The Olive-Oil Cleanse
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Anatolian

The Olive-Oil Cleanse

asma-yağı-mesh

The oldest cleansing practice of the Aegean — three thousand years on the same coast.

For

Gentle daily removal of make-up and sebum without disturbing the skin barrier. For dry, reactive, or stressed skin.

Duration

5 minutes

What you need

  • · 1 tsp year-aged Anatolian olive oil
  • · A warm cotton or muslin cloth
  • · Lukewarm water

The practice

  1. 1

    Warm the oil between your palms for 10 seconds.

  2. 2

    Apply with circular motions over the entire face for 60 seconds.

  3. 3

    Soak the cloth in lukewarm water, wring it out, place over the face for 30 seconds.

  4. 4

    Wipe gently — outward from the centre. The oil and the day's residue come off together.

Why it works

Oil dissolves oil. The year-aged Anatolian olive oil contains squalene-similar molecules already familiar to the skin's sebum, lifting make-up and surface grime without surfactants that strip the lipid mantle.

Where it comes from

The Aegean cultivation of Olea europaea pre-dates the Greek period. Household women along the Ayvalık coast have used year-aged olive oil as their first cleanse since long before commercial cleansers existed.