Last month 79-year-old actress Sophia Loren stole the show at Cannes when she was honored for her work in The Human Voice (La voce umana), a short film directed by her son, Edoardo Ponti.
Audiences around the world watched in awe as the face of this exceedingly beautiful woman filled our screens yet again. Oh, to look that good at any age.
While Loren is blessed with the legendary bone structure she also uses olive oil as part of her daily beauty routine both internally and externally.
Her Mediterranean diet has always ensured that she includes at least two tablespoons of EVOO in her food intake but the famous beauty has also been known to rub a small amount into her skin to keep her skin moisturized.
She also adds a couple of capfuls into a hot bath for a skin-nourishing soak.
American actress and healthy guru Gwyneth Paltrow also promotes the internal and external use of olive oil.
Her 2013 cookbook It’s all Good uses EVOO in a significant proportion of her recipes.
On her much talked about website Goop, Paltrow includes an interview with Dr. Nicholas Perricone who advises: “The most powerful member of the Olive Oil Polyphenol group is Hydroxytyrosol. Extremely rare, and effective in even small concentrations, this super antioxidant, anti-inflammatory has been proven to be effective in improving general health and appearance.”
And the secret of Paltrow long silky tresses: “I often recommend that people use a half cup of olive oil and work it through dry hair, concentrating on the driest parts, combing it through but avoiding the roots.”
For those interested in DIY hair-masks these can be found in abundance on the internet and are as simple as mixing olive oil with a few drops of essential oil. Perfect for a day at home when you can really let the mixture sink in.
Organic olive oil producer Bellucci Premium also lists ways that olive oil consumption can aid beauty. “For your skin, olive oil has the same anti-inflammatory properties as ibuprofen, which can reduce the redness and prominence of acne, stretch marks, and other skin conditions. Studies also say that olive oil is rich in antioxidants, which can help lower the risks of melanoma, a harmful type of skin cancer.”
So beauty may come from the inside, but it seems a few of the external applications of olive oil as a beauty aid before your next close up can’t hurt either.
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