40 Cool and Surprising Uses for Olive Oil

  

Olive oil is more than just a delicious cooking oil. This magical Mediterranean oil has many useful and practical functions outside of the kitchen. Loaded with powerful antioxidants and essential vitamins, olive oil is the perfect product for daily beauty routines and topical treatments. In addition, its low acidity and oily consistency make it the ideal lubricant and softener for household needs. Here are 50 cool and surprising uses for olive oil:

Beauty

Olive oil is a Mediterranean beauty secret that your hair, skin and nails with love.

1. Skin Moisturizer: Olive oil makes an excellent moisturizer with long-lasting benefits for the face and body.
2. Lip Balm: Olive oil can help cure severely chapped lips by rubbing it on multiples times a day and at bedtime for optimal results.
3. Exfoliator: For super soft skin, mix olive oil and sea salt and gently rub on skin to slough off dead cells and moisturize.
4. Nail and Cuticle Care: Keep your nails and cuticles soft and shiny by rubbing some olive oil into the cuticle area and around the nail.
5. Eye Makeup Remover: Gently remove makeup with a cotton ball moistened with olive oil and rub along closed eyelids.
6. Wrinkle Corrector: Soften and smooth out wrinkles by dabbing a little olive oil over problem areas at bedtime.
7. Bath Oil: For a luxurious bath experience, add some olive oil and a couple drops of lavender essential oil to your running water.
8. Dandruff Controller: Control flakes by treating your scalp with equal parts olive oil and water.
9. Deep Conditioner: After shampooing, rub a mixture of equal parts olive oil and water onto hair, let sit for 5 minutes and rinse for soft, supple strands.
10. Detangler: Make your mane more manageable with an olive oil treatment to detangle and relieve damaged hair.
11. Shaving Cream: Get a close shave with olive oil by applying it liberally to damp skin.
12. Cellulite Reducer: Reduce the appearance of cellulite with this olive oil and coffee ground home treatment.
13. Defrizzer: Tame frizzy locks by rubbing a couple drops of olive oil onto dry hair.
14. Hide Stretch Marks: Lessen the appearance of stretch marks by rubbing an olive oil mixture onto problem areas.

Around the House

Olive oil is a convenient money-saving trick for these household chores and messes.

15. Hairball Prevention: Keep your kitty's coat shiny and prevent hairballs by adding a couple drops of olive oil to his or her food.
16. Free Stuck Zippers: Loosen stuck zippers by dabbing a little olive oil on the teeth of the zipper and gently tugging at it.
17. Fix Squeaky Doors: Stop squeaky doors and hinges with a touch of olive oil for an eco-friendly and safe alternative to WD-40.
18. Furniture and Metal Polish: Polish furniture, silverware and other metal items and prevent streaks by rubbing in olive oil, letting it sit for 30 minutes and wiping away excess.
19. Shine Pots and Pans: Get your stainless steel and brass pots and pans shiny as new, by rubbing some olive oil on them with a clean rag.
20. Remove Paint from Skin: Paint on your skin and hair can be extra tricky to get off, but rubbing a little olive oil to the area and rinsing it clean can help.
21. Garden Tool Cleaner: Remove dirt and prevent corrosion on your garden tools with olive oil.
22. Leather Conditioner: Condition leather furniture, shoes and other leather goods by rubbing in olive oil.
23. Grease Remover: Remove grease from hands and other surfaces with a mixture of olive oil and salt or sugar. Rub mixture vigorously onto surface and wash off with soap and water.
24. Sticker Remover: Get stickers and their gooey residue off of stubborn surfaces by rubbing a little olive oil on them.
25. Gum Remover: Nothing's worse than having gum stuck in your hair or on your shoe, but it's the perfect job for olive oil. The oil will break down the goo and leave your hair or shoes smooth.
26. Salad Dressing: Olive oil is a basic ingredient for many delicious salad dressings that can be made with equal parts olive oil and vinegar, or other acids.
27. Prevent Pasta Water Overflow: To prevent pasta water overflow, add a couple drops of olive oil to water before boiling.
28. Prevent Sticky Pasta: To prevent larger pasta, like lasagna, from sticking together, add a little olive oil to the boiling water.

Medicinal

Olive oil has powerful antioxidants and vitamins that offer serious medicinal benefits.

29. Smooth Acne Scars: Olive oil even has the power to smooth out acne scars, by softening and loosening dead, discolored skin cells.
30. Burn Treatment: Olive oil and other healthy cooking oils can be used for healing minor burns.
31. Snore Solution: Drinking a sip of olive oil before bed helps lubricate the throat and stops snoring.
32. Massage Oil: Olive oil makes an excellent all-natural massage oil alone, or mixed with other essential oils.
33. Sun Protection: Olive oil is not recommended to be worn in place of sunscreen for extended sun exposure, but it does contain Vitamins A and E, as well as some sun protection benefits.
34. Cure an Earache: Cure an earache the natural way, by gently applying olive oil with a cotton swab to the outside of the ear cavity and let dry.
35. Lice Treatment: Kill lice and nits with an olive oil treatment that you comb through and let sit for 40 minutes in hair. Shampoo, repeat and apply a preventative treatment.
36. Diaper Rash: Cure diaper rash by rubbing olive oil on your baby's bottom and wiping away excess.
37. Personal Lubricant: This magical oil apparently works as a personal lubricant too.
38. Treat a Sore Throat: Ease a sore throat and cough by taking a sip of olive oil next time you're under the weather.
39. Prevent Rusty Razor: Extend the life of your razor and keep it from getting rusty by dipping it into olive oil after showering.
40. Treat Cradle Cap: Even babies can benefit from olive oil, especially newborns who experience cradle cap, a scaling rash on babies' scalps. To treat, parents can apply a small amount of oil on scalp and wipe away scales with soft brush or dry washcloth.