre-shampoo hair treatment for a healthier scalp and healthy, shiny hair.
Apply some oil nicely to your hair and work it throughout all the way down to the ends and let it sit for about 15 minutes on your hair before shampooing. If you suffer from dandruff, dry and itchiness, apply some also to the scalp and massage it in well for about 2 minutes. Be sure to use a deep cleansing clarifying shampoo to make sure there will be no oil trace residue left after shampooing.
Doing an olive oil hair treatment will help to eliminate dandruff and an itchy dry, scalp and encourage healthy, shiny hair growth.
For an extra boost try combining other oils such as rosemary essential oil or tea tree essential oil.
12) Fights the signs of ageing
Thanks to its beauty benefits, vitamins and antioxidants, olive oil can help prevent the formation of wrinkles. Best used as a face cream overnight, olive oil for your skin can provide you with hydration and moisture while neutralising free radicals that can damage your skin and advance the appearance of ageing. It can soften and smooth out the appearance of wrinkles while you sleep.
Again, a great tip would be to add some oil to your night face serum or cream for extra benefits or you could create your own natural serum by mixing other appropriate anti-ageing oils such as argan oil or rosehip seed oil.
13) Overnight eye cream
Olive oil can be a very beneficial eye cream. Gently apply some olive oil under your eyes before bed and leave it on overnight to allow the vitamins and anti-ageing benefits to help nourish the tender skin around your eyes and soften fine lines.
You should use olive oils that are “virgin”, meaning the oil was made by simply pressing the olives and extracting the oil without the use of chemical and industrial refining. That means more olive oil benefits for you to enjoy.