Olive Oil for Skin: Benefits, Uses & What You Need to Know

Olive oil has been used on the skin for centuries and is a popular ingredient in modern skincare. But what does it actually do for your skin?

Olive oil is naturally rich in fatty acids, particularly oleic acid, and also contains smaller amounts of compounds including squalene, tocopherols (forms of vitamin E) and phenolic compounds. These make it useful as an emollient, helping skin feel softer and smoother.

However, the science around olive oil and skincare isn't as simple as saying that it's "good for your skin". Research into applying pure olive oil directly to the skin has produced mixed results, particularly when it comes to the skin barrier.

It's also important to discuss the differences in applying pure olive oil directly to your skin and using a skincare product that has been formulated with olive oil alongside other ingredients.

Here's what the research tells us.

Is Olive Oil Good for Your Skin?

Olive oil can be a useful ingredient in skincare, particularly for its emollient properties.

Emollients help soften and smooth the outer surface of the skin by filling some of the spaces between skin cells. This can make dry or rough skin feel more comfortable and soft.

Olive oil also contains a range of naturally occurring compounds good for skincare, including fatty acids, squalene, tocopherols and phenolic compounds.[1]

That doesn't mean olive oil is the ideal ingredient for every person or every skin concern.

Research into pure olive oil applied directly to the skin has produced mixed results. Some studies have reported improved skin hydration, while other research has found that repeated application of pure olive oil may cause issues the skin barrier.[2][3]

The way olive oil is used matters.

What's Actually in Olive Oil?

Olive oil isn't a single compound. It's a mixture mainly of triglycerides containing fatty acids, along with a much smaller amount of other naturally occurring components.

Its exact composition can also vary depending on factors including the olive variety, growing region, harvesting and processing methods.[1]

Some of the components most relevant to skincare include:

Component	Why it's relevant to skincare
Oleic acid	The main fatty acid in olive oil and an important contributor to its emollient properties
Linoleic acid	An essential polyunsaturated fatty acid present in smaller amounts
Squalene	A naturally occurring lipid also found in human sebum
Tocopherols	Compounds including forms of vitamin E with antioxidant activity
Phenolic compounds	Naturally occurring plant compounds studied for their antioxidant properties

These compounds help explain why olive oil has good interest in both cosmetic science and dermatology.

It's important not to confuse the presence of a beneficial compound with proof that a finished product will deliver a particular result. The overall formulation matters.

What Are the Benefits of Olive Oil for Skin?

1. It Can Help Soften and Smooth the Skin

One of olive oil's clearest roles in skincare is as an emollient.

The outermost layer of your skin is sometimes compared to a brick wall. Skin cells act like the bricks, while lipids are the spaces around them.

Emollient ingredients help smooth the surface and fill some of those spaces, which can make dry or rough skin feel softer.

This is different from directly adding water to your skin.

2. It Can Contribute to Moisturising Formulations

The words hydrating and moisturising are often used interchangeably, but they aren't quite the same thing.

Water is what hydrates the skin. Oils primarily contribute lipids and can help soften the skin and influence how moisture is retained.

That's why many moisturisers combine different types of ingredients rather than relying on a single oil.

A formulation might contain:

• Humectants, which attract and hold water
• Emollients, which help soften and smooth the skin
• Occlusive ingredients, which help reduce water loss

Olive oil can contribute primarily as an emollient within this type of formulation.

3. It Contains Naturally Occurring Antioxidant Compounds

Olive oil contains minor components including tocopherols, phenolic compounds and squalene.[1]

These compounds are of interest because of their antioxidant activity.

Antioxidants can help counter oxidation caused by reactive molecules, which is why they are widely studied in nutrition, dermatology and cosmetic science.

However, claims around antioxidants should be kept in perspective.

The fact that olive oil contains antioxidant compounds doesn't automatically mean that putting olive oil on your skin will prevent wrinkles, reverse ageing or repair sun damage. Those sorts of claims require evidence from studies of the specific ingredient, concentration and formulation being used.

4. It Can Be Useful in Products Designed for Dry Feeling Skin

Because olive oil acts as an emollient, it can make sense as one ingredient of products designed to soften dry feeling skin.

Dry skin generally benefits from moisturisers that help replace or supplement surface lipids and reduce the loss of moisture from the skin.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends regular moisturiser use for dry skin, particularly applying moisturiser while the skin is still slightly damp.[4]

That doesn't mean applying pure olive oil is necessarily the best approach, given the mixed research surrounding repeated direct application.

Is Olive Oil Good for Dry Skin?

It can be, particularly when olive oil is incorporated into a properly formulated moisturising product.

Dry skin occurs when the outer layer of the skin doesn't retain enough water and lipids to maintain its usual softness.

Because olive oil is rich in fatty acids and has emollient properties, it can help give moisturising products a rich, skin softening character.

But there's an important distinction here.

Using a moisturiser formulated with olive oil isn't the same as applying pure olive oil directly to dry skin.

A finished moisturiser can combine olive oil with water, humectants, other emollients, ingredients and other components designed to work together.

Does Olive Oil Support the Skin Barrier?

The answer is more complicated than many skincare claims suggest.

Your skin barrier refers largely to the outermost part of your skin. One of its most important jobs is limiting water loss while protecting the body from the outside environment.

Plant oils can work with this barrier differently depending on their fatty acid composition.

A 2018 dermatology review concluded that plant oils containing a higher ratio of linoleic acid to oleic acid tend to have greater skin barrier repair potential, while oils high in oleic acid may in some circumstances negatively affect barrier function.[5]

Olive oil is relatively high in oleic acid.

One frequently cited 2013 study involved 19 adult volunteers. Researchers had participants apply pure olive oil to their forearms twice daily for several weeks. They found that repeated olive oil application reduced the integrity of the stratum corneum and caused mild redness.[2]

That sounds concerning, but it isn't the end of the story.

A more recent 2025 randomised study involving 54 healthy adults compared extra virgin olive oil with petrolatum. Researchers found that both increased skin barrier hydration and produced improvements in several measured skin characteristics.[3]

So what should we take from this?

The current evidence doesn't justify a blanket statement such as "olive oil repairs the skin barrier." It also doesn't mean that every skincare product containing olive oil damages it.

These studies investigated direct application of olive oil, not products formulated containing olive oil.

The concentration of olive oil, the other ingredients present, the type of product, how often it's used and an individual's skin can all influence how a product performs.

Can You Put Olive Oil Directly on Your Skin?

You can apply olive oil to your skin, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best way to use it.

Pure olive oil is very different from a moisturiser, cleanser or product that has been professionally formulated using olive oil alongside other ingredients.

Repeated application of neat olive oil has produced mixed results in research, including the skin barrier concerns discussed above.[2][3]

For that reason, we don't believe the benefits of olive oil in skincare should be reduced to simply taking olive oil from the kitchen and putting it on your skin.

At Olivskin, we use olive oil as part of our formulations, combining it with other ingredients according to the purpose of each product.

That's an important thing.

Olive Oil in Skincare vs Olive Oil From Your Kitchen

When you see olive oil listed as an ingredient in a skincare product, you're using the finished formulation, not olive oil in isolation.

Consider a moisturiser.

Its performance can depend on:

Olive oil + other emollients + humectants + occlusive ingredients + water + emulsifiers + the concentration of each ingredient + the overall formulation

The same applies to cleansers.

An oil used as one component of a body wash isn't being used in the same way as an oil left sitting directly on your skin.

This is why looking at one ingredient in isolation can only tell you so much about a skincare product.

It's the complete formulation that matters.

Is Olive Oil Suitable for Your Face?

Whether a product containing olive oil suits your face depends on much more than the presence of olive oil.

Your skin type, the amount of olive oil in the product, the rest of the formulation and your individual skin response all matter.

Someone with dry feeling skin may enjoy a richer emollient formulation, while someone with very oily or acne prone skin may prefer lighter products.

There's also a difference between using pure olive oil as a facial oil and using a facial moisturiser formulated with a measured amount of olive oil.

If you're prone to irritation, acne or a diagnosed skin condition, introducing new products gradually and discussing your skin concerns with a qualified health professional is sensible.

Does Olive Oil Clog Pores?

There isn't a simple answer.

You'll often find ingredients assigned a comedogenic rating online, usually on a scale to represent how likely they are to clog pores.

These ratings can be useful as a rough reference, but they have significant limitations.

Whether a finished product contributes to clogged pores can depend on:

• The concentration of the ingredient
• The complete formulation
• Other ingredients in the product
• How much product is applied
• Your individual skin
• Your existing skincare routine

This means you can't reliably predict whether a moisturiser will clog your pores based solely on the presence of olive oil.

What Types of Skincare Products Can Contain Olive Oil?

Olive oil can be incorporated into many different types of personal care formulations, including:

• Face moisturisers
• Body moisturisers and body butters
• Cleansers
• Body washes
• Soap
• Body scrubs
• Hand care
• Lip products
• Hair and scalp products

Its purpose won't always be identical in each one.

In a moisturiser, it may primarily contribute emolliency and richness. In a cleanser or wash off product, it's used within an entirely different formulation and is rinsed from the skin.

That's another reason why judging an ingredient without considering the product around it can be misleading.

Why We Use Olive Oil at Olivskin

Olive oil has been at the heart of Olivskin from the beginning.

We use it because of its emollient properties and naturally occurring lipid profile, but we don't believe any one ingredient is a miracle solution for your skin.

Instead, we use olive oil alongside other ingredients selected according to what each product needs to do, whether that's cleansing, moisturising, exfoliating or conditioning.

For us, olive oil is an important part of the formulation rather than the entire story.

The Bottom Line: Is Olive Oil Good for Skin?

Olive oil can be a useful skincare ingredient because its fatty acid rich composition gives it emollient properties that can help skin feel softer and smoother. It also naturally contains compounds including squalene, tocopherols and phenolic compounds.

However, research into applying pure olive oil directly to the skin is mixed. Some studies have found improvements in hydration, while other research has raised concerns about repeated neat olive oil use and skin barrier integrity.

The most important distinction is that pure olive oil and a skincare product formulated with olive oil aren't the same thing.

When choosing skincare, consider the complete formulation, your skin type and what you're trying to achieve rather than relying on the reputation of any single ingredient.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is olive oil good for your skin?

Olive oil has emollient properties that can help soften and smooth the skin, and it contains fatty acids and naturally occurring compounds including squalene, tocopherols and phenolic compounds. However, research into pure olive oil applied directly to the skin has produced mixed results, so its effect depends on how it is used and the overall formulation of the product.

Is olive oil good for dry skin?

Olive oil can contribute emollient properties to products designed for dry feeling skin. However, applying pure olive oil directly isn't necessarily equivalent to using a moisturiser formulated with olive oil and other complementary ingredients.

Does olive oil hydrate your skin?

Strictly speaking, water hydrates the skin. Olive oil primarily acts as an emollient, helping soften the skin. A well formulated moisturiser may combine oils such as olive oil with water binding humectants and ingredients that help reduce moisture loss.

Can you put olive oil directly on your face?

It's possible to apply olive oil directly to your face, but it may not suit every skin type. Research into repeated direct application of olive oil has produced mixed findings, particularly regarding skin barrier function. A formulated facial product containing olive oil is also quite different from applying pure olive oil.

Does olive oil clog pores?

There is no reliable yes or no answer for everyone. Whether a product contributes to clogged pores depends on the entire formulation, ingredient concentrations and individual skin response rather than olive oil alone.

Is skincare containing olive oil the same as applying cooking olive oil?

No. A skincare product may contain olive oil alongside water, humectants, emulsifiers, other oils, and functional ingredients at carefully selected concentrations. Its behaviour on the skin can therefore be very different from pure olive oil used by itself.

References & Further Reading

1. Viola P, Viola M. Virgin olive oil as a fundamental nutritional component and skin protector. Clinical Dermatology. 2009;27(2):159–165. DOI: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2008.01.008.

2. Danby SG, AlEnezi T, Sultan A, et al. Effect of olive and sunflower seed oil on the adult skin barrier: implications for neonatal skin care. Pediatric Dermatology. 2013;30(1):42–50. DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1470.2012.01865.x.

3. Rubio-Santoyo A, Sanabria-de la Torre R, Montero-Vílchez T, et al. Effects of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Petrolatum on Skin Barrier Function and Microtopography. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025;14(13):4675. DOI: 10.3390/jcm14134675.

4. American Academy of Dermatology Association. Dermatologists' top tips for relieving dry skin.

5. Vaughn AR, Clark AK, Sivamani RK, Shi VY. Natural Oils for Skin-Barrier Repair: Ancient Compounds Now Backed by Modern Science. American Journal of Clinical Dermatology. 2018;19(1):103–117. DOI: 10.1007/s40257-017-0301-1.

6. Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL. Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018;19(1):70. DOI: 10.3390/ijms19010070.

This article is intended for general educational purposes and isn't a substitute for personalised medical advice. If you have persistent skin irritation, eczema, acne or another skin condition, speak with an appropriate healthcare professional.