The use of Olive oil for cosmetic purposes dates back to at least 3000 years ago. Since the Pharaoh era, Egyptians mixed olive oil with beeswax and used it as a highly effective cleanser with additional moisturizing and antibacterial action. Ancient Greeks and Romans also used olive oil as a substitute for soap that back then was not available. They patiently massaged olive oil into their skin and following scraped it off their bodies along with sweat, dirt and dead skin. In addition, nobles also used olive oil for its excellent moisturizing and skin-softening properties. In Homer’s great work “Iliad”, we see Odysseus along with Diomedes having themselves coated with olive oil right after finishing their bath. The reputable Carthaginian military commander Hannibal, well-aware of the skin-reviving and muscle-relaxing properties of olive oil, ordered his men to eat well and coat their bodies with olive oil before the great battle on the banks of Trebia river (218 BC).
In present days, an entire industry has been established around the cosmetic properties of olive oil. Exploiting the recent trend promoting a healthy lifestyle, natural cosmetic products based on olive oil have been gaining ground over conventional ones. Olive-oil soap bars are becoming more and more popular while the number of face and body creams using olive oil as a main ingredient has exploded. The list goes on with hair conditioners, shampoos, nail strengtheners, moisturizers, face masks as well as countless body cleansing products.