Olive oil has been used for many natural remedies for centuries. Science has been able to break down olive oil on the molecular level to give us reasons why it has been used in the past and how it continues to be an essential oil in the present. The science tells us that women over 50 should be using olive oil to moisturize their skin.
Here’s why…
What happens to your skin when you turn 50?
The average woman starts producing less sebum (natural oil) at the age of 20. Hormone imbalances are fairly common now causing more oil production especially in women with high testosterone. At the age of 50 is when you see a more dramatic decrease in oil production in our skin and decreases at a much quicker rate after 50 years old.
The age of 50 is also when women start struggling to find the perfect moisturizer for their skin type.
Most of us hate having oily skin but it’s the sebum that protects our skin from the sun, pollution, and other environmental elements.
Once you turn 50, you will miss your oil production and not even know its the oil that you are missing. Dry skin at that age is very bothersome. Some women are on blood thinners due to high cholesterol, the dry skin can cause the skin to break easily leading to longer lasting bleeding.
Not only do women over the age of 50 experience dry skin from less oil production, but they are now more susceptible to sun damage. Skin cancer risks increase dramatically once we hit 50.
Here is a chart to show the increased skin cancer rates by age:
How does sebum (oil) protect against skin cancer
Your sebum contains two very important properties to protect the skin. Squalene and vitamin E.
Squalene acts as a protective layer preventing water loss keeping your skin moisturized. Squalene also has shown to protect against several carcinogens.
Squalene by itself can become oxidized by UV radiation (the sun). However, it does not breakdown on the skin because sebum also contains vitamin E. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant to prevent this.
The squalene and vitamin E in your natural oils are very protective against sun damage and loss of water.
This is the reason why your skin begins to dry, crack, and skin cancer risk increases when sebum production decreases.
Squalene, vitamin E and oil production are at their highest concentration on the skin below the age of 10. Notice there are no cases of skin cancer reported below the age of 10.
What properties are in olive oil to make it the best natural moisturizer for women over 50?
Now that we are 50 and missing our oil production, olive oil is the next best natural replacement to use on our skin.
- Olive oil contains very similar properties to your own sebum on your skin. It also contains squalene and vitamin E. You won’t find squalene in coconut oil!
- Olive oil rarely clogs pores and contains antibacterial properties helping prevent bacterial caused acne. (acne at age 50 is most likely caused by hormone imbalance or menopause, get your hormones tested here)
- You can even use the organic extra virgin olive oil you cook with to moisturize your skin (multiple uses AND save money)
- Olive oil also offers UV protection. It’s the carrier oil of my natural sunscreen mix.
- Olive oil is also the carrier oil for effective natural mosquito repellent (mix THIS for all-in-one mosquito repellent AND sunscreen)
- Olive oil is natural with no known side effects aside from a very rare case of allergies but unheard of
The only objection I have heard about using olive oil as a natural skin moisturizer is the smell. Olive oil does have a smell but it actually dissipates rather quickly on the skin.
A tip to improving the smell of olive oil is to add a few drops of other essential oils such as lemongrass or lavender. These essential oils are the safest to use on the skin to turn your olive oil moisturizer into a nice smelling perfume.
How do you use olive oil as a skin moisturizer?
Olive oil begins moisturizing only seconds after applying it to the skin. It is very fast acting. The more times you apply it regularly, the more your skin will stay moisturized and over time, you won’t need to apply it as regular.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our Affiliate Disclosure here.
You should apply olive oil in the shower or right after the shower. If your skin is very dry, you may want to do both.
Do make sure you have a shower filter (This shower filter has the best reviews and most popular). The chlorine in city water is very drying for skin over the age of 50. Put the grandkids to work and help you with this easy shower filter I recommend to install.
When applying olive oil in the shower, apply it last and wait about a minute to wash it off. This way prevents your skin from being too oily possibly leading to slips and falls. Go ahead and apply it on your face, and everywhere else.
Your body naturally makes oil everywhere except your hands and feet. The body parts that produce the most oils are your scalp and your face (the parts skin cancer is most commonly found).
After your shower, it may be good to add a little extra oil on those extra dry spots like elbows and knees.
Where can you find natural olive oil moisturizer?
The most economical way to find it is in your kitchen already. I only recommend Sky Organics extra virgin olive oil.
There are brands that offer face moisturizer that concentrates the squalene, vitamin E, and other special ingredients to help even more with wrinkles. Most brands hydrogenate the squalene into squalane to increase its shelf life. It works the same on your skin. Here are a few recommendations:
C2 California Clean Skin Transformation Travel Kit
This kit contains more than the squalane + vitamin E oil. Bonus and luxury skin care here from California.
- Advanced Hyaluronic Hydrating Skincare Primer
- Apple Stem Cell Serum
- Citrus Stem Cell Creme
- Ageless Facial Oil: Squalene + Vit E in 15ml size and bag
This kit is for women over the age of 50 or even younger who want to reverse years off their skin.
C2 California Clean Organic Skin Care Ageless Facial Oil – Squalane + Vit E
Here is the squalane + vitamin E serum you can order by itself. This is a concentrated form of squalane and vitamin e from natural sources. You get a much higher concentration of just the good stuff we’ve been talking about compared to cooking olive oil at a much lower concentration.
Sky Organics Award Winning Cooking Olive Oil
This is the cooking olive oil I recommend for its purity, organic certification, and it’s won awards. You don’t need the higher concentrations of the “good stuff” if you are ok with applying olive oil every time you shower. The good thing about getting the squalene and vitamin e from cooking olive oil is it comes in a much larger bottle to be able to apply it over your whole body.
Most women are more concerned about their face and should be as it’s most susceptible to skin cancer. In that case, I would use the concentrated oils recommended previously.
But, if you want to moisturize your whole body with a natural, organic, and economic product, I would use this olive oil. It’s also more healthy for you to cook with than other cooking oils. Bonus!
Summary
The best way to moisturize your skin over the age of 50 is to replace your natural oils that have decreased production with a natural skin care product containing the same ingredients as your natural oils.
That natural skin care product is olive oil containing squalene and vitamin E.
Use a concentrated longer shelf-life product of squalane + Vitamin E if you are seeking baby soft skin again and to greatly reduce your risk of skin cancer.
The New Health Cycle 