Olive Oil For Skin: 9 Uses & Benefits From Dermatologists

I'm going to make a wager that you're no stranger to olive oil: Whether it be through cooking, dipping bread, slicking it through your hair, dabbing a bit on your cuticles, or any number of various odds and ends the multitasker is known to be useful for. And the oil certainly makes the rounds for good reasons: It's full of good-for-you nutrients.  

And as for the skin: There are plenty of reasons to add this to your routine—just be mindful of how you use it, as it may not be the right oil for everyone (everyone reacts differently to ingredients!).

Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives. Though "extra-virgin" seems to be slapped across countless bottles at the market, not all oils are created the same. Cooking and skin care alike, you should look stick to high-quality, extra-virgin olive oil.

You can even test your oil to make sure it's premium enough to use, as many commercial options blend the oil with additional, lower-quality oils—learn more here. 

Removing stubborn makeup—you know, the common culprits like mascara and waterproof products—is a pain. Often, people will reach for wipes or cotton rounds doused in makeup removers. You can skip all that and just go straight for this kitchen staple. When used as a natural makeup remover, olive oil can help dissolve the oil in your makeup products (oil attracts oil and water attracts water, remember).  

Skin care enthusiasts swear by oil and double-cleansing methods—for clear, supple, soft skin—that won't strip away your barrier.

First up, why you should be washing your face with oils. "Oil cleansing can be a total game-changer for just about any skin type and condition," explains aesthetician Britta Plug. "Although it may seem counterintuitive to wash your face with oil, it's actually brilliant."

Here's how it works: "An oil cleanser dissolves excess oils on your skin—without any of the surfactants, harsh ingredients, or necessary preservatives in foaming cleansers. This means that your face gets a super-deep clean, without any 'stripping,' or disruption of the skin's natural microbiome," Plug said.

As for double cleansing, it is simply the process of washing your face first with an oil cleanser, then a water-based cleanser.  

Esthetician Hannah Brady, who works with Credo, adds that "beginning with an oil cleanse on dry skin will help remove the day and also soften the drying effects of a gel or foam cleanser."

Essentially, starting with olive oil will not only help you get a deeper clean, but it can mitigate any stripping effects of a water-based cleanser that you might follow it with.

Your skin barrier function is of the utmost importance: When it's compromised, you'll experience dryness, irritation, sensitivities, and inflammation. Essentially, a good barrier begets a good complexion.

You can tend to your skin barrier in a variety of ways—from balancing your microbiome to soothing irritation—but one of the most meaningful ways to help it is to seal in moisture. 

Don't forget: Your scalp is skin and should be treated as such. One way to aid a dry scalp is to gently massage in oils on a regular basis.

Here's a quick how-to: "Use your finger pads (not nails) to apply medium-firm pressure to your scalp, in a circular motion," says board-certified dermatologist Raechele Cochran Gathers, M.D., who specializes in hair care and founded MDHairMixtress. "They can be done daily or weekly for about five minutes."

After, you'll likely want to rinse it out, as it can be heavy and weigh down your roots or cause buildup—but feel free to let it sit for a while, even overnight, so your skin can really drink up the antioxidants and nutrients. 

Carrier oils are the oils you blend with essential oils before applying EOs cosmetically. Since EOs are so potent and volatile, you can't put them directly on your skin (nor will they absorb this way), so instead, you cocktail it with a carrier.

Everyone's skin is different and reacts uniquely to various ingredients: What clogs some people's pores may be perfectly fine for others. So if you are currently using olive oil on your face, and you have no issues with it, feel free to proceed as usual, no problems. 

However, some may find it to be too thick as a leave-on face product, as it is comedogenic. When something is comedogenic, it can cause pore blockage, leading to sebum plugs, blackheads, and pimples. A comedogenic formula or ingredient is usually thick and occlusive—read: olive oil—so it sits on the skin trapping in oil, bacteria, and causing inflammation, which will lead to irritation and eventually a breakout.

Since you rinse off a makeup remover or oil cleanser, using it this way tends not to be much of concern; also when skin care brands formulate olive oil into creams or the like, it's usually buffered with less comedogenic options, making it less of an issue.