Norma Kamali, who is not aged 75, considers olive oil to be her “favorite beauty food” and usually carries a mini bottle with her wherever she goes. The shiny, golden Jennifer Lopez insisted that she was a key ingredient in her new skin care line, having spread it on her hair and body since childhood. Gwyneth Paltrow and Beyoncé consume liberally. Sophia Loren literally bathes in it and looks at your. Is the fountain of youth lurking in our kitchen cabinets?
It has been said that if you wait long enough, everything that is old is new again. In the case of olive oil – which, like coconut oil before him, is suddenly the beautiful Windex being called a miracle worker for hair conditioning, skin softening, intestinal renewal and even tooth brushing – we are talking same old. Like, 5,000 years. The pharaohs rubbed it to soothe and moisturize their tanned skin, and the beauty fanatic Cleopatra included it in her vast self-care repertoire. Homer proclaimed olive oil as “liquid gold” and the first cold cream, which was prepared by the Greek physician Galen in year 2WLCentury AD and became a hot commodity in ancient Athens, it was made from it, mixed with beeswax and rose water.
Go forward a few millennia and here we are, tracking the growing proliferation of niche oils in coveted packaging – the stars of Insta Brightland and Wonder Valley among them – that are as displayable as they are ingestible. And now, olive oil is being marketed as a beauty product in its own right. The wellness brand Saint Supply recently launched Living Elixir, an organic specialty olive oil that should be taken alone, as a supplement, and not drizzled on the salad (it even comes with a glass). Founder Vicky Vlachonis, an osteopath based in LA, says her goal was to provide olive oil with exceptional levels of polyphenols, phytonutrients that have been scientifically proven to have strong anti-inflammatory properties. “The benefits of these natural compounds in Living Elixir oil are linked to better cardiovascular health, immune function, digestion, mental clarity and skin care,” she says.
Extra virgin olive oil also has high levels of antioxidants, including vitamin E, which, says Vlachonis, “can slow down or prevent damage to body cells caused by free radicals”, as well as squalene, “which works to stimulate healthy collagen connectivity, supporting skin elasticity and delaying the appearance of wrinkles. ”To ensure that Living Elixir contains the highest possible levels of all these good things, she obtains her olives from a rare high-phenolic variety grown only on Olympia region, in southern Greece, and actually packs them – each bottle contains the juice of approximately 1,100 handpicked organic olives.
But why drink? Although cooking with olive oil certainly has its benefits – after all, there is a reason why the Mediterranean Diet is consistently considered the healthiest in the world – some of the plant’s activity is lost in the heating process. Putting it in the salad or adding it to a smoothie in its raw form is great (Kamali puts hers in the popcorn), but Vlachonis believes it is best to taste it – preferably in the morning, when the gut is just waking up. “The Living Elixir is unique for its delicate aroma and characteristic spicy kick – a sharp final taste at the back of the throat that is an indicator of its high phenolic content. When you feel the spicy kick, you know you’re giving your body the essence for the health it deserves. “
As for spreading on the skin, the jury is out. The olive oil molecules are large, making them unable to penetrate deeply (although they are effective at retaining moisture, making Loren’s baths a victory). Note that J.Lo’s olive oil-based skin care has taken 100 formulations to be perfect. Its active blend incorporates olive leaf extract and fermented oil – and it also takes olive oil supplements. Interestingly, studies have shown that patients with severe burns have experienced an accelerated cure while consuming olive oil, indicating that it works better internally anyway. “I can occasionally add a few drops to my face at night,” says Vlachonis. “But I know that the real glow starts from within.”
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