Olive Oil on Skin and Hair: An Honest Look
Olive oil has been rubbed into skin and hair for several thousand years, and the internet is full of confident advice about it. The research is considerably less flattering than the folklore, and in one specific case it points the other way entirely.
Let me be blunt at the outset, because this piece disagrees with a great deal of what you will read elsewhere. I love olive oil. I have spent my life around it. And I would not put it on eczema-prone skin, and I would not put it on a baby.
What the research actually found
The most-cited work here is a forearm-controlled study published in 2013, in which adult volunteers — some with a history of atopic dermatitis, some without — applied a few drops of oil twice daily for several weeks. In the comparison arm, one forearm received olive oil and the other sunflower seed oil.
The result was not what folklore predicts. Topical olive oil over four weeks caused a significant reduction in the integrity of the stratum corneum, the outermost barrier layer of the skin, and produced mild redness — in volunteers with and without a history of eczema. Sunflower seed oil, applied the same way, preserved barrier integrity, caused no redness, and improved hydration. The authors concluded that olive oil for dry skin and for infant massage should be discouraged.
The suspected mechanism is oleic acid — the very monounsaturated fat that makes olive oil valuable as a food. Oleic acid is known to disrupt the ordered lipid structure of the skin barrier. Sunflower oil is high in linoleic acid instead, which appears to support barrier function rather than undermine it.
| Popular claim | What the evidence suggests | Sensible verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Olive oil is an excellent moisturiser | Occlusive, so it slows water loss short-term, but repeated use measurably weakened barrier integrity in trials | Occlusive yes, restorative no |
| Good for baby massage | The most-cited study specifically advised against it for neonatal skin care | Avoid ; choose an oil studied for the purpose |
| Helps eczema | Barrier disruption is precisely what you do not want in atopic skin | Avoid on eczema-prone skin |
| Great deep conditioner for hair | Coats and smooths the shaft ; evidence for penetration is weaker than for coconut oil | Fine as a pre-wash treatment, oversold as a repair |
| Anti-ageing when applied | No good clinical evidence for topical anti-ageing effects | Unsupported |
| Soothes chapped lips | Simple occlusion works on intact lip skin | Harmless and plausibly helpful |
| Eating it benefits skin | Better-supported route : fatty acids and vitamin E via the diet | The stronger case |
What olive oil does do
Having been fairly brutal, some fairness. Olive oil is occlusive — a layer of it on the skin slows water evaporating away, which is why it feels immediately softening. On intact, healthy adult skin, an occasional application is not going to harm anybody, and on chapped lips or rough heels it does exactly what any fat would do.
For hair the picture is more favourable, though still oversold. Oil applied before washing reduces the swelling and mechanical damage that water and shampoo inflict on the hair shaft, and it coats and smooths the cuticle, which makes hair look glossier and comb more easily. Whether olive oil penetrates the shaft as effectively as coconut oil, which has the better evidence for this, is doubtful. As a pre-wash treatment it is pleasant, cheap and harmless. It is not repairing anything — hair is dead protein and cannot be repaired, only better protected.
| Main fatty acid | Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat — the suspected cause of barrier disruption |
|---|---|
| Effect on skin barrier | Reduced stratum corneum integrity after repeated application in controlled trials |
| Comparison oil | Sunflower seed oil, high in linoleic acid, preserved barrier and improved hydration |
| Who should avoid it | Anyone with eczema or atopic-prone skin ; infants and neonates |
| Reasonable uses | Chapped lips, rough heels, occasional use on intact adult skin, pre-wash hair treatment |
| Unsupported claims | Topical anti-ageing, eczema treatment, cellular renewal |
| Better-supported route | Eating it, as part of a Mediterranean-style diet |
Why the folklore persists
Partly because it is very old, and antiquity is persuasive. Partly because the immediate sensation is genuinely pleasant — occlusion feels like repair. And partly because olive oil is cheap, natural-sounding and already in the kitchen, which makes it the default recommendation in a thousand well-meaning articles that cite each other rather than any research.
There is also a category error at work. Olive oil is genuinely one of the best things you can eat, and the phenolic compounds in a good extra virgin are genuinely interesting molecules. It does not follow that rubbing it on the outside of your body does anything comparable. Skin is a barrier designed specifically to stop things getting through it, and the compounds that matter in the diet are not necessarily the compounds that matter on the surface. This is general information, not medical advice ; anyone with a skin condition should be talking to a clinician rather than experimenting with the larder.
Practical guidance
- Do not use olive oil on infant skin or on eczema-prone skin. This is the one firm recommendation here.
- For general dryness, a properly formulated emollient beats any kitchen oil, and sunflower oil has better evidence than olive.
- As a pre-wash hair treatment it is fine — warm a little, leave it on for half an hour, wash it out.
- Chapped lips and rough heels are perfectly reasonable uses. Simple occlusion, no harm done.
- Eat it instead. That is where the evidence for olive oil is genuinely strong.
Olive oil for skin and hair: common questions
Is olive oil good for your skin?
Less good than folklore suggests. It is occlusive, so it slows moisture loss, but controlled studies found that repeated application reduced skin barrier integrity and caused mild redness. This is general information, not medical advice.
Can I use olive oil on a baby?
The most-cited research specifically advised against olive oil for infant massage and neonatal skin care, because of its effect on the developing skin barrier. Choose a product studied for that purpose instead.
Why is sunflower oil better for skin?
It is high in linoleic acid, which appears to support the skin barrier, whereas olive oil is high in oleic acid, which disrupts it. In the same study sunflower oil preserved barrier integrity and improved hydration.
Does olive oil repair damaged hair?
No oil repairs hair — hair is dead protein. Oil applied before washing reduces swelling and mechanical damage, and coats the cuticle so hair looks glossier. That is protection and cosmetics, not repair.
Is it safe to use on lips or dry heels?
Yes, on intact skin it is harmless and works as a simple occlusive. The caution applies to eczema-prone skin and to infants.
This is the one subject where I find myself arguing against my own product, and I would rather do that than repeat something comfortable. Olive oil deserves its reputation as a food and has been given a second, borrowed reputation as a cosmetic that the evidence does not support. If someone in your family has eczema, or you have a newborn, please do not take beauty advice from articles that recycle each other — including the ones that will tell you this piece is wrong. Keep the good oil for the plate. That is where it earns its keep, and where every serious study says it does the most good.
Drawn from the 2013 forearm-controlled study of olive and sunflower seed oil on the adult skin barrier published in Pediatric Dermatology, and subsequent reviews of natural oils used for moisturisation.