Olive oil comes from the fruit of Olea europaea, one of the oldest cultivated trees in the world, native to the Mediterranean basin and now grown across southern Europe, North Africa, and parts of the Americas. Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil, and the source of the RBDW-grade olive oil we use at Eternal Sunday.
What RBDW means
RBDW stands for Refined, Bleached, Deodorized, and Winterized. Each step has a purpose.
Refining removes free fatty acids and impurities from the raw pressed oil. Bleaching (with natural clays, not chemical bleach) removes colour pigments and further clarifies the oil. Deodorizing removes the characteristic olive scent through steam distillation. Winterizing chills the oil to precipitate and filter out waxes that would otherwise cause cloudiness or graininess at cooler temperatures.
The result is a pale, almost colourless oil with a neutral scent and a stable, consistent texture. For soap and body butter formulation, this is actually preferable to extra virgin olive oil. The strong green colour and herbal scent of extra virgin olive oil would affect the appearance and fragrance of every formula it went into. RBDW gives us a clean, predictable base that doesn't interfere with our essential oil blends or our colour choices.
Why it's in almost everything we make
Olive oil is one of the most oleic-acid-dominant carrier oils available, typically running at 65 to 80% oleic acid content. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid with a medium-sized molecular structure that absorbs well into the upper layers of the skin, contributing to a soft, conditioned feel that lasts. It also has a gentle emollient quality that makes formulas feel comfortable rather than occlusive.
In soap, olive oil is famous for producing a creamy, mild, conditioning lather. Castile soap (made from 100% olive oil) is one of the oldest soap formulations in existence precisely because olive oil saponifies cleanly and produces a bar that's gentle enough for sensitive skin. In our soaps, it contributes conditioning properties without softening the bar excessively (a risk with very high olive oil concentrations).
In body butter, olive oil adds slip and helps the formula spread smoothly and evenly. At 6% of the body butter formula it works alongside jojoba and pumpkin seed butter to balance the density of the shea and cocoa butter base.
Spain and olive oil
Spain produces more olive oil than any other country, accounting for roughly 40% of global supply. The olive groves of Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Extremadura are among the largest agricultural landscapes in Europe. Spanish olive oil ranges from intensely flavoured extra virgin estates to the large-volume refined grades used in food manufacturing and cosmetics. The RBDW grade we use comes from this supply chain, refined to cosmetic-grade purity for use in skincare formulation.
In our products
Olive oil appears in every Eternal Sunday soap and body butter. It is one of a small number of ingredients present across the entire product range, chosen for its consistent conditioning performance, its long history of safe use in skincare, and the stability it contributes to formulas designed to last.
