How Olive Oil Helped My Skin, Budget, and Outlook on Beauty Care Products
OK, so this post isn’t necessarily on the benefits of using olive oil in your beauty routine (that will come in a future post.) Instead, I am writing on how being forced to buy new moisturizer opened up a new way of looking at things for me and eventually incorporated olive oil into my daily skin care.
The Catalyst
While in Okinawa, my face wash ran out and my moisturizer, which I had bought earlier in Osaka, had too much fragrance in it. Since I came to Japan, my skin has gotten really bad and I thought there was nothing I could do but hang in there until I leave. I ended up buying a medicated foaming face wash and a moisturizer that contained olive oil, jojoba oil, and aloe. I noticed that both of these products were really light and didn’t dry out or irritate my skin at all. However, the oils in my skin were really unbalanced and so I started to break out before I saw improvements.
In any case, realizing that the new products I bought encouraged balancing oils in my skin, I started to do research online about the ingredients in my moisturizer. I knew that people used jojoba oil on their skin as is, and have always wanted to try it but could never find it in stores. I knew that aloe is also great for healing skin, but in its pure form is too sticky to use. But I never thought about using olive oil on my skin, even though I know it is really good for your body when taken internally.
Putting 2 and 2 Together
I liked my new moisturizer but didn’t like all the extra ingredients it had, and it was too light for my dry winter skin. Finally, with some free time and getting fed up with my skin, I did a quick search on Google on olive oil. Why didn’t I do this sooner! Olive oil turns out to be immensely good for your skin, and does a great job simulating the oils it produces, which in turn helps in the balancing process.
I noticed a difference right away in using it. A week later, any breakouts I had faded quickly and spots were less red. Using it on my body, I stopped seeing dry skin flakes on my tights and black shirts–something that was always a given during the winter. I would go on but I am saving that for a future post…
Had I not looked at the bigger picture, thinking “wait–if this is good for my skin and has olive oil on it, can’t I just use olive oil on its own?” I would still be using the same old moisturizer, dealing with my troubled skin, hurting my wallet, etc.
My Budget
It only takes a little bit of olive oil to moisturize, which makes it extremely economical. It is readily available in any grocery store. Beauty products being as expensive as they are, I am really happy to find such an economical solution. For a while I was stuck on using Cetaphil and nothing else–this was the only product that really worked for me, but it was always crazy expensive.
Using olive oil helped my skin, which in turn means I use less make up because there are less spots to cover up. I am hoping that one day it will get to a point where I won’t need make-up at all, which of course will also help my budget. I know I have sworn by the Bare Minerals line, but I hate being tied to down to any sort of brand.
My Outlook on Beauty Care Products
I am a firm believer in going as natural as possible when it comes to health and beauty, and this experience helped me open my eyes a little bit more.
When I used my old moisturizers, there were always warnings not to put near the mouth for fear of ingestion. (And I was putting this on my face?) With olive oil, I am not afraid to smear it on my lips. Not to mention I was always hard-pressed to find a good moisturizer, and often fell into the trap of yummy-sounding smells.
The beauty industry is notoriously good at marketing, and convinces many people that good looks are only a bottle away. I am also beginning to think that products are intentionally harsh towards skin so that people will buy more products that will soothe it, but this is pure speculation–I don’t want to believe that companies will go so far as to intentionally hurt their customers to increase profits, but I wouldn’t be surprised either.
Being Free
I am happy to have discovered a safe and natural way to treat my skin. I feel relief in knowing I am not tied down to any given skin care product, and that my health and wallet are benefiting from the change. I will continue to look for more natural and alternative means of health and beauty, and try to think outside the box more often in doing so.
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