Seven Unusual Uses for Olive Oil

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Olive oil is an incredibly versatile oil.  It’s amazing on salads and drizzled over steamed veggies but it also has a number of other uses that don’t even involve food.  Here are some interesting ones:

1. Hot oil hair treatment.  Place a half a cup of extra virgin olive oil in a glass jar and warm it by double boiling only for a minute or two, the oil should be warm but not hot.  Massage the warm oil into your damp hair and leave in for 20 minutes.  Wash hair as usual and rinse.
2. Garlic ear oil cold remedy.  I have written about this remedy before, read that post here, Ear Oil Cold Remedy.  Warm olive oil in a pan with crushed garlic.  Strain the garlic from the oil and use the oil in a medicine dropper to fill the ear canal.  Plug up the ear with a cotton ball.  This remedy lubricates the sinuses and helps to reduce congestion.
3. Sooth dry skin or sunburn.  Massage skin with straight olive oil to sooth dry skin.  Alternatively for a lighter lotion take equal parts water and olive oil and create an emulsion by hand with a whisk or in a blender by slowly adding the oil to water while the blender is running.
4. Prevent wrinkles. Massage olive oil into the face in a circular motion after washing your face before bed. Olive oil has documented antioxidant properties and stimulates the synthesis of collagen and elastin.  Olive oil is a key ingredient in The Holistic Mama’s Anti-Aging Serum.
5. Use instead of shaving cream.  Next time you shave, lather the area with olive oil and shave.  This usually results in a closer shave then commercial shaving creams.
6. Quiet a squeaky door hinge.  Lightly brush a squeaky door hinge with olive oil.  Move the door back and forth a few times and brush again.  The door should be squeak free!
7. Remove a stubborn label from a glass jar.  Cover the label with olive oil and let it sit for a few minutes.  Take a rag or the back of a sponge and rub the label.  The paper will come off right away and the sticky glue left behind with come of soon after with a little elbow grease.

There is a great book about using olive oil for many different things called, The Passionate Olive: 101 Things to Do with Olive Oil

This post was shared on Your Thriving Family’s Weekend Whatever Link up.

Do you have another unusual use for olive oil?

Tags: olive oil