Olive in Levantine Botanical Heritage

Olive oil is one of the oils in FAYNAN's Botanical Hair Ritual Oil, and it is there for a reason: no plant is more woven into Levantine life. The olive feeds families, lights lamps, makes soap and has long been part of hair and body care across the region. In our blend, it brings that heritage to a modern pre-wash ritual.

A tree of the Levant

The olive (Olea europaea) has been cultivated around the eastern Mediterranean since antiquity. Groves cover the hills of Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, and many trees are older than the villages around them. In Arabic it is zaytoun, and its oil, zeit zaytoun, is simply "oil" in many homes.

The autumn harvest

Harvest comes in the autumn, usually from October into November, once the first rains have fallen. Families gather under the trees, spread sheets on the ground and comb the olives from the branches by hand. The fruit goes to the press within days, and the first oil of the season is shared, tasted with bread and set aside for the year. It is still one of the most social moments in the Levantine calendar.

More than the kitchen

Olive oil has always reached beyond food. It burned in clay lamps, was cooked into the olive oil soaps the region is known for, and was rubbed into hands roughened by work. Warmed and smoothed through hair before washing, it belongs to the same family of habits as the wider Middle Eastern hair rituals: oil first, then a wash.

Olive in our ritual oil

In the Botanical Hair Ritual Oil, olive oil sits alongside wild pistachio (butm), Sidr, black seed, fenugreek infused in sesame oil, jojoba and rosemary. Olive is one of the richer oils in the blend; the lighter oils balance it so the whole spreads easily and rinses cleanly.

1. Apply a few drops to dry hair and scalp, section by section.
2. Leave for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Shampoo thoroughly, before adding much water.

Hair feels softer, with a natural-looking shine. The full method is in How to Use a Pre-Wash Hair Oil.

Can you use kitchen olive oil on hair?

Many people do. It is a rich, heavy oil on its own, so use very little, keep it to the lengths if your hair is fine, and shampoo twice. A blend made for hair spreads more easily and is quicker to wash out. If you would like a single oil for the same moment, compare the options in How to Choose a Hair Oil.

Before the wash, or after?

Our ritual oil is made for the moment before shampoo. For a single drop to smooth through dry ends after washing, read Pre-Wash or Finishing Oil?

Good to know

• The Botanical Hair Ritual Oil contains sesame and wild pistachio (a tree nut).
• Test on a small area of skin before first use, keep away from the eyes, and stop using it if irritation occurs.

Discover more

Read what the name FAYNAN means, see the Olive entry in our Botanical Library, read Our Story and discover The Ritual.