Olive oil...why is it rationed in beauty products
I use olive oil a lot - in food, on my skin, in my hair, in my soap. I look for pure olive oil. It's terrific for health, for beauty, etc.
So I wonder why there aren't beauty products made strictly from olive oil. And when you buy products with olive oil in them, there's often just a tiny bit of it and a big deal about it.
Any thoughts?
(p.s. - does anyone know of beauty products that are primarily olive oil-based?)
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
12 Comments:
Here you go. Full disclosure - I know the neice of the guy who runs this olive oil company. I have at least 8 bottles of oil - from flavored to unfiltered - on my counter. Your inquiry has made me curious about olive oil products as cosmetics - and Sciabica offers a lavender olive oil soap that I'm ordering as soon as I finish this post.
The reason I say that is because I think olive oil (consumed, at least) is the reason my skin has weathered the trials and tribulations of weather, stress, and years of "oiling and broiling" at the beach.
therealchiffonade at 6:10AM on 07/24/09
As a Japanese person I can tell you DHC is really serious about olive oil. Their explanation is that food-grade olive oil is not good enough for skincare (you can read more on their site if you like)
I'm not so happy about their limited availability of products compared to the ones available in Japan, but I guess certain products are not popular here in the US (such as whitening products- Japanese women are generally phobic to sun damage).
The cleansing oil works like magic!
And they carry high quality olive oil and other food items, too.
hmw0029 at 8:08AM on 07/24/09
Second the DHC. I have used their products for about 4 years. Cannot say enough good things about them. Oh, that cleansing oil is the absolute best.
finsbigfan at 8:43AM on 07/24/09
@ ruffles and @chiff: Im with the real chiff on this one. I credit my skin quality (etc, etc) to my liberal consumption and topical use of olive oil. Especially in the winter, it is often in my bath water and used as a leave-in in my hair-- it is utterly luxurious. I read a book this past winter, The Healing Powers of Olive Oil, and while I dont know if I subscribe to all its alleged powers, I am certainly converted to singing its praises: the most glorious and historically venerated product! But you all know that already.
Secondly, based on my business school-knowledge, I'd suspect the lack of olive oil-saturated beauty products is directly related to the cost of development. But that's just a stab.
emilytaylor at 9:55AM on 07/24/09
Well, I don't know about the DHC explanation about food-grade olive oil not being good enough for skin care. (But I'll look at their site, as you suggest.) And what is it that they do to the olive oil?
Food-grade olive oil is good enough for the inside of my body, which I would guess is more delicate than my outer skin. Secondly, I have to say that the food-grade olive oil appears to eliminate wrinkles on my face, at least for the day that I am using it - the wrinkles and pouches under my eyes when I wake up go away. I use extra virgin, cold press, organic, etc. off the grocery shelf at an organic supermarket (happens to be Whole Foods brand) and it seems to work well. Now, it is true that last year the store was promoting tiny samples of an Australian olive oil that was extremely fine, but again for cooking. I don't know whether that's better or not for the skin and I wonder how it got to be so thin.
By the way, on the subject of olive oil soap, Kiss My Face has olive oil in several flavors - but they also have a pure olive oil soap.
Also by the way, I have received so many compliments about my hair. It can only be the lustrous sheen from the olive oil (which I leave in and brush).
Ruffles1 at 11:35AM on 07/24/09
As a beauty professional, I have read and studied this quite a bit. First off, olive oil is more beneficial consumed than applied topically, though it does have it's place in beauty products.
The reason you will not find many product composed primarily of olive oil is that olive oil is pretty much only good for moisturizing. It cannot cleanse the hair or skin, or remove make up well. Olive oil will also build up on the hair and skin, causing other products to fail to work to their full potential. Hair color and products will not work as well when the hair has been treated with pure olive oil.
The Regis Salon Company (check their website for franchise names and locations) produces a wonderful line of olive oil products that contain a higher quality and amount of olive oil than most other lines, while still including ingredients that cleanse the hair and skin. They also produce a line called Pure that is organic through and through.
Please know that while homemade skin and hair remedies may seem great (all natural, cheap, etc), many scientists and doctors go to great lengths and expense to compose products that will fully benefit the hair and skin. Most homemade products will fail because the particles they have been composed of are too large to penetrate the surface of the hair and skin.
RudieCantFail at 11:47AM on 07/24/09
@emilytaylor - agreed: I work in Canadian Cosmeceutical regulations currently, yes--olive oil is darned good for your skin. It's quite expensive, that's why it tends to be diluted with other natural ingredients.
Olive oil contains a group of related natural products with potent antioxidant properties which give extra-virgin unprocessed olive oil its bitter and pungent taste and which are esters of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, including oleocanthal and oleuropein.
Olive oil can be used as an effective shaving oil to shave facial and other body hair giving results that are equivalent to expensive commercial products. Some studies on mice showed that application of olive oil immediately following exposure to UVB rays has a preventive effect on the formation of tumors and skin cancer too! Go heavy on the stuff...it's all good.
Note: Its best medium is in raw form.
So Okay:
by no means am I a full peta supporter; but they have an excellent registration program to guarantee no animal testing companies for consumer purchasing decisions. I recommend even just checking it out.
hungrychristel at 12:37PM on 07/24/09
interesting thread.
just requested that 'healing power...' book from the library to check out.
also, may i recommend mort rosenblum's book, 'olives: the life and lore of a noble fruit'. (it's a thorough and fascinating account of olives) oh, and his other book (one of my alltime faves) 'chocolate: the bittersweet saga of dark and light'.
note to self: check out dhc
gastronomeg at 1:16PM on 07/24/09
I prefer room temp pure almond oil for hair. takes normally frizzy hair and make it straight. messy during the soaking phase, but excellent after washing it
blizcheetah at 5:21PM on 07/24/09
Another hand up here on the DHC products. The Olive Oil soap is expensive, but not drying, the "white soap" is a good lathering-in-the-shower shaving aid DH favors,and not drying, and the unscented wipes are great for refreshing.
I use the Neutrogena advanced system for adult acne with good results. The DHC Olive Oil soap is a soothing evening face wash.
whoot at 9:35PM on 07/24/09
@whoot. So why do you think that the DHC olive oil soap is expensive. I am not sure, but I don't think the Kiss My Face olive oil is particularly expensive. Not sure.
Ruffles1 at 6:16AM on 07/25/09
Kiss My Face has some inexpensive olive oil soap. I love the one with honey because it smells so good.
gingercookiewithlime at 10:52PM on 07/26/09