0

Shopping Cart

Concern · dry or dehydrated skin

Cosmetics for dry skin

Olive-oil soaps, cold-pressed body oils, and humectant creams our customers have reached for as central heating, hard water, or genetics have left their skin tight, flaky or rough. Not medicine; we sell soap, oil and cream.

Background

Why olive-oil soap is the starting point

Olive oil is unusually high in oleic acid and squalene - two molecules also produced by human sebaceous glands. Saponified into soap, it produces a lather that's slow to come up but unusually emollient: it retains some of the oil's lipid-rebuilding character even after the alkaline cook. Customers with very dry skin often keep returning to plain olive-oil soap when other cleansers have stripped them. The trade-off is that olive-oil soap is mildly alkaline (pH around 8-9, like most cold-process bars), which suits most skin types but not everyone - if your skin tightens noticeably even after a brief plain-olive-oil wash, you may do better with a syndet (synthetic detergent) cleanser at skin-neutral pH.

What to add after cleansing

Body oil while the skin is still damp from the shower. The water content of the skin is highest in the first thirty seconds out of the bath; oil applied immediately traps that water under a thin lipid layer, which is the entire mechanism of feeling moisturised. Plain olive oil works; so does our Damascus rose body oil if you want a scent. For face and neck, a richer water-and-oil cream - wild honey, calendula - tends to outlast a pure oil. What to avoid: very long hot showers, harsh exfoliants, alcohol-based toners, and the temptation to apply anything to skin that's been dry-towel-rubbed for several minutes. The order matters.

Ingredients to favour, ingredients to avoid

Favour

  • Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil
  • Rosa Damascena Flower Oil
  • Boswellia Carterii (Frankincense) Oil
  • Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Oil
  • Glycerin
  • Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Bran
  • Niacinamide (below 4%)

Avoid

  • SLS - Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
  • Alcohol Denat. on the face
  • Glycolic Acid above 10% on already-dry skin
  • Very long hot showers
  • Salicylic Acid daily on dry skin
  • Fragrance ethanol-based perfume sprayed on the body

Patch-test before you use it on the face.

Apply a coin-sized amount on the inside of the elbow. Leave for 24 hours. If there is no redness, itching or burning, the product is unlikely to provoke a contact reaction. Repeat for every new product, one at a time, with a week between introductions so reactions can be isolated.

Curated

7 picks for dry skin

Skin Nourishment Cream
Skin Nourishment Cream

This night cream revitalizes and firms skin, boosting immunity with natural ingredients. It supports night-time repair, reducing wrinkles, fine lines, and fatigue. Deeply moisturizes, leaving your skin with a natural, irresistible glow.

Lavender Body Oil
Lavender Body Oil

Enhance your sleep and regulate breathing with our signature oil. Its sedative effect reduces stress and anxiety. Gently absorbed, it leaves your skin beautifully scented and moisturized. Suitable for all skin types.

Lebanese Mist Body Oil
Lebanese Mist Body Oil

Lebanese Mist — a fragrance that captivates and lingers in memory. One of the best-selling scents, it reveals the magic of the East from the very first notes. Airy orange blossom intertwines with warm amber and soft white musk, creating a sensual, luxurious trail. The oil melts gently into the skin, leaving it smooth, radiant, and wrapped in an aura of elegance.Once you try it, you will return to it again and again.

Incense Body Oil
Incense Body Oil

Incense Body Oil — a luxurious body oil with the warm oriental aroma of frankincense, as if inspired by the tales of One Thousand and One Nights. Its silky texture gently envelops the skin, leaving a sensual trail reminiscent of an Eastern fairy tale. Notes of frankincense, bakhour and soft oriental accords fill the fragrance with the depth of the East, an atmosphere of mystery and refined elegance. Perfect as a scented body oil and as an alternative to perfume

Night Secret Body Oil
Night Secret Body Oil

Body Oil envelops the skin in a seductive tropical fruit aroma, filling your daily care routine with warmth, summer vibes, and pure pleasure. Its silky texture absorbs quickly, deeply moisturizes, and softens the skin, leaving it smooth, radiant, and beautifully soft to the touch. The sweet fruity scent lingers with a light sensual trail, creating the feeling of a getaway on a tropical island. Perfect for daily care and can also be used instead of perfume.

Musk Body Oil
Musk Body Oil

A luxurious and refined oil, transforming daily care into an exquisite ritual. Delicate musk unfolds on the skin softly and deeply, leaving a warm, sensual trail that seems to merge with your skin.The silky texture melts upon touch, enhancing softness, smoothness and a subtle glow. The oil can be worn as a perfume — its scent is intimate and alluring, leaving a delicate, memorable impression.

Baby Oil
Baby Oil

A unique added value for newborns, this product maintains smooth, moisturized skin and prevents irritation. It forms a protective layer, strengthens pores, and nourishes the skin, helping your baby sleep calmly and comfortably.

Shopping Cart

Questions

Questions about dry skin

  • What is the difference between dry and dehydrated skin?
    Dry skin is a skin type - your skin produces less oil than average. Dehydrated skin is a skin state - your skin is short on water, often temporarily. Many people are both. Dry skin needs lipid replacement (oils, balms); dehydrated skin needs humectants (glycerin, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid) and a barrier on top of them. The body oils in this list address dryness; the creams address both.
  • Body oil or body lotion - which is better for dry skin?
    Body oil is a single phase - no water, no emulsifier - and it works by trapping the water already on your skin. Lotion contains water itself; if you have very dry skin, lotion alone often isn't enough. The strongest routine is to apply lotion or cream first while skin is damp, then a thin layer of body oil over it to seal.
  • Is olive-oil soap actually drying my skin further?
    For most people, no - olive-oil soap is among the gentlest cleansers we sell. For a small minority with very sensitised or alkaline-reactive skin, yes - the slight alkalinity of any cold-process soap can feel tightening. If a plain olive-oil bar leaves your skin uncomfortable even when followed by oil, switch to a syndet cleanser (we don't make one; mainstream sensitive-skin face washes from dermatology brands work well).
  • I have dry AND sensitive skin - which products?
    Start from the sensitive-skin list, not this one. Sensitive-skin products are formulated for the lowest irritant load; once you know what your skin tolerates, you can add an oil from this list as a second step. The reverse order tends to backfire because dry-skin products are richer and harder to remove if a reaction starts.
  • What about winter specifically?
    Indoor central heating drops humidity to about 30% from a healthy 50-60%. Add a humidifier to bedrooms if you can; the moisture in your skin is partly a function of the air around it. Reduce shower temperature by ten degrees and the time by five minutes - hot showers strip lipids faster than any soap. After the shower, oil before towel-drying, not after.

This page is informational. Olea Vitalis does not provide medical advice. Cosmetic products are not medicines and do not treat, cure or prevent any condition. For persistent or severe skin reactions, please consult a registered dermatologist. EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009; Claims Regulation 655/2013.