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The Secret to Better Skin Is Hiding in Your Kitchen

Olive oil, says Wonder Valley founders Jay and Alison Carroll, can heal, hydrate and protect your skin, if used properly.

wonder valley Courtesy

By Evan Malachosky

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Adding more oil to your face might sound counterintuitive, especially if you’re excessively oily. We’ve learned to associate oiliness with pubescence, when teenagers get greasy, incubate breakouts and, well, smell. But oil is actually good for the skin, especially if applied correctly.

Just ask Wonder Valley founders Jay and Alison Carroll, who branched out into skincare after first making cooking oils. Alison struggled with acne for years, and the brand’s skincare component was born from her own at-home experiments.

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“We fell in love with everything about olive oil and as we went down the rabbit hole of its history, its lore, and its power for holistic health benefits,” Jay says. “Evolving into skincare didn’t feel so much as a transition from one to the other but more so as a natural evolution to celebrating olive oil in all its uses and benefits.”

And olive oil has plenty of uses — from ancient bath ceremonies to searing chicken thighs. As such, Wonder Valley had plenty of potential products.

Alison let her own curiosity fuel product development, which meant the brand would be specifically catered to her needs. Eventually, though, she realized her problems weren’t unique, but rather universal.

“We developed our skincare products for ourselves first, specifically for Alison’s skin needs in curbing acne and inflammation,” Jay says. Alison’s acne didn’t subside until she switched from over-the-counter treatments to holistic ones — like olive oil. Plus, the pair was adjusting to a new climate, which was far hotter and dryer than everywhere else they’d called home before. “We had just moved to the desert and an olive oil based skin care routine felt like such an incredibly natural solution for adjusting to the dry climate.”

More than just spokespeople for their own brand, Jay and Alison are beneficiaries of a product plenty of people rely on everyday, but not in their skincare routines. When their first few samples were finished, they distributed them to friends and family members in similar climates. Then others in New York. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. But people still had questions — and we’re sure you do, too. So we asked Jay and Alison to explain why olive oil works for your skin, how their products are made and how to use them.

Why Add More Oil?

a woman putting a drop of oil on her faceWonder Valley

Face oil’s primary function is to trap in moisture, thus preventing dryness. That being said, an oil shouldn’t replace your moisturizer, because oils are mostly for protecting your moisture levels and preventing moisture loss. Instead, your oil should work in tandem with your oil-free moisturizer — and should always be the last step in your skincare regimen. Think of oil as the outermost defensive layer.

To learn more about facial oils, read our dedicated buying guide.

Which Oil Is Right for Your Skin Type?

In theory, there is a face oil for every skin type — even oily or acne-prone skin. It just depends on the formula (and the weight).

If you have oily or acne-prone skin, you’ll want to choose a formula that promises to be lightweight and non-comedogenic (aka non-clogging). These molecules are small enough to be absorbed into the skin, whereas denser oils simply sit atop the skin, blocking pores and creating bigger problems (like acne).

Dryer skin types have it easier, as they can use just about any oil. That being said, each one has its own subtle differences, but they’ll all be moisturizing — and that’s why someone with dry skin needs more than anything else. But Jay says be cautious of the added oils, because they might not be suitable for your skin type.

“It [all] really depends on what your skin type and concerns are, the climate you live in and the additional ingredients olive oil is formulated with,” he says. “For example, I alternate the Face Oil and Wonder Serum depending on what’s going on with my skin or more typically, the time of year. During winter my skin loves the serum to combat the drying high desert winter, but in the summer I want that sea-buckthorn and rosehip rich Face Oil to help with some sun damage and oily/sweaty skin.”

Is Olive Oil Good for Your Skin?

“To create our olive oil, we harvest and press our olives when they’re still green, so there’s a higher concentration of polyphenols and antioxidants (more than if you were to harvest the olives later),” Alison explains. “This means you’re applying a higher concentration of these actives when you apply them topically.”

But olive oil is more than just defensive. It’s preventative, too, because it hydrates and softens before dryness settles in.

“Olive oil is also rich in vitamin A and E and palmitic acid, so it’s really hydrating and skin softening,” Alison adds. “Olive oil has a high concentration of the ultimately hydrating oleic acid, and linoleic acid and squalene, which both help strengthen and fortify the skin.”

Is the Olive Oil in These Products the Same Olive Oil You Cook With?

“We use the same extra virgin olive oil as a hero ingredient and formulate them as one of many ingredients into each product, “ Jay says. “Olive oil can be a heavier oil versus other oils, which is why you shouldn’t just put straight olive oil on your face. The Wonder Valley skincare products are usually combined with other oils like jojoba or rosehip, which not only have different benefits, but also lighten the molecular density of the oil.”

A lighter molecular density means the oil can more easily soak into your skin, instead of simply sit atop it. Olive oil, like the kind you buy at the grocery store, is typically less pure and far heavier. It’s also often made from olives that were already decomposing at the time of pressing.

“Extra Virgin means the oil is free of defects — from the time it was fruit on a tree to oil in a bottle, the absolute best care was given,” Alison says. “Olive trees are very hardy with a sensitive fruit. Harvest time and the milling process are really what defines the quality of the oil — for example, once you pick the fruit, you have to press that same day to ensure it’s not starting to decompose.”

Are Other Foods Good for Your Skin?

“We love avocado, coconut, sunflower seed oils, some of which we use in our different formulations,” Jay says. [But] rather than comparing the oils to being food grade, it’s about clean quality plant based ingredients that have great performance when applied topically.”

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