Olive oil has played a major part in health and beauty for many generations.
Roman women used olive oil to condition their hair and slave traders at the Barbery Coast markets drenched their slaves in it – making them seem healthy and strong.
Per tablespoon, olive oil has 1.6mg of vitamin E, the healing properties of which are well documented. And while we may be familiar with the ways olive oil can be used to improve diet, there are ‘other’ recipes better suited to one’s appearance. Why else then would iconic actress Sophia Loren swear by it?
Here are just a few ways to put this pure and natural oil to work on your appearance:
- Brittle, breaking fingernails and hang-nails can be cured by soaking your hands in a bowl of warm olive oil, once a week for about ten minutes.
- A scrub to soften hands can be made by mixing a spoonful of sugar with a quarter of a cup of olive oil. Massage your hands with the mixture and rinse with warm water.
- Fine lines and wrinkles can be reduced using olive oil compresses on the affected areas. Cover the compress with a warm cloth for about ten minutes and then rinse. For more radical results mix an egg yolk and some lemon juice into the oil.
- Rough, wrinkled elbows can be improved by pouring olive oil onto two lemon halves and then resting your elbows on them for about 15 minutes.
Olive oil is also a super-effective hair conditioner. Rub about a tablespoon of olive oil on the ends of your hair and then gently massage it up towards the roots. This treatment will reduce frizziness and leave your hair soft and shiny. It is most effective if you rinse your hair afterwards with a quarter cup of vinegar mixed with three-quarters of a cup of warm water.
These treatments are readily available, easily concocted and great time-savers – which is probably why they’ve been handed down from one generation to the next.
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