Olive and Sunflower Oils for Dry Skin: What the Trials Tested

A lotion containing sunflower-derived compounds is not equivalent to sunflower oil. The isosorbide diesters tested in a 2024 eczema trial¹ were modified ingredients in an oatmeal lotion.¹

The olive-oil warning came from a small adult experiment

The 2013 study² recruited 19 adults. Seven applied olive oil to one forearm for five weeks, leaving the other untreated. Twelve compared the oils on opposite forearms: six drops twice daily for four weeks. Those with past eczema had been symptom-free for six months.²

Olive oil weakened the outer skin layer under repeated adhesive-tape removal and caused mild redness. Sunflower oil preserved that measured integrity and improved hydration. These laboratory measurements did not establish treatment benefits for an active rash.²

Composition matters: the tested sunflower oil contained 60.9% linoleic acid, while the olive oil contained 76.3% oleic acid. A supermarket bottle need not match. The Kuwait Ministry of Health funded the research.²

The adult lotion trial allowed continuing steroid treatment

The 2024 trial¹ randomized 40 adults with mild-to-moderate eczema; 32 completed it, including 21 women. Both lotions contained 0.1% colloidal oatmeal. The test lotion added two isosorbide diesters, 4% each. Participants applied the lotions daily for four weeks and could continue stable topical-steroid treatment.¹

Reported itch improvement was 65.6% versus 43.8%, favoring the test lotion (P = 0.013). Between-group hydration and water-loss differences were not statistically significant. The comparison for at least 75% improvement in eczema severity had P = 0.07: it met the paper’s 10% threshold for categorical outcomes, but not the conventional 5% threshold. One control participant withdrew with a rash. Sytheon funded the study; one author was an employee.¹

Neither group used plain sunflower oil. This trial cannot rank a kitchen oil against the tested lotion.

The newer children’s trial also tested an add-on formulation

The 2026 trial³ randomized 44 children aged 2 to 17, with 38 completing the eight-week study. It again compared an oatmeal lotion with and without the two diesters. Both groups had hydrocortisone 2.5% available for flares.³

The diester group had better itch responses and used less steroid cream: 3.4 g versus 13.3 g over the study. However, the comparison for achieving at least 75% improvement in eczema severity had P = 0.12, and sleep-response differences were not significant.³

This was a small, short study in children, not evidence about years of use on older women’s dry skin. Sytheon, now Hallstar, funded it. The findings support further study of that formulation; they do not establish that a homemade mixture reproduces it.³

Choose a moisturizer by the finished product

The American Academy of Dermatology⁴ recommends a fragrance-free cream or ointment for eczema and applying moisturizer after bathing while skin is damp. Its care guidance combines moisturizing, trigger management and medication or light treatment when needed. An oil experiment should not be used as a reason to stop a prescribed treatment.⁴

The Academy also advises testing a new skin-care product on the inside of the arm for 7 to 10 days before wider use. This checks your skin’s response to the finished product; it does not turn a short home test into evidence of long-term benefit.⁴

The “The Barrier, and the Three Jobs a Moisturizer Does” section of Skin, Head to Toe explains ingredients that attract water, slow its loss and smooth the surface. Use that section to describe what you need from a product rather than choosing by the plant name alone. Bring the ingredient list and explain whether the problem is flaking, stinging, itch, cracking or recurrent inflamed patches. Our guide to dry, itchy skin after 50 covers the wider assessment.

If eczema treatment is not helping, seek medical review. Blistering, pus, leaking fluid, painful or warm swollen skin, sudden worsening, fever or feeling unwell need urgent advice, according to the NHS⁵. Those signs call for assessment rather than another oil trial.⁵