Why Extra Virgin?

With the sky rocketing price of olive oil lately, which is causing some supermarkets in Europe to chain down the product on the shelf, why would I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my soap when it is the most expensive kind?

Firstly, lets discuss what extra virgin means. Extra virgin olive oil is the first oil that comes out of the ripe olive without using any heat or chemicals or extra grinding or crushing. It is called virgin because it is pure, like a virgin.

At the other end of the scale is pomice oil. Pomice oil is produced by using solvents and chemicals to extract the final possible morsels out of the pulp left over after all the good oil has been extracted. These chemicals can remain in the final product, and are known carcinogens. That’s right, another common foodstuff on our supermarket shelves that is a known carcinogen. I wouldn’t rub that on my skin, let alone cook with it. There was even one brand of cooking oil marketed to the US several years ago that was found to have zero olive oil in it - in fact it was 100% industrial lubricant!

That’s why I choose my olive oil carefully, so it is only extra virgin olive oil that goes into my soap. The same brand I use in my soap is the same brand I cook with.