Much more than just a kitchen staple, olive oil is having a moment in skincare too. Sure, slathering your face in something usually reserved for cooking sounds like an old wives tale but actually the humble ingredient has multiple benefits for all skin types, even those with sensitive, oily or blemish prone skin.
At The Frantoio, our Tuscan brand home, the property is set amongst 560 olive trees. It was a happy accident then, when working alongside our dermatologist Dr. Catherine Borysiewicz, we discovered that using the oil from our home grown olives not only helped us to achieve our goal of creating a farm to face brand, but would also become a standout skincare ingredient. The olives at The Frantoio are hand-harvested and cold pressed which means we can extract the freshest oil - a true skincare luxury.
Enough on harvesting, on to the important bit. The benefits. And it’s hydration which comes out on top. Considered an emollient, olive oil contains a high amount of squalane which is a well known super hydrator. It helps olive oil act as a second skin barrier reducing water loss and helping to protect dry, cracked skin from further damage. It’s not just drier skin types that can benefit though, when the water content of the skin is increased so does skin health and, arguably most importantly, you’ll notice glowy, dewy skin. Result.
As well as being delicious on pasta (especially when eaten in Tuscany), olive oil is a natural anti-inflammatory, rich in vitamins K, A, D and E. A useful aid for wound healing - massaging olive oil into rough elbows is a family first aid trick - the anti-inflammatory properties are also great for bringing down redness, calming irritation and soothing dry, scratchy skin. Plus, these powerhouse antioxidants also help to fight free radicals - that’s damaging things such as pollution, the weather and diet. The result? Well, experts say that less oxidative stress on the skin offers protection against premature ageing, irritation and redness.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Although we’re big fans of using olive oil in our skincare products that doesn’t mean we recommend slathering your face using the bottle on the kitchen counter. Straight up olive oil can be comedogenic, that’s because it acts like sebum and can clog pores. Not ideal. However, our products contain the right amount of high quality olive oil to get just the benefits and are paired with complimentary ingredients that work synergistically.
Turns out that an effective moisturiser that locks in other hydrating products really does grow on trees.
