Benefits to Olive Oil for the Skin and in Soap Making

The benefits of Olive oil in skincare have been known for thousands of years, in Egypt, it was being sold for Cosmetic uses as far back as 1500 BC.




Long before soap was ever invented the Egyptians used Olive Oil to cleanse themselves.

The way they did this was by spreading the oil on their skin, the dirt would get stuck to their skin and then they would simply scrap it off.

The Romans also used this oil on their skin, it was used to protect athletes’ skin from the sun, but it was not limited to the athletes as the Romans knew the benefit of using it for moisturizers and massage oils.

Cleopatra is known to have taken baths with olive oil leaving her skin smooth and shiny.

Often women also used olive oil to keep their hair shiny as well.

In more recent history,  Jackie Kennedy used olive oil as a treatment that kept her skin smooth and supple.

Olive oil can be used to moisturize your skin without blocking the pores, it is gentle enough to use on babies and is soothing and healing on all skin types.

Using this oil on a regular basis whether it be in a bar of soap or in oil form will help to improve the moisture retention of your skin. The benefits of Olive Oil for the skin are many.


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

  • Canada EhCreates 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




All the soaps I make contain at least 70 % Olive Oil.

Olive oil has been around for thousands of years and used in skin care dating way back.

In recent years people have been substituting Canola Oil for Olive Oil, mainly because the cost is half or more of Olive Oil.

I don’t like using Canola oil myself, because it is a genetically modified product.

I had a friend that replaced her Olive Oil with it and it produced a softer bar of soap, which in time turned rancid.

I’m sure part of the reason was that the percentage was too high. The bars appeared to be nice and hard, but once used they turned slimy and soft.

Other uses for Olive Oil

By itself, Olive Oil can be used as a shaving lubricant or added after a shave.  this oil is great for chapped lips and skin and can be used when making your own lip balm.

Your hair can benefit from olive oil too, I often put it in my hair as a pre-shampoo treatment, it helps to put moisture back into your hair.

It’s not hard to see why this oil has been known for years as “Liquid Gold”

Here is a great buy on Olive Oil Pomace – that is what I use in most of my soap making

This 1-gallon bottle sells for under $40.00

Olive Oil Pomace Grade Organic Carrier Natural Cold Pressed Pure 7 LB, 1 gal, 3178 ml

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Canola oil and soap

Canola Oil

Castor Oil Plant

Castor Oil Plant

Cocoa Butter in Soap making

Cocoa Butter

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil

Grapeseed Oil

Grapeseed Oil

Hemp, Hempseed, Hemp seed Oil

Hemp seed Oil

Palm Oil

Rose hip

Rosehip Oil

Shea Nut Butter

Shea Nut Butter



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18 Responses to Benefits to Olive Oil for the Skin and in Soap Making

  1. Lee says:

    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.

  2. ScottG says:

    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.

  3. Ava says:

    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.

  4. Kellfris says:

    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

  5. 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

    • admin says:

      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

  6. Ryan says:

    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!

    • Tes says:

      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.

  7. Jag says:

    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. 

    • Tes says:

      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.

  8. Kelly Elliott says:

    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?

    • Tes says:

      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.

  9. Bob says:

    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.

    • Tes says:

      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

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