The Timeless Beauty Secret: Olive Oil in Skincare and Soap Making
Olive oil is one of the gentlest and most nourishing oils you can use on your skin — and yes, it’s even safe enough for babies. Most natural baby soaps and gentle cleansers are made with olive oil because it’s mild, moisturizing, and packed with nutrients that protect and soothe delicate skin.
I use olive oil as a main ingredient in nearly all my soaps. It produces a rich, conditioning bar that’s gentle on sensitive skin and deeply hydrating.
A Skincare Tradition That Dates Back Thousands of Years
The benefits of olive oil for skin care have been recognized since ancient times. As far back as 1500 BC, Egyptians were selling olive oil for cosmetic use. Long before modern soap existed, they cleansed their bodies by massaging olive oil into their skin and then scraping away the dirt — leaving their skin soft and refreshed.
The Romans also prized olive oil, using it to protect athletes’ skin from the sun and as a natural moisturizer and massage oil. Cleopatra famously bathed in olive oil for radiant, glowing skin, and women throughout history used it to give their hair a healthy shine.
Even in modern times, icons like Jackie Kennedy swore by olive oil treatments to keep their skin supple and youthful. It’s no wonder this golden oil has earned the nickname “Liquid Gold.”
Why Olive Oil Is So Good for the Skin
Olive oil is rich in vitamin E, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids that help retain moisture, fight dryness, and protect against free-radical damage. It doesn’t clog pores and works beautifully on all skin types — even sensitive or baby skin.
Regular use of olive oil, whether in soap or directly on the skin, helps improve moisture retention, soothe irritation, and support natural healing.
Benefits of Olive Oil for Skin:
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Moisturizing and gentle for sensitive or baby skin
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Helps relieve dryness, eczema, and irritation
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Supports skin healing and elasticity
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Antioxidant-rich for anti-aging benefits
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Non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores)
Olive Oil in Soap Making
It is the first pressing of olives that yields the highest grade (extra virgin) done without using heat.
Those same olives are cold pressed to produce Virgin Olive oil and the next two pressing will produce the regular and pomace grade of oil which are generally used in soap making.
A Castile Soap which is 100% Olive oil is a hard bar that will have a limited amount of lather, when I make my soap I add coconut oil to the oil mixture to help produce more lather. This bar works well and produces lather even in hard water.
Benefits of Olive Oil in Cold Process Soap Making
Creates a nice hard bar- Mild and gentle cleanser
- Helps condition the skin
- Moisturizing
- Good facial soap
- Restorative Properties
- Antioxidant Properties
- Will not clog pores
- Gentle enough for babies
- Helps relieve skin conditions such as eczema
Using Olive Oil in Soap Making
The highest-quality olive oil comes from the first cold pressing of the olives, labeled Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Virgin and pomace grades are also commonly used in soap making.
A 100 % olive oil soap, known as Castile Soap, creates a hard, long-lasting bar that’s mild and conditioning but produces little lather. To boost bubbles and cleansing power, I often blend olive oil with coconut oil. This combination works well even in hard water and keeps the soap gentle enough for everyday use.
Benefits of Olive Oil in Cold Process Soap:
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Creates a firm, long-lasting bar
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Gentle and moisturizing
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Ideal for sensitive or baby skin
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Helps condition and soften
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Restorative and antioxidant properties
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Non-pore-clogging
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Supports relief for eczema and dry skin
All my soaps contain at least 70 % olive oil, because it consistently delivers the perfect balance of conditioning and durability.
Why I Don’t Substitute Olive Oil with Canola
Some soap makers switch to canola oil because it’s cheaper, but I don’t recommend it. Canola is usually genetically modified, and it can produce softer bars that turn rancid over time — especially at high percentages. Olive oil costs more, but it’s worth it for a longer-lasting, higher-quality soap.
Other Everyday Uses for Olive Oil
Beyond soap making, olive oil is an incredible multi-purpose natural product. You can use it as a:
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Shaving oil or post-shave moisturizer
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Lip balm ingredient for soft, hydrated lips
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Hair treatment: Massage into your hair as a pre-shampoo conditioner to restore moisture and shine
It’s easy to see why olive oil has been treasured for centuries. Its simplicity, purity, and versatility make it one of nature’s most remarkable skincare ingredients.
Recommended Product
If you’re looking for high-quality olive oil for soap making, I recommend Pomace Olive Oil — it’s affordable and perfect for cold-process soap.
👉 This 1-gallon bottle sells for under $50.00 and works beautifully in homemade soaps.
Olive Oil Pomace Grade Organic Carrier Natural Cold Pressed Pure 7 LB, 1 gal, 3178 ml
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Hi,
Thank you for posting this i had never thought of using olive oil especially when my shaving gel had run out.
i would usually use soap and it would give me a rash so i will give it a try and let you know how it works.
Olive oil is soothing to the skin so you shouldn’t have any problems with a rash. Look forward to hearing how it works for you.
Good information on here and I am going to try it. My friends gave me some olive oil from France and I still have it. My wife enjoys making stuff the natural way, I will show her this site.
Thanks I hope you and your wife will find this site useful. I enjoy doing things the natural way myself.
Nice. Thanks for sharing. well explained. I am using handmade soaps only and it’s really amazing. This makes our body soft and tight. These natural homemade soaps made with of natural sources, including organic ingredients.
Your welcome Ava. Handmade soaps with natural ingredients are an excellent for skincare.
The oil is excellent as a moisturizer and does not build up to stain clothes. As a guy I do not use many skin care products but wanted something simple and scent free to use during winter when skin gets dry, this is my answer. Very happy with the results and my two girls have started to use it for the same reasons.
Cheers,
Kellfris
I use Olive oil more than any other oil. It is wonderful for your skin. Glad to hear the girls are enjoying it.
Thanks, dear for sharing such beautiful information with us. But here I have a very quick question that How we can realize our The Benefits of Olive Oil for the Hair ? Hope soon you will write a detailed article to give a complete info about my question.
Best Regards
Thanks for you comments. I use Olive Oil in my hair on a regular basis. Yes, I will put that on my list of articles. Thanks
I’ve recently found the value in olive oil for the body as I had some minor skin/dandruff issues. I was told by a friend that olive oil can be use so I can attest that this really can help for your skin. This is why I’m so glad this article outlines the variety of uses olive oil can really be used in including, lips, hair, etc. I would say to those with or without skin issues, just try a soap or a lip balm or something and let the results speak for themselves!
Thanks for adding your comments and experience to this post. The use of Olive oil and products made with them certainly do benefit the skin, and your right they do speak for themselves. Thanks for stopping by the site Ryan.
As you can tell I visit your site often to get information on soap making. I love olive oil, not only for cooking, but for using as a moisturizer on my skin as well.
It’s the only oil I will use. But it uses are many, all the way from removing make-up to cooking. Pretty amazing I have to say. But now I know it can use it in soaps as well.
Hi Jag, great to see you commenting again. Olive oil is my main ingredient in most of my soaps. It’s such a great oil and been used for thousands of years for skin care. Using it in soap making will give your a great long lasting bar.
Thanks for the article, question: do you have any recommendations for adding essential oils to your soap recipes? I like the idea of making my own products so I know exactly what’s in them but I want them to smell good to. I love lemon and lavender, do you have a recipe that includes anything like that?
Hi Kelly I do have a recipe for you. Soap Making Recipes Use recipe #1 and add about 2 ounces of lavender Essential oil or Lemongrass Essential oil. Lemongrass is still on of my favorite soaps. It’s such a clean refreshing scent.
This was very informative. I had never heard of making soap with Olive Oil. I use the extra virgin for cooking, but soap, shaving, the hair, and even babies skin? Very interesting. I am curious, since you prefer natural methods of making soap and/or using it for beauty cleansers (?)…how did you discover this? I can imagine that it helps prevent many different skin ailments. I have very dry skin in the winter due to the dryer air…would this benefit me? I don’t usually have a problem in the summer due to the high humidity in the southern states of the U.S. I didn’t get a chance to see whether or not you had recipes…I meant to go look, but got side tracked. How much would a bar of soap with Olive Oil cost?
Thanks for this information…again, your article was very informative.
Hi Bob, you ask how I discovered using Olive oil, well I suffered from the worst ezcema, my mother had to put mitts on my hands when I was sleeping because I would scratch so bad that I’d end up with big scabs behind my knees and elbows.
When I became a teenager and early adult my focus was to research and see what I could do. So that’s when it began. Today my soap, lotions, creams and laundry soap are all handmade with high quantities of Olive oil and my skin loves it.
Olive oil has been used for thousands of years and is mild and gentle. I have a recipe for Castile Soap which is a 100 % Olive oil soap you may want to have a look at that one on the recipe page. Here is the link Soap Making Recipes