Olive oil on skin: what trials found on barrier and babies

The forearm studies in adults

Natural oils are advocated for neonatal skin care around the world, but a 2013 paper notes there is an absence of evidence to support it. The authors ran two randomised forearm studies in 19 adults, with and without a history of eczema. People applied six drops of olive oil to one forearm twice a day for five weeks in the first, and olive oil to one arm and sunflower seed oil to the other for four weeks in the second.¹

Olive oil caused a significant reduction in the integrity of the stratum corneum and mild redness, in people with and without eczema. Sunflower seed oil preserved the barrier, did not cause redness and improved hydration. The authors concluded that olive oil significantly damages the skin barrier, and that using it for dry skin and infant massage should be discouraged.¹

That is one small mechanistic study in adult forearms.

What trials in babies found

A pilot randomised trial in 115 healthy full-term newborns compared olive oil, sunflower oil and no oil, twice daily for four weeks. Both oils improved skin hydration, but both showed significantly less improvement in the structure of the skin's lipid layers than the no-oil group. There were no differences in water loss, pH or redness. The study was not powered for clinical outcomes, and the authors advise caution when recommending oils for newborn skin until more research is done.²

Preterm babies were different in one trial: 173 infants in a neonatal unit received a water-in-oil emollient cream, an olive oil and lanolin cream, or nothing for up to four weeks. The olive oil cream group had significantly less dermatitis than the emollient group, and both did better than the controls.³ That tested a lanolin-rich cream, not plain oil, in premature infants born at 25 to 36 weeks, in a hospital, and it does not carry over to a healthy baby at home.

Putting it together

A 2009 review of virgin olive oil in dermatology covers its fatty acid composition and antioxidant minor components, and evaluates its use as a topical raw material.⁴ The review is a case for olive oil, but it does not undo the barrier finding above.

The simplest reading is that olive oil is a poor leave-on choice for dry or eczema-prone skin, going by the forearm study. It is a reading, not a verdict, because the evidence base is small.

Olive oil in pregnancy and breastfeeding

Evidence on cosmetic products in pregnancy is limited overall, so ask your doctor or midwife about the specific product you use.⁵

What you will see on the label

On a label, look for Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil. Snifff shows it as Low risk. For the rest of the formula, see what the score means and how to read the list.

As Snifff shows it

Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil

Low risk

Pregnancy and nursing

We found no pregnancy- or lactation-specific evidence for this ingredient.

Wording as it appears in the extension, which can change between releases.