Saturday January 31, 2009 15:55

Road Runner

• To keep brass looking shinier longer, buff with olive oil after cleaning. Olive Oil keeps it from tarnishing so fast.

• Use olive oil to treat lice on children - better than the expensive treatments from the store and conditions the scale. Apply on hair, being sure to get into scales. I leave this on for at least 30 minutes, but it could be all day if you don't have any plans - then shampoo out. It might take two shampoos to get the oil out of hair. Use once a week as a conditioner and preventative. Olive Oil smothers the lice. Once I started doing this on granddaughters hair the school never called us when others were sent home with lice.

• A Bread Dip.

• A couple teaspoons Olive Oil mixed with a can of cat food will help hairballs.

• A hair tonic.

• A pre manicure solution when mixed with water.

•  A sip of Olive Oil before you go to sleep stops snoring. It makes the throat slippery. Your spouse can sleep.

• A sip of Olive Oil will stop a tickle that is making you cough.

• Beauty Cream and moisturizer.

• Care for your pet. Add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon to your cat’s food to help prevent hair balls.

• Clean pearls. Rub a dab of Olive Oil over pearls, cleaning each pearl individually. Wipe dry with a chamois cloth.

• Clean your greasy hands. To remove car grease or paint from your hands, pour 1 teaspoon Olive Oil and 1 teaspoon salt or sugar into your palms. Vigorously rub the mixture into your hands and between your fingers for several minutes; then wash it off with soap and water. Not only will your hands be cleaner, they'll be softer as well.

• Clear up acne. Okay, the notion of applying oil to your face to treat acne does sound a bit wacky. Still, many folks swear this works: Make a paste by mixing 4 tablespoons salt with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Pour the mixture onto your hands and fingers and work it around your face. Leave it on for a minute or two, then rinse it off with warm, soapy water. Apply daily for one week, then cut back to two or three times weekly. You should see a noticeable improvement in your condition. (The principle is that the salt cleanses the pores by exfoliation, while the olive oil restores the skin's natural moisture.)

• Condition your hair. Warm up Olive Oil, massage it into your hair and scalp, wrap your head in a towel, and sit under a dryer. Later, shampoo as usual.

• Dust wooden furniture. Apply a bit of Olive Oil to a cloth and wipe.

• Foot softener.

• For a facial, wet face thoroughly, then massage Olive Oil into your skin. Use about a half teaspoon of sugar and scrub your face with that, then wipe off gently with a warm, wet cloth until the sugar is all gone.

• For a hand scrub, rub in olive oil then scrub with sugar and wash.

• I cut off the top of a whole head of garlic, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and drizzle Olive Oil over the top. I wrap it up in foil and roast in the oven until the garlic gets soft. Great stuff spread over home made bread.

• I have used it in the past for lice control, when it seems the pesticides aren't really working anyway.

• I keep a squeeze bottle of Olive Oil in the medicine cabinet and use it daily instead of moisturiser.

• I like to toast French bread and then lightly spray it with an excellent Olive Oil instead of buttering it. It is very good.

• I mix Olive Oil half and half with lemon juice to make a wood cleaner/polish. Nourishes your furniture while it cleans.

• I use it for the static in the winter. I rub almost into my hands then run my fingers through my hair, follow with a brush or two from my natural brush.

• I use Olive Oil (extra virgin) in baking where vegetable oil is called for, it makes cakes, etc. much more moist and flavourful....I have had people ask me for the special recipe.

• Make your own furniture polish. Restore the lost lustre of your wooden furniture by whipping up some serious homemade furniture polish that's just as good as any of the commercial stuff. Combine 2 parts olive oil and 1 part lemon juice or white vinegar in a clean recycled spray bottle, shake it up, and spray on. Leave on the mixture for a minute or two, then wipe off with a clean terry-cloth or paper towel. In a hurry? Get fast results by applying olive oil straight from the bottle onto a paper towel. Wipe off the excess with another paper towel or an absorbent cloth.

• Make-up Remover.

• Melted with some beeswax and poured into a small tin, it makes great lip balm, leather conditioner and wood polish.

• Mix 3 parts Olive Oil with 1 part white vinegar for wood floor polish. Apply and rub in well.

• Mix 50/50 with saved fat for homemade soap. I have used 100% Olive Oil in soap making, but it takes longer to cure.

• Mix it with butter and garlic for your garlic bread, very nice change.

• Mix with wine vinegar, crushed garlic, and fresh grated Parmesan cheese for salad dressing.

• Moisturize cuticles. Apply a small amount of Olive Oil to the nail beds.

• Olive Oil works as a lubricant on the feet (for reflexology) and does not disappear the way lotions do.

• Once a week I treat myself to this most fabulous beauty treatment. I give my hair and scalp a massage with olive oil. Using a regular comb, comb it through my hair. This gives it unbeatable shine and it's never looked healthier. Leave it on for an hour or two. Wash hair as normal to remove oil and wrap hair in towel to dry. Then I run a hot bath. While the water's running I stand in the tub and scrub my face, body, and feet with a paste made of Olive Oil and salt- regular table salt. (This makes your skin extra soft, leaves it glowing, and has cleared up my acne.) Then I soak in the tub for 15 minutes.

• Polish lacquered metal. Use a few drops of Olive Oil on a soft cloth.

• Prevent wax from sticking to a candle holder. Rub a thin coat on the base of the holder before inserting a candle. Dripped wax should peel away easily.

• Recondition an old baseball mitt. If your beloved, aging baseball glove is showing signs of wear and tear -- cracking and hardening of the leather -- you can give it a second lease on life with an occasional olive oil rubdown. Just work the Olive Oil into the dry areas of your mitt with a soft cloth, let it set for 30 minutes, then wipe off any excess. Your game may not improve, but at least it won't be your glove's fault. Some folks prefer to use bath oil to recondition their mitts.

• Rejuvenate a palm or fern plant. Add two tablespoons Olive Oil at the root of the plant once a month.

• Rejuvenate dry skin. Lubricate with Olive Oil.

• Relieve a cough. Mix three to four tablespoons lemon juice, one cup honey, and one-half cup Olive Oil. Heat for five minutes. Then stir vigorously for two minutes. Take one teaspoon every two hours.

• Relieve a scalded throat. Take two teaspoons Olive Oil to soothe and coat the throat.

• Relieve bursitis. Heat Olive Oil and massage into the shoulder or upper arm daily.

• Relieve constipation. Take one to three tablespoons Olive Oil as a mild laxative.

• Relieve jellyfish or man-of-war stings. Apply Olive Oil for immediate relief, then seek medical attention.

• Remove eye makeup. Dab a little Olive Oil under the eyes and rinse off with a washcloth.

• Remove paint from hair. Did you get almost as much paint in your hair as you did on the walls in your last paint job? You can easily remove that undesirable tint by moistening a cotton ball with some olive oil and gently rubbing it into your hair. The same approach is also effective for removing mascara -- just be sure to wipe your eyes with a tissue when done.

• Replacement for butter, put it in the fridge and it develops the same consistency.

• Rub it on my turkey instead of butter.

• Shave. If you run out of shaving cream, slather on Olive Oil.

• Shave. Olive Oil can provide a closer shave when used in place of shaving cream.

• Shine stainless steel. Many cleaning standbys, such as ammonia, can dull and even corrode chrome and stainless steel. Olive Oil however, is a safe and effective shining agent.

• Silence squeaky doors. Lubricate hinges by applying a small dab to a cloth, then wiping the top of the hinges so that the oil runs down the sides.

• Slow a dog from shedding. Pour one tablespoon Olive Oil on your dog.

• Soothe an ear ache. Warm and insert a few drops of Olive Oil into the affected ear, plug with cotton, and apply a hot water bottle.

• Soothe frostbite. Warm some Olive Oil and gently dab on frost bitten skin.

• Substitute for shaving cream. If you run out of shaving cream, don't waste your time trying to make do with soap -- it could be rough on your skin. Olive oil, on the other hand, is a dandy substitute for shaving cream. It not only makes it easier for the blade to glide over your face or legs, but it will moisturize your skin as well. In fact, after trying this, you may swear off shaving cream altogether.

  Spray your pans before cooking. It also is a great way to get a small amount of fat/oil on foods for those of us who are watching our weight—spray on salad or bread or whatever.

• To condition scalp on bald heads: rub with Olive Oil and then lay on a hot (not burning!), moist towel. When the towel cools, reheat in the microwave. Be careful not to get too hot. Continue doing this several times.

• Treat dry skin. Rub a thin layer over the skin after a shower or a waxing.

• Un-stick a zipper. Using a Q-tip, apply a drop to lubricate the teeth. (Avoid touching the fabric.) The zipper should move up and down freely.

• Use 2 parts olive oil, 1 part lemon juice (or white vinegar) for furniture polish, or just olive oil on a rag.

• Use as hair conditioner. Is your hair as dry and brittle as sagebrush in the desert? Put the moisture back into it by heating 1/2 cup olive oil (don't boil it), and then liberally applying it to your hair. Cover your hair with a plastic grocery bag, then wrap it in a towel. Let it set for 45 minutes, then shampoo and thoroughly rinse.

• Use it as bath oil. Two to three tablespoons will do the trick.

• Use it for your hair. Not only does it condition, but it also gets rid of the frizz. I put a small drop into my palm & then rub both hands together & then apply it to dry hair. (not wet hair).

• Use it to remove paint from your skin. Rub it on and let it soak a while then wash well with soap. The paint usually comes off without any skin damaging materials. And your skin will be all soft.

• When I pour it out there is always a drip-so I wipe it up with my hand and rub it in, my elbows are a lot better now for it.

• When recent troubles with my ear I asked the pharmacist where I could find the old fashioned 'sweet oil' that they put in ears for wax and ear aches. He said it was really olive oil that was used! Needless to say I did not bother to search the shelves any longer, as I have it in my cupboard. Use with caution and seek medical advice if pain persists.

• You can buy a pump bottle for oil at most discount or kitchen supply stores. Fill with plain or flavoured olive oil to use as a spray. This can replace the spray cans of oil that many people buy.