Olive Oil

My face officially loves me. I've been using olive oil as my face moisturizer for the past two weeks and my face has never felt or looked better.

I was doing some readings the other week for my Classical Studies class on Hellenistic and Roman Egypt and I read how Egyptian mothers used olive oil on their babies. I knew about putting olive oil in your baby's bath to moisturize their skin, but I had never thought about applying olive oil directly to the skin.

Time to apply my University reading!

I looked up a few sites that day to make sure that it was safe and something that could be used on the face directly and night after I washed my face before going to bed, I went to the kitchen, got out our Extra Virgin Olive Oil and put it right on my face. At first the smell of it made me think I was supposed to be making a salad. But alas, I was in the bathroom not the kitchen! My face had never felt better. Instant relief and moisture.

My face is pretty dry and I've often heard the comment that my skin is dehydrated whenever I have gone to get a facial. But what could I do about that? I've tried a lot of different creams, nothing seemed to "work." So I figured, why not give olive oil a try!

I wondered if it would clog my pores and be bad for my face, but a lot of the sites I read about olive oil said that it wouldn't clog pores, in fact, it was an anti-oxidant and beneficial to your skin.

So it's been just over two weeks now, and I've used it as my moisturizer every night and morning. My skin feels soothed. That's the best way for me to put it. Creams, even natural ones, have been too strong for my face and often sting or they haven't been able to moisturize enough.

I think I've found what works for me, and I'm sticking with it!

I actually found that the little bit of acne I have has cleared up and my face isn't as splotchy or worn out-looking. Always a good thing. And it's also now my eye make up remover. I haven't had anything take off mascara so easily and smoothly. My eyes are left feeling loved!

I've also learned that moisturizing your skin comes from the inside too, not just what you put on the outside. So have a teaspoon of olive oil helps as well as making sure you're getting lots of water. Hydrate yourself inside, and reap the benefits on the outside!

Here are some sites that I read about before rubbing oil on my face:

Natural Skincare Secrets

Amazing Olive Oil

Olive Oil Source

And here is a great video to watch about the cosmetic industry from the fabulous site Story of Stuff



This video above reminds me of how many harsh chemicals are in beauty products. It's been two years now and I'm still trying hard to stick to my "don't put anything on your body you wouldn't put in your mouth" motto. It's pretty doable. Just takes awhile to find out what works for you.

Our Air Cleaners

Once we had our own home, we wanted to make sure our air was clean and fresh. I read about some ways to do this that don't involve spraying mist in the air that makes you sneeze.

1. We open our windows. Our apartment permanently had its windows open throughout the Summer and Fall. Now that it's colder, we keep them closed, but air out for at least an hour a day!

2. We bought plants. And named them.

This is Spidey. He's a Spider Plant. He grows like CRAZY.

This is Craig. He's a Janet Craig.

This is Palm. He's an Areca Palm.

This is Lily. She's a Peace Lily. Without flowers at the moment...

3. We bought a Pheylonian Pure Beeswax Candle. Ya. I didn't know it was called that. But we got it from Grassroots and here's some more info on it, very interesting!

Smells good and cleans the air!

All three of these things are what we do to breathe easier. Between that and our cleaning products, there's no smells that we don't want in our home!