Is The Extra Virgin Olive Oil You Are Using In Your Hair Authentic Or Adulterated?

It’s time you learned the truth about the scandalous world of olive oil*. It’s a billion dollar industry and as with any market that earns so much money, there’s bound to be bootleggers.

The wave of people looking for extra virgin olive oil* has soared throughout the world, but a lot of them can’t tell the real thing from the fake — making them vulnerable to being taken advantage of by fraudulent entities.

Over 70% of the olive oils that you see on shelves in stores right now are adulterated and watered down with other oils like canola (rapeseed), vegetable oil and cotton seed oil.

So what you’re getting isn’t pure olive oil* at all. However, you’re paying the hefty price tag that the olive* oil industry has been able to maintain because of its popularity.

So if you’re using olive oil* in your hair regimens, it’s imperative that you know that it is indeed 100% olive oil, but how can you know for sure?

Unless you’ve been eating it for years like I have, you won’t really be able to do a taste test to know the difference. I’ll share with you the brands that have been tested and proven to have authentic extra virgin olive oil*, as well as a neat trick to test your oil at home yourself.

How the fraudsters are getting away with EVOO murder

According to the University of California, there are an estimated 69% of extra virgin olive* oils in stores that are fake. Yes, this includes popular top-selling brands that you’re likely using right now or have used in the past.

UC Davis researchers conducted two studies on 186 samples of extra virgin olive oil*, which were compared against the standards that have been established by the IOC (International Olive Council), as well as against the methods used in Australia and Germany.

The results showed that 73% of the samples failed the IOC standards, some having failure rates as high as 94%! Other brands had varying failure rates, lowest being 56% — that is insane.

None of the brands from Australia and California failed both tests (IOC and the Australia/Germany standards), but 11% of the top dog Italian brands failed both sides.

Failing these tests simply meant that the olive oils they produced were oxidized, had poor quality and/or were mixed with refined cheaper oils, like rapeseed, soybean, canola and others.

Is it just me or is it a bit weird that Italy, the home of olives, failed the standards test worse than American and Australian companies? So if you are buying Italian imports, you may want to think twice before doing so again.

So which Extra Virgin Olive* oil brands failed the test?

Get yourself a pen and paper and take this list with you the next time you go to the grocery store to purchase olive oil* for your hair. The brands you want to stay away from include:

Newman’s Own

Filippo Berio

Safeway

Mazzola

Whole Foods

Bertolli

Mezzetta

Rachel Ray

Star

Pompeian

Carapelli

Which Olive oil brands can you trust?

Take your pen and paper out, and write down this list of brands that produce premium extra virgin olive oil*:

Kirkland Organic

Corto Olive

California Olive Ranch (I find this one easily at local stores)

McEvoy Ranch Organic

Lucero

Cobram Estate

Lucini

Where to find the real deal

It’s not surprising that you have to dig for the gold — finding these brands in local supermarkets has been a treasure hunt for me for years.

The only one I have found in different areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina is the California Olive* Ranch brand. However, if you can’t find any of them, you can head over to Amazon and order it from there.

Now, get prepared to pay a pretty penny because this stuff is the real deal (another warning sign that your olive oil is fake — cheap prices).

Just think of it as fine wine. I suggest staying away from store brands because they are known to be more about money, rather than quality.

An easy test you can do at home to test you olive oil*

Now, for the neat trick that I promised you — how to test your olive oil for authenticity. I’ve tried this out myself, so I know this works. I tested the California Olive Ranch against another one that was sold in a pretty green bottle.

Here’s what you do:

1. Take a bowl and pour the olive oils into both.
2. Light the oils on fire
3. Now, watch. The one that actually catches flame and burns is true olive oil.

You would think that all oil burns, but nope. This is a simple test that I will never forget, just in case I can’t find my favorite brand and need to try out another one. By the way, if you do not want to use fire you can just place your olive oil in the fridge and if it solidifies then its authentic.

Stop using adulterated Olive Oil* in your hair

The whole purpose of using extra virgin olive oil* in your hair is because it’s supposed to be pure and rich in nutrients. EVOO offers so many benefits for your health, hair and skin, but you’re not getting any of that if you’re using those that are oxidized or watered down with low-end oils that actually do more harm than good.

So keep the good list handy and memorize it if you can. What brand of olive oil* have you been using? Was it on either of the lists?