Why Olive Oil Fails As A Topical Acne Treatment
Olive oil can be the only cooking oil of which every dietary sect whether paleo, vegan, fruitarian, or the government food pyramid agrees can be extremely healthy, in addition to its powers can add to your acne-clearing efforts as well.
For one thing, olive oil contains high amounts of vitamin E, the joint greatest nutrient for preventing blocked pores. Secondly, the fat in olive oil can be 70% oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat which lowers chronic inflammation.
Finally, there’s what the idea isn’t: extra virgin olive oil can be free by chemical solvents, rancid fats, in addition to mutated trans-fats thanks to humanity’s 3000-year-old history in addition to experience of cold-pressing the idea. Olive oil also contains only 15.5% polyunsaturated fat compared to 66%, 58% in addition to 55% in sunflower oil, soybean oil in addition to corn oil. Polyunsaturated fats oxidise with impunity when eaten, draining your Centeng of antioxidants you need to prevent acne.
For those reasons, extra virgin olive oil ties with extra virgin coconut oil as the number one cooking oil you could roast potatoes or drizzle salad with.
although here’s something else you should know: olive oil can be a highly overrated topical treatment for acne. Extra virgin olive oil can be fantastically healthy to eat, although when you put the idea on your skin, the story adjustments completely.
the idea all commenced with the Mediterranean fad diet, which has been reported on in newspapers for years today. Many experimental acne patients have theorised of which the nutritional goodness might translate superbly to the face in addition to become a miracle.
although in reality, extra virgin olive oil stands alongside coconut oil in addition to cocoa butter as a promising topical treatment which gets derailed by several innate flaws. The whole appeal lies inside advertising. Olive oil companies state of which Italians, Spaniards, in addition to Greeks use olive oil for everything; they rub the idea into their hands in addition to feet, into their face as a moisturiser, they add the idea to shampoo to get sleek hair.
If you’ve ever travelled to those countries you’ll notice of which their skin tone can be fantastic. today, acne patients everywhere are trying to mimic This kind of.
However, while some foods contain compounds which do work just as well when applied topically, such as antioxidant-rich fruits in addition to vegetables, olive oil transforms into a completely different substance when applied externally.
Power one – may fade away old acne scars
There’s no denying of which olive oil has some decent powers, in addition to one of the most promising in studies can be an ability to accelerate wound healing.
Firstly we have a study which began by commenting of which olive oil can be used for treating wounds in Iran. 24 male 16-month old mice were gathered, divided into control in addition to experimental groups, in addition to had all their fur shaved off. tiny incisions were made in their skin, in addition to while the control group received nothing although distilled water, the experimental group had their wounds injected with oleuropein. Oleuropein can be a phenolic antioxidant which can be responsible for many of olive oil’s heart health benefits. This kind of treatment regimen lasted for 7 days.
Distilled water accomplished very little, although oleuropein led to a significant increase in collagen deposition inside wound in addition to an advanced pace of re-epithelisation. Collagen can be the number one protein involved in wound healing, in addition to importantly for us, increasing your Centeng’s collagen production can allow old acne scars to heal faster as well, because they heal just like a standard wound.
The scientists commented inside conclusion of which “these results suggest of which oleuropein accelerates skin wound healing in aged male Balb/c mice”. A second study performed by the same team Just as before observed much better collagen deposition in addition to faster re-epithelisation, in addition to This kind of time, increased blood flow to mice’s wounds as well.
Oleuropein can be considered to be the signature compound of olive oil, so we have at least one piece of positive evidence, although we don’t know whether the results will apply to humans. Unless you’re a 16-month-old male mouse, these results are not enough for me to recommend topical olive oil. What’s more, oleuropein can be one compound among hundreds. The results could be scuppered if a substance like oleic acid turns out to slow wound healing. The studies would certainly mean more if we had data showing of which olive oil itself increases collagen deposition in addition to re-epithelisation, although we don’t.
Consider cocoa butter, for example. If you extracted the natural ceramide compounds in addition to tested them on acne scars in addition to wound healing, you might conclude of which cocoa butter can be an amazing treatment for acne. although cocoa butter also scores a 4/5 on the American Journal of Dermatology’s comedogenic scale, giving the idea a “high” chance the idea’ll clog your pores.
Power two – great vitamin E content
of which’s one very weak positive in olive oil’s favour then, in addition to today we come to vitamin E, which can be easily extra virgin olive oil’s most promising feature. Extra virgin olive contains 10% of RDA for vitamin E per tablespoon. the idea blows most additional topical treatments whether raw honey, coconut oil, or witch hazel out of the water.
Vitamin E can be needed to prevent the oxidation of squalene, a fatty acid which forms 11% of sebum. Oxidised squalene turns into squalene peroxide, one of the most notorious pore-blocking substances in nature.
Ordinarily, your Centeng equips all manufactured squalene with vitamin E defences to prevent This kind of by happening. However, applying vitamin E directly will mitigate some of the damage if you don’t eat enough vitamin E in your diet. What’s more, olive oil can be rich in oleic acid, a known skin penetration enhancer. Oleic acid (omega 9) can be added to pharmaceutical skincare formulations precisely to improve the ability to skincare chemicals to penetrate the skin. The same will happen with vitamin E.
Sounds not bad? the idea can be indeed a great Insentif feature, in addition to if olive oil was free by its negative qualities the idea would certainly be enough for me to recommend the idea. My additional recommended topical treatments such as raw honey, witch hazel, rose water, tea tree oil, pretty much all of them, contain very little vitamin E at all, so olive oil would certainly be unique.
Power three – possible natural sunscreen
Finally, we have some decent studies on inflammation in addition to resistance to UVB radiation.
Joining oleuropein among the best researched compounds in olive oil can be oleocanthal. This kind of study concluded of which 3.4 tablespoons of olive oil contained enough oleocanthal to match the anti-inflammatory properties of 10% ibuprofen. This kind of study again concluded of which oleocanthal has similar anti-inflammatory properties to ibuprofen when eaten.
Secondly, olive oil’s fat content can be 70% oleic acid, in addition to This kind of study on 1556 men found of which when consumed, oleic acid led to a drop in c-reactive protein, the most commonly used inflammatory biomarker.
This kind of study meanwhile, analysed the olive oil compounds erythrodiol in addition to beta-sitosterol, This kind of time when applied topically to a swollen mouse ear. Erythrodiol in addition to beta-sitosterol reduced the inflammatory swelling by 61.4% in addition to 82.1%. Oleuropein was also tested, in addition to lowered inflammatory swelling by 30%.
Next we move on to UVB radiation protection. the idea’s a smart idea for all acne patients to strengthen your skin against sunlight because while exposure can damage your skin in high amounts, you also need moderate exposure to generate vitamin D, nitric oxide, in addition to mood-boosting endorphins. This kind of study examined the effect of extra virgin olive oil on hairless mice when exposed to UBV radiation. Olive oil significantly reduced the rate of UVB-induced tumour formation when applied after exposure, in addition to when applied before exposure, the formation of fresh tumours slowed down. Olive oil was also compared to camellia oil, which had no effect when applied using an identical protocol.
This kind of study was less positive; This kind of time extra virgin olive oil was applied to 32 human volunteers alongside glycerine in addition to petrolatum. The goal was to analyse the adjustments in minimal erythritol dose (MED), which can be the lowest concentration of UVB radiation required in order to mutate in addition to damage human skin cells. The higher your MED, the more resistant your acne can be to inflammation by sunlight. Neither olive oil nor glycerine were found to raise the MED after 5 days of regular exposure, while petrolatum did.
Finally, This kind of study was performed nearly identically to the first on UVB rays in addition to the idea again observed a decrease in tumour formation when olive oil was applied after UVB ray exposure. However, This kind of time was no reduction when olive oil was applied prior to exposure. Scientists also observed in a reduction in a free radical called 8-OHdG, which can be generated by sunlight upon contact with human skin cells (in high amounts in weak skin, in addition to low amounts in stronger skin). They concluded of which “daily topical use of super virgin olive oil after sun bathing may delay in addition to reduce UV-induced skin cancer development in human skin”.
The conclusion by these studies? Olive oil appears to contain anti-inflammatory compounds, although again, the methodology can be flawed: two of the positive UVB ray studies were conducted on mice. The one study of which was conducted on humans produced negative results
We cannot confirm whether oleocanthal in addition to oleic acid produce anti-inflammatory effects when applied topically rather than eaten. The study analysing beta-sitosterol in addition to additional compounds was promising, although the idea was conducted on mice skin again.
Overall, there can be promise in these results, although nothing to make me endorse topical olive oil.
The fatal flaw of olive oil
If olive oil had all the powers we’ve discussed so far the idea would certainly be a pretty decent topical treatment. The wound healing in addition to natural sunscreen powers are decent, while the large vitamin E content makes the idea excellent for preventing blocked pores.
So why don’t I recommend the idea for any acne patient? One simple reason: damage to the human skin barrier, most likely due to oleic acid.
If you’ve read the article on olive oil as a food, then you’ll know of which oleic acid can be a monounsaturated fatty acid which can be responsible for many of the heart health benefits such as lowering LDL cholesterol levels. Most importantly, oleic acid can indirectly clear acne by lowering chronic inflammation levels, particularly the chemical interleukin-6 (study).
although when oleic acid can be applied to the face, the story completely adjustments in addition to the idea becomes detrimental. As I mentioned earlier, oleic acid can be a useful skin penetration enhancer, although This kind of power can be due to its disruptive effect on skin barrier function. In particular, both olive oil in addition to oleic acid have been shown to raise trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), which in scientific terms can be the quantity of water of which passes through the outer epidermis into the atmosphere.
The higher your TEWL, the dryer your skin becomes, in addition to according to This kind of study, high rates of TEWL have a strong connection with acne. The scientists compared 36 patients with mild to moderate acne in addition to analysed their skin barrier function, in addition to reached the conclusion of which “the patients with AV exhibited markedly higher sebum secretion in addition to greater TEWL”. The increase in TEWL was of greater magnitude in severe acne patients compared to moderate ones. The mechanism can be unclear although the study stated of which an increase inside pore-clogging skin protein keratin could be behind the idea.
Why does This kind of matter? Firstly, olive oil was shown to damage the skin barrier:
- This kind of study sought to analyse several common moisturising oils in addition to discover whether they were actually effective. Sunflower seed oil much better skin hydration in addition to barrier integrity, although topical application of olive oil led to a significant reduction in skin barrier integrity after 4 weeks. The scientists commented: “in contrast to sunflower seed oil, topical treatment with olive oil significantly damages the skin barrier, in addition to therefore has the potential to promote the development of, in addition to exacerbate existing, atopic dermatitis”. Atopic dermatitis can be an inflammatory skin condition with similarities to acne. Overall, they concluded of which topical olive oil should be discouraged, whereas topical sunflower seed oil was safe.
- Rats were treated to have their TEWL levels increased; sunflower seed oil reversed This kind of increase although olive oil had no benefit (study).
- This kind of study on 115 healthy babies wanted to examine the common practise of mothers adding natural oil to their baby’s skin in order to moisturise them. Scientists feared of which the practise might do more harm than not bad, so the babies were assigned to olive oil, sunflower oil or no oil, twice daily for 4 weeks. While both oils led to much better skin hydration, they were also found to delay the development of skin barrier functions which prevent water loss in addition to defend against allergy in addition to infection. Hence, the scientists did not recommend olive oil as a moisturiser.
Then the studies below apparently identified the compound responsible, oleic acid, which forms the vast majority (70%) of olive oil’s total fats:
- This kind of 2014 study applied oleic acid, glyceryl trioleate in addition to a mixture of OA in addition to GT to human skin in addition to concluded of which pure OA had the most damaging effect on TEWL in addition to skin barrier function.
- This kind of study analysed the effect of oleic, linoleic, alpha-linolenic in addition to arachidonic acid on the human skin barrier. Oleic acid led to the biggest deterioration in TEWL.
- In This kind of study scientists were testing how exactly oleic acid manages to raise TEWL levels so strongly.
- This kind of study began with the quotation “Oleic acid (OA) can be well-known to affect the function of the skin barrier”. Scientists also revealed of which oleic acid damaged the function of ceramides, waxy fat molecules which protect the skin.
- This kind of study found of which oleic acid in combination with propene glycol significantly increased trans-epidermal water loss after just 1 hour of application.
the idea seems of which the very fat which makes olive oil such a nutritional powerhouse when eaten can be the exact opposite when you put the idea on your skin.
Olive oil may be a pore-clogging nightmare
Olive oil has several additional flaws as well. Firstly, olive oil can be a fat, in addition to any fat-based treatment has an automatic risk of clogging your skin-pores.
Olive oil itself does not have a particularly high risk of clogging skin pores; the idea scores 2 on the American Journal of Dermatology’s comedogenic ratings which range by 0 to 5. By contrast coconut oil in addition to cocoa butter both score 4 out of 5, which can be why I recommend against them. Safer the idea may be, although 2 still stands for a “moderately low” risk, in addition to many stories on the internet talk of olive oil working like charm for 5 days, only for pimples to burst out of nowhere in completely fresh locations on the face. of which sounds like fresh pores were being clogged in addition to giving p.acnes bacteria a fresh spot to multiply in.
Olive oil’s basic powers are not terrific for acne; they pale next to the anti-inflammatory powerhouse of aloe vera or the bacteria-eliminating machine of royal jelly. So running the risk of blocked pores can be doubly pointless even though the risk can be lower than for some oils.
Also, while we’re here, understand This kind of key difference: essential oils like tea tree oil in addition to rose water are NOT oils. They contain very little fat based compounds, they are simply distillations of what can be usually the plant’s leaves or petals into a liquid. They carry no risk of clogging skin pores compared to fat based oils such as olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, which are termed as carrier oils.
Finally, there’s the problem of additional forms of sensitivities; This kind of study observed of which a masseur rubbing olive oil into a customer ended up with eczema on his hands. The scientists also observed of which olive oil led to sensitization, which could be because of slow damage to the skin barrier. They concluded of which the external use of olive oil should be discouraged.
Conclusion
Olive oil can be an excellent oil for roasting potatoes or enhancing the flavour of acne-friendly vegetables, although the idea fails as a topical treatment. the idea might reduce inflammation by UVB radiation in sunlight in addition to help old acne scars to heal, although the effect can be too weak to counteract the potential clogged pores in addition to damage to the skin barrier.
The only instance in which olive oil might be useful can be if you are starved of vitamin E. If you analyse your diet in addition to conclude of which you need to eat more vitamin E, in addition to start changing your diet accordingly, then topical olive oil could work as an extra fast tool to get your face to absorb vitamin E in addition to enjoy its protective effects. although of which would certainly only work temporarily. inside long-run, dietary vitamin E will be enough.
Judging by the testimonials in addition to science I’ve analysed, I would certainly not advise using olive oil for more than three days in a row.
Thanks for reading!