Olive oil is more than just your typical salad dressing. It’s an ancient, well kept beauty secret. Some of today’s most popular beauty products, promoted as “natural” solutions, contain olive oil as a key ingredient in their formulas. There are a number of simple and inexpensive ways to get the best skin care and beauty benefits out of a small amount of olive oil.
How to Use Olive Oil on Hair
The best and cheapest way to use olive oil on hair, colored or not, is by making a conditioner with it. Olive oil nourishes, conditions and improves the strength and elasticity of the hair. The steps are easy, the process is simple, and the benefits are rewarding.
- Pour ½ cup (1 cup for extra long hair) of olive oil into a bowl and warm it on the stove. It is important for the oil not to be hot. Just a tad over room temperature is ideal. Also, try not to microwave the oil because microwaving damages its molecules.
- Place a towel over the shoulders to protect clothing
- Put a small amount of olive oil in the palm and massage it into dry hair. If you have a dry scalp, massage a small amount into the scalp, as well. If the hair is oily, massage it into the hair, but stay at least ½ inch from the scalp. Repeat the process of massaging small amounts at a time into the hair until the hair is entirely covered with olive oil.
- Place the hair loosely on head and cover it with a plastic shower cap
- Relax for at least 30 minutes while the olive oil is treating the hair
- Shampoo the olive oil out of the hair with a mild shampoo. Give a light condition with usual conditioner and rinse it out completely.
This natural and easy olive oil treatment will result in healthier, softer and more manageable shiny hair. When used on hair and scalp, olive oil can be considered to be two products at the same time: a deep conditioner and a dandruff controller.
How to Use Olive Oil on The Skin
Besides to being a natural, hypoallergenic way to moisturize skin, olive oil has the added advantage of providing strong antioxidants, like vitamin “A” and “E” that help repair and renew skin that has been damaged from overexposure to sun, air pollution and other environmental threats like cigarette smoke. Here are some ways to use olive oil on the skin.
Olive Oil as a Skin Moisturizer and Eye Makeup Remover
Whether applied to face or body, olive oil will penetrate deep into the skin and provide a long-lasting shield of moisture to keep the skin silky. Used either as a night cream or daily moisturizer, it is best applied to damp skin, because moisture can help reduce any feeling of greasiness.
Also, just a few drops of olive oil on a cotton pad is all it takes to gently and effectively remove eye makeup without irritating the delicate skin of the eye lids. What’s more, olive oil can soften the skin around the eyes and smoothen out wrinkles.
Exfoliation, Nail and Cuticle Care with Olive Oil
If the skin is dry and rough, mix olive oil and sea salt in a tub and massage it into the affected area to peel off dead skin and enrich the healthy layer beneath it. Use this mixture to smoothen extra dry areas such as elbows or heels.
For your nail and cuticles care, soak the nails in warm olive oil for 5-10 minutes. This strengthens nails while it softens cuticles. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the olive oil to get brilliant white and strong nails.
Olive oil can be used as a natural moisturizer for hair and skin. It’s a simple natural ingredient cheaper than the products one could buy in a beauty salon or a drugstore. Its benefits are visible and effective. Use it as a hair treatment conditioner, a skin moisturizer or an eye makeup remover and enjoy the results.
Argyro (Ariel) Vourdoumpa-Kritsantonis - I am a Greek living in Indonesia... today. Because I am not sure where I will be tomorrow... And this is what I enjoy most! I prefer ...
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