Drinking olive oil can benefit your skin, though probably not in the dramatic way social media suggests. The polyphenols and healthy fats in extra virgin olive oil support skin health from the inside out by fighting oxidative damage, supporting collagen production, and reducing inflammation. But you don’t need to chug it straight from the bottle to see results.
How Olive Oil Helps Skin From the Inside
The real skin benefits of olive oil come from its unique combination of compounds. Polyphenols, a class of plant nutrients concentrated in extra virgin olive oil, help your body make collagen. Collagen is the protein that keeps skin firm and elastic, and your body produces less of it as you age. By supporting collagen production, these polyphenols help minimize wrinkles and keep skin from losing its bounce.
Polyphenols also act as antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals that damage skin cells. Oxidative stress from free radicals breaks down both collagen and elastin over time, which is a major driver of visible skin aging like sagging and fine lines. When you consume olive oil regularly, these antioxidants circulate through your bloodstream and reach skin cells, helping protect them from the inside.
Beyond polyphenols, extra virgin olive oil contains several other protective compounds: vitamin E (tocopherols), squalene (a natural moisturizing compound your skin already produces), and beta-carotene. It also delivers monounsaturated fats that help maintain your skin’s lipid barrier, the layer that locks in moisture and keeps irritants out. And its balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids helps keep inflammation in check rather than fueling it.
Protection Against Sun Damage
Your skin is particularly vulnerable to a process called lipid peroxidation, where UV rays and other stressors break down the fats in your skin cells. This damage accelerates aging and increases the risk of more serious skin problems. The antioxidants in olive oil help interrupt this chain reaction. Squalene, for example, makes up a significant portion of the oils your skin naturally secretes, and dietary intake helps replenish it.
This doesn’t mean olive oil replaces sunscreen. But a diet rich in extra virgin olive oil gives your skin cells an added layer of internal defense against everyday UV exposure, the kind you accumulate walking to your car or sitting near a window.
Olive Oil and Inflammatory Skin Conditions
If you deal with psoriasis, eczema, or other inflammatory skin conditions, olive oil’s anti-inflammatory properties become especially relevant. A clinical trial published in JAMA Dermatology tested a Mediterranean diet (with extra virgin olive oil as a central component) on adults with mild to moderate psoriasis. After 16 weeks, the group following the diet saw a significant drop in psoriasis severity, while the control group saw no change at all. Nearly half of the diet group achieved a 75% reduction in their psoriasis scores, compared to zero in the control group.
The Mediterranean diet involves more than just olive oil, of course. Fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains all played a role. But extra virgin olive oil was provided weekly to participants and served as the primary fat source, and its anti-inflammatory compounds are widely considered one of the diet’s key mechanisms. One compound in particular, oleocanthal, works similarly to ibuprofen in reducing inflammation, though at a much milder dose.
Drinking It vs. Cooking With It
You don’t need to drink olive oil by the spoonful to get skin benefits. Using it as your go-to cooking oil, drizzling it on salads, or dipping bread in it all deliver the same polyphenols and healthy fats. The compounds are absorbed through your digestive system either way.
That said, if you do want to drink a small amount straight, there’s nothing harmful about it. One tablespoon contains about 119 calories and 13.5 grams of fat, all of it from healthy unsaturated sources. Some people find that a tablespoon in the morning helps with digestion as a side benefit. Just keep in mind that those calories add up. Two or three tablespoons a day adds 240 to 360 calories, which matters if you’re watching your overall intake.
The type of olive oil matters far more than how you consume it. Extra virgin olive oil contains significantly more polyphenols than refined or “light” olive oil, because refining strips out many of the beneficial compounds. Look for oils labeled “extra virgin” and ideally stored in dark bottles, since light degrades polyphenols over time.
Drinking Olive Oil vs. Applying It to Skin
Topical olive oil and ingested olive oil work differently. When you drink it, the antioxidants and fats enter your bloodstream and reach skin cells throughout your body, supporting collagen production and fighting oxidative stress systemically. When you apply it to your skin, it acts as a surface moisturizer and delivers some antioxidants directly to the outer skin layers.
For anti-aging and inflammation benefits, ingesting olive oil likely has a broader effect because it reaches the deeper layers of skin where collagen and elastin are produced. Topical application is better for immediate surface hydration. However, applying olive oil directly to your face can clog pores in some people, particularly those with oily or acne-prone skin. Drinking it avoids that issue entirely while still delivering the protective compounds where they’re needed.
How Much to Use
There’s no established “dose” of olive oil specifically for skin health. Most research on Mediterranean diets uses extra virgin olive oil as a daily staple, typically two to four tablespoons per day across meals. That range is consistent with general health recommendations and provides enough polyphenols to make a meaningful difference over time.
The benefits aren’t instant. Skin cell turnover takes about four to six weeks, and collagen changes happen even more gradually. If you start incorporating extra virgin olive oil into your daily diet, expect to notice subtle improvements in skin texture and hydration over a period of weeks to months rather than days. Consistency matters more than quantity.