At Furtuna Skin, we’re all about the olives. Our private 800+ acre farm boasts more than 12,000 olive trees, some of which are over 1,500 years old.
Olives are rich sources of antioxidants like oleic acid, essential fatty acids, and vitamins that help soothe, restore, and support skin regeneration. In addition, olives work remarkably well for combating dryness.
Together, we’ll explore the possibilities for improving skin texture and hydration by harnessing the power of this simple, unassuming fruit.
What Is Dry Skin?
Dry skin is a skin type, but it has many root causes. Genetics play a major role in whether or not you’ll have dry skin, but the environment and the products you use can also make a difference.
If you use harsh cleansers and face washes that strip your skin of natural moisture, your skin’s moisture balance may become unbalanced. This can even cause you to have oily skin. When your skin is dry, your sebaceous glands can begin to produce excess oil to compensate.
One olive oil benefit that helps dry skin is that it helps support the skin’s natural moisture levels, absorbing excess oil in oily areas and supporting oil production in dry areas.
How Can Olive Oil Benefit Dry Skin?
Antioxidant Properties
Understanding free radicals and how they damage skin is essential to understanding how skin ends up dry and dull.
Free radicals are unbalanced atoms that are missing electrons. They seek healthy molecules and take their electrons, causing damage to the cells where those healthy molecules live (like your skin cells). Free radicals come from sources like:
- The sun’s ultraviolet rays
- Pollution
- Cigarette smoke
- Household cleaning supplies
The damage free radicals cause can leave your skin feeling dry, dull, and depleted. Free radicals can also leave your skin with fine lines, wrinkles, and sunspots.
Antioxidants protect your skin cells by acting as martyrs, voluntarily offering up their own electrons to keep your skin cells protected. Olive oil is a rich source of antioxidants and offers more antioxidant protection than vitamin C.
Emollient and Humectant Properties
To stay completely hydrated and moisturized, your skin needs emollients and humectants.
Emollients like squalene and coconut oil work to keep skin feeling smooth, soft, and supple. They help rough areas of dry skin stay elastic and fill in cracks and crevices to improve the skin’s overall texture. Here at Furtuna Skin, we use squalane, the vegan, vegetable-derived form of squalene, in our formulas.
Humectants like hyaluronic acid and glycerin pull water molecules into your skin and hold them there, helping your skin fight moisture loss and supporting the natural hydration of your skin.
Olive oil works as both an emollient and a humectant. One of the benefits of olive oil for dry skin is its dual properties of skin conditioning and hydration due to its high levels of vitamin E, a natural emollient and humectant.
Protecting the Skin Barrier
The stratum corneum, also known as the skin barrier or lipid barrier, is the uppermost layer of your skin. It has two important functions: protecting you from external stressors and protecting your skin against moisture loss.
Your skin barrier loses function when it becomes damaged. However, the fatty acids inside olive oil are a nourishing skin moisturizer and help support skin barrier function.
Soothing Properties
Dryness is often a symptom of an underlying skin condition. If you have sensitive skin, using certain skincare products that contain harsh ingredients can cause side effects like peeling, itching, or decreased moisture levels.
Olive oil has cleansing properties and skin-soothing plant phenols to help alleviate signs of stressed and troubled skin. Even skin that is prone to blemishes and breakouts can find relief in olive oil, which helps clear clogged pores and support balance in your skin’s natural moisture levels.
No matter your skin type (dry, oily, normal, or combination), the skin benefits of olive oil can help bring your skin back to balance.
Supports Youthful-Looking Skin
Let’s face it; we’re all looking for ways to slow the hands of time. As we age, skin cell turnover begins to slow. This means that dead skin cells can collect on the surface of the skin, causing the skin to appear dull and lackluster. It also means new skin cells aren’t created as quickly.
In addition, collagen production begins to decline. Collagen is a natural protein that keeps your skin looking plump and youthful.
As these two processes occur, your sebaceous glands begin to produce less and less sebum, which is your skin’s natural oil. This can leave your skin feeling dry and dehydrated.
While numerous beauty products claim they can help protect your skin against premature aging, olive oil is scientifically backed. The consumption and topical application of olive oil can both have amazing health benefits for your skin, including minimizing the appearance of early signs of aging.
Additionally, olive oil helps support youthful-looking skin and new cell growth without the harsh effects of irritating exfoliating products.
Harnessing the Power of the Olive With Furtuna Skin
For dry skin, a few drops of olive oil can help restore balance. You’ll find our single-source, extra-virgin olive oil, along with a powerful blend of plant botanicals, in our luxurious Biphase Moisturizing Oil.
This powerful blend of oils features a unique, wildcrafted blend of herbs clinically proven to block free radical protection by 100%. When used in addition to sunscreen, this oil can support your skin through sun damage and the effects of an urban environment every time you use it.
This oil is best used after our Daily Renewal Cream in the morning and our Nightly Renewal Cream in the evening. With daily use, your skin may feel more hydrated, and areas of dry, rough skin may feel smoother.
Ultra Hydration for Dry Skin
Ditch your traditional lotion and opt for the power and potency of olive oil to help restore the balance of dry skin. Olive oil is rich in vitamins, nutrients, phytochemicals, and fatty acids to help support skin hydration for hours.
At Furtuna Skin, our mission is to combine old-world knowledge with new-world innovation through the power of olive oil. You’ll find it at the base of every product we create.
The result? Powerfully potent ingredients that work gently for every skin type.
Sources:
Anti-Inflammatory and Restorative Effects of Olives in Topical Application | PMC
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