Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil

What it is

Olive oil is pressed from the fruit of Olea europaea and is roughly 70% oleic acid, with only a small share of linoleic acid and a well-studied set of polyphenol antioxidants. Its long history as a food and a massage oil gave it an easy passage into skincare, but it is one of the few plant oils to have been tested head-to-head on human skin, and the results were not favourable. It remains useful in cleansing and short-contact products, and questionable as a leave-on treatment for dry or eczema-prone skin.

What it does well

• Effective lubricant and cleansing oil

  As a surface lipid it softens and lubricates well and dissolves make-up and sunscreen readily. The concerns below relate to repeated leave-on application, not to brief contact followed by rinsing.

  Moderate evidence

Worth knowing

• Repeated application measurably damages the skin barrier

  In a randomised forearm-controlled study, four weeks of twice-daily olive oil significantly reduced stratum corneum integrity and produced mild redness, in volunteers both with and without a history of eczema. Sunflower seed oil applied to the same volunteers' other arm did not. The authors concluded that olive oil for dry skin and infant massage should be discouraged.

  Matters most toAnyone using olive oil as a facial or body moisturiser, and especially parents using it for infant massage.

• Its main fatty acid is a known barrier disruptor

  Oleic acid is used deliberately in pharmaceutics as a penetration enhancer because it fluidises stratum corneum lipids. Controlled work in human skin found it adversely affected both water loss and electrical impedance, two standard measures of barrier integrity.

  Matters most toPeople with eczema, rosacea or an already-compromised barrier.

• Popular perception has not caught up with the evidence

  Olive oil's reputation as a gentle, natural moisturiser is widespread; a 2021 commentary in a leading allergy journal was pointedly titled 'Olive oil is for eating and not skin moisturization'. Small amounts inside a well-designed emulsion are a different proposition from neat oil applied twice daily.

  Matters most toAnyone choosing products on the assumption that natural oils are inherently safe for the skin.

Where the EU stands

Sources (3)

Every link goes to the original: a journal, a PubMed record or an EU document.

1. [1]
   Effect of olive and sunflower seed oil on the adult skin barrier: implications for neonatal skin care

   Pediatric Dermatology · 2013 · doi:10.1111/j.1525-1470.2012.01865.x

   Four weeks of topical olive oil significantly reduced stratum corneum integrity and induced mild erythema in adults with and without eczema history; the authors recommended against its use for dry skin and infant massage.

2. [2]
   Olive oil is for eating and not skin moisturization

   Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2021.04.037

   A commentary from barrier-biology researchers arguing that olive oil's oleic acid content makes it unsuitable as a skin moisturiser despite its dietary reputation.

3. [3]
   Time-Dependent Differences in the Effects of Oleic Acid and Oleyl Alcohol on the Human Skin Barrier

   Molecular Pharmaceutics · 2023 · doi:10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00648

   Oleic acid fluidised stratum corneum lipids and adversely affected two measures of barrier integrity, transepidermal water loss and skin electrical impedance, in ex vivo human skin.