For thousands of years, Mediterranean civilizations trusted virgin olive oil as both food and medicine. Today, modern science proves what our ancestors instinctively knew: few natural ingredients nourish the skin as deeply — or as gently — as pure olive oil.

Origins: An Ingredient Carved Into Mediterranean Life

Across Lebanon and the wider Mediterranean, olive trees have stood for centuries as symbols of endurance, peace, and healing. Their fruit has been pressed into oils that fed families, lit homes, and cared for the skin long before chemistry labs existed.

Virgin olive oil — the pure, unrefined, first-press extraction — remains one of the oldest skincare tools in human history. In ancient Lebanon, mothers used it to protect their children’s skin from dryness and harsh summer winds. Artisans applied it during rituals of cleansing and renewal. To this day, its reputation for purity and healing remains untouched.

And that is why it sits at the heart of every bar of Le Joyau d’Olive.

2. The Science: What Makes Virgin Olive Oil Exceptional for Skin?

Modern dermatology has confirmed what traditional cultures knew: virgin olive oil contains a unique combination of antioxidants, vitamins, and fatty acids that work together to nourish the skin with remarkable effectiveness.

• Rich in antioxidants (polyphenols & squalene)

Virgin olive oil contains polyphenols — natural molecules that protect skin from environmental stress, UV damage, and premature aging. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which are responsible for dryness, wrinkles, and loss of elasticity over time.

It also contains squalene, a lipid naturally found in human skin, making it an exceptional natural moisturizer.

• High levels of Vitamin E

Vitamin E is one of the most powerful skin-repairing nutrients. It supports cell regeneration, improved elasticity, reduced inflammation, enhanced moisture retention.

Virgin olive oil is naturally abundant in it.

• Oleic acid: a superior moisturizer

Oleic acid is a fatty acid that penetrates deeply into the skin’s outer layers without clogging pores. It strengthens the skin barrier, prevents moisture loss, leaves skin soft and supple, is safe and non-irritating for sensitive skin.

This is the molecule that gives olive oil–based soap its velvety, non-drying feel.

• Naturally hypoallergenic

Unlike many commercial cleansers made with detergents, foaming agents, and synthetic fragrances, virgin olive oil is gentle, stable, and non-corrosive. Dermatologists often recommend olive oil soaps for sensitive skin, eczema-prone skin, dry or mature skin, children and elderly skin.

• A true alternative to harsh surfactants

Mass-produced soaps often rely on palm oil, coconut derivatives, or SLS-based detergents — ingredients that clean aggressively but strip the skin’s natural oils.

Virgin olive oil based soap does the opposite. It cleanses without disrupting the skin’s protective mantle, making each wash a nourishing, restorative experience.

3. The Le Joyau d’Olive Connection: Craft Meets Chemistry

At Le Joyau d’Olive, virgin olive oil is not just an ingredient — it is the soul of our craft.

  • We use only first-press virgin olive oil, never blends.

  • We never add palm oil, coconut oil, synthetic foaming agents, or chemical stabilizers.

  • Each batch rests and cures for at least five months, allowing the natural glycerin to develop — a humectant that attracts and locks in moisture.

This curing period is essential. Industrial soaps remove glycerin to sell it separately.
We never do.

Instead, every bar becomes naturally rich in glycerin, antioxidants, and nourishing acids — exactly as nature intended. Le Joyau d'Olive feels different, lasts longer, and skin beautifully responds to it. 

4. Closing: A Return to What Skin Understands

The skin recognizes virgin olive oil because its chemistry is close to our own.
It nourishes, softens, restores, and protects — without effort, without additives, without noise.

In a world full of complicated products, virgin olive oil remains one of nature’s simplest and most effective gifts.

This is why it sits at the heart of every Le Joyau d’Olive creation.

Explore our collections and rediscover what pure, ancestral skincare feels like.