Skin care - Olive oil for skin health

Olive oil types > Nutrition > Health benefits > For hair care > Moisturizer > Beauty tips > Olive oil for skin care

Olive oil for skin gives health benefits as moisturizer, natural cleanser, wrinkle remover, anti-aging antioxidant and repairer of damages.

The use of olive oil for skin health is a known 'secret' for thousands of years. Ancient residents of the Mediterranean regions like Egyptians, Romans and Greek were using it as a food and as well as a topical nourishment.

Consuming olive oil for skin health

• Skin is the largest and most exposed organ of our body and its health gets affected both from within and from outside.
• Free-radicals are being produced continuously in our body due to our activities and from the food and other products we take.
• These free radicals apart from affecting our other organs, affect our skin health, causing its ageing, wrinkles and diseases.
• Antioxidants are present in various food items and act in our body as neutraliser of the free-radicals, protecting our body from their harmful effects.
• Extra virgin olive oil is found to contain high amounts of antioxidants and including it in our diet regularly, protects our health from premature aging and wrinkle formation.

Applying olive oil for skin health

Our skin is continuously damaged by the weather elements, pollution and chemicals from outside.

Exposure to these elements causes damages to skin like dryness, wrinkles and premature aging.

Olive fruits in olive oil

Application of olive oil on our skin gives a number of benefits

• It gives smoothness and promotes fairness, radiance, health and glow to the complexion.
• Olive oil is well-absorbed and there is no greasy residue.
• It is a good cleanser and removes excess sebum and debris on the epidermis.
• It is useful as exfoliating mask and cleansing scrub.
• It is a good moisturizer, having no harmful chemicals and it locks-in the moisture.
• It prevents drying, chaffing and peeling.
• It maintains and improves the elasticity.
• It neutralises the oxidation effects from within and from outside environmental elements.
• Olive oil is very useful in treating sun burns and sun poisoning.
• It is effective in the treatment of skin health problems like acne, eczema and psoriasis.
• It prevents dryness, wrinkle formation, stretch marks and delays ageing of the skin.
• It reduces the brittleness of the nails and adds to their health, strength and pliability.
• Olive oil is an excellent hair conditioner, improves hair health and gives growth, shine and gloss to hair.

Health studies have shown about the preventive effects of application of this oil on the formation of basal cell carcinoma on radiation.

In persons affected by tinea versicolor infection its suitability is to be assessed as the fungus is lipophilic and grows well in sebum.

It is better to be avoided by tinea versicolor infection affected persons.

Olive oil being non-allergic is suitable for all types of applications for skin health.

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image courtesy: stu_spivack

Skin care: vitamin A for skin care

Vitamin A is a group of organic compounds having similar biological and chemical activities. Vitamin A is fat soluble vitamin and is essential for skin and vision care. Found in food items of animal origin Retinol is the main easily usable form of vitamin A.

Role in vision care

There are four kinds of photo pigments contained in human retina and they can store vitamin A compounds.
The retinol form has a special role in vision cycle. Rhodopsin, one of the retinal pigments is contained in rod cells of the retina. Rhodopsin is needed for rod cells to detect small amounts of light and to see black and white. Deficiency leads to night blindness by inhibiting the reformation of rhodopsin.

Skin care and immunity care

In the retinoic acid form, Vitamin A, plays an important role in gene transcription. It has active function in maintaining normal skin health and is a ingredient in skin care products. Several immunity connected activities are stimulated by it . It primes up the white blood cells to increase the responses to antigens and has anti-viral activity. It has a positive role in preventing shrinkage of thymus gland.

Care in food habits to prevent vitamin A deficiency

Vitamin A deficiency can occur in adults and in children. Lack of care in consuming adequate quantities of the vitamin’s source foods can lead to primary or secondary levels of deficiency. In new born, early weaning can lead to its deficiency unless care is taken to supplement it. In developing countries, the high incidence of blindness, viral infections, and child mortality due lack of care in food habits leading to its deficiency. In its deficiency the health of the skin, the elasticity of skin, hair, eyes, and immune system are affected. Further poor appetite, bone development abnormalities, and growth retardation are associated with insufficient intake of vitamin A. Hyperkeratosis of skin, a goose pimple like look of the skin caused by excessive production of keratin that blocks hair follicles. The skin becoming dry, scaly and rough and hair is lost.
With proper supplementation and skin care efforts normalcy of the skin can be achieved. Night blindness and total loss of vision can occur in prolonged deficiency by setting in of the condition called Xerophthalmia where in cornea of the eye and conjunctiva undergo change.

Toxicity

Being fat soluble, vitamin A is absorbed and stored in body when in excess.
This excess presence can cause nausea, jaundice, pains and general physical and mental debility. In-take in the form of fruits and vegetables does not usually cause toxicity.
Supplements in the form of tablets and animal sources have to monitored and care must be taken to avoid overdose.

Sources of vitamin A

Animal source of this nutrient include eggs, liver, products of milk fat. Carrots, colored fruits like mangoes, spinach and red pepper are found to abound in vitamin A.

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