If you love skincare, you probably love facial oils, especially if you already have the ingredients in your kitchen. For example, olive oil has long been praised for its skin benefits (Cleopatra was even said to have liked it). A Mediterranean diet can do great things for your skin, but putting olive oil on your face might not be the best idea. We asked the experts what they think about using olive oil on skin.
Dr. Neda Mehr is a board-certified dermatologist and the medical director at Pure Dermatology Cosmetic & Hair Center. Anna Babayan is an esthetician and the owner of Anna Babayan Skincare in Boston. Dr. Ken Howe is a board-certified dermatologist at Wexler Dermatology. Board-certified dermatologist in Connecticut, Deanne Mraz Robinson, MD, talks about the benefits of olive oil for skin.
Benefits of Olive Oil for Skin
Olive oil is good for you to eat, and it’s also good for your skin.
Benefits of Moisturizing
It has a lot of monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants, which makes it a great moisturizer. Olive oil might be a good choice if you have very dry or damaged skin, especially in the winter.”The lipid barrier holds the individual skin cells together and keeps our skin healthy. When the weather gets cold, we usually start using heaters, which evaporate the liquid barrier of the skin and cause it to become dry and cracked,” says Neda Mehr, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and medical director at Pure Dermatology Cosmetic & Hair Center in Newport Beach, California. “Olive oil is a great moisturizer for the skin, especially when you put it on wet skin when the pores are open. It can also act as a second skin barrier for dry, cracked skin in the winter.”
Healing Wounds
Olive oil is also great because it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Dermatologists say that the triterpenes in olive oil help wounds heal by helping the body make collagen and speeding up the process of closing wounds.
Properties that fight aging
Olive oil is full of healthy fats and vitamins that can help your skin become more elastic and make wrinkles less noticeable. Researchers have found that its nourishing properties help the body make more collagen, which makes your skin look smoother and younger.
Side Effects of Olive Oil on Skin
Olive oil may be great for moisturizing, but it can be a nightmare for people with acne. Dr. Mehr says, “When we talk about disorders of excessive oil production, such as acne, olive oil can be one of the worst things to put on your skin because it can clog pores and cause severe acne breakouts.”
And even though olive oil can help heal sunburn, you shouldn’t use it when you’re in the sun. Dr. Mehr says, “Think about the 1950s, when people would put baby oil on their skin and cook in the sun.” “Using olive oil in the morning without sun protection from long-sleeve clothing or sunscreen can cause sunburns and possibly serious skin damage.”
Is Olive Oil Good for Your Skin?
There are different opinions on whether or not olive oil should be put directly on the skin. Anna Babayan, an esthetician and owner of Anna Babayan Skincare in Boston, says, “As a general rule of thumb, olive oil is not a good choice for skin care.” “Our skin doesn’t have the enzymes to break down the molecules and let the benefits of the olive oil get into the skin. Instead, it just sits on top of the skin as a barrier layer to keep it from losing water.” Babayan says that the best way to use all of its great qualities is to eat it.
Dr. Mehr, on the other hand, says that olive oil can be good for the same reason. “It can be a great choice for someone with atopic dermatitis, which is also called eczema and is a problem with the ‘skin glue’ that holds skin cells together,” she says.
Dr. Mehr, on the other hand, says that using olive oil to treat dark spots or hyperpigmentation is not worth it, even though it has antioxidant properties. “This is a huge overestimation of its antioxidant properties,” she says. “If patients use it in the morning and then go out in the sun, it can make their acne worse and make their hyperpigmentation worse.”
In the end, the only time you should use olive oil on your skin is if you have very dry or damaged skin and want to protect it. “People with dry skin types don’t have enough oil in their skin, which means that the skin’s barrier layer is usually weak,” Babayan says. “This can cause the skin to lose water and become very dry. Using olive oil can create a barrier that keeps the water from evaporating from the skin.”
How to Apply Olive Oil to Your Skin
Dr. Mehr says that if you do use straight olive oil on your skin, you should do it within three minutes of getting out of the shower at night (which is never before going outside). And don’t put it on a dry face; instead, rub a few drops over your usual moisturizer to lock in moisture. Dr. Mehr says to pat the skin dry after a shower and then put a few drops of olive oil on it, preferably at night and only on skin that doesn’t tend to get acne (like the hands, forearms, and legs). Also, be sure to get an organic, extra-virgin type of olive oil. Olives can be sprayed with pesticides, which is bad for your skin.
Other Oils for Olive Oil
That being said, there are many oils that are lighter, absorb quickly, and are good for most skin types, even those that are prone to acne. These oils give your skin extra moisture without causing breakouts or sun damage.
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- Oil from Jojoba: Ken Howe, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Wexler Dermatology, says that jojoba oil is good for your skin because its chemical structure is very similar to the oil that your skin naturally produces. That means it soaks in quickly, makes pores look smaller, and gets rid of extra oil. He also suggests jojoba because it can calm and moisturize the skin while also killing the bacteria that cause acne.
- Oil from the tea tree: Deanne Mraz Robinson, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Connecticut, says that tea tree oil is also a good choice for skin that is prone to acne. She says that tea tree is a great natural treatment for active pimples and a way to stop new ones from forming because it has natural antibacterial properties.
- Oil of Maracuja: Maracuja oil is full of essential fatty acids and vitamin C, which can help you look younger. Dr. Robinson says that this oil will make your skin look firmer, brighter, and smoother. “Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that protects the skin from damage caused by free radicals and helps it heal,” she says.
