Giada’s Favorite Italian Beauty Rituals

Simple, good-enough-to-eat ingredients are the key to these time-honored beauty techniques. 

Italian women have used natural ingredients to look and feel great for generations. When specialty beauty products were hard to come by, generations of women relied on homegrown recipes to take care of their skin and hair. Today, many still rely on these time-honored routines even though commercial cosmetics are readily available —if it worked for nonna, it’ll work for them! Just as in cooking, Italians are skilled at finding joy and pleasure in the simplest ingredients. It doesn’t hurt that some of Italy’s favorite cooking ingredients, like olive oil, just happen to be great for your skin, too!  

Giada is no stranger to these rituals, and some of her favorite routines are simple at-home recipes that were passed down from her nonna to her mother to her. Today, she shares them with Jade to keep the tradition alive—and she’s written down a few of her go-tos here for us.   

If you want a shortcut to your own Italian-inspired spa day, we’ve collected the products that Giada uses for these recipes in our Italian Beauty Secrets Box, sourced directly from Italy. The box includes all the ingredients you’ll need for the below recipes, plus some decadent Italian chocolate (no spa day would be complete without it!). Otherwise, use the best-quality versions of these products that you have available to you.  

Gentle Face Scrub 

2 tablespoons rice flour 

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 

In a bowl, combine rice flour and olive oil. Gently massage the scrub onto the skin, avoiding the eye area. Let the scrub sit on the skin for at least 5 minutes to enjoy the olive oil’s moisturizing benefits, then rinse with warm water. 

Once mixed, the scrub can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.   

Note: This exfoliating scrub is suitable for all parts of the body. To cover more surface area, simply add more rice flour and olive oil in a 2:1 ratio. 

Watch Giada and Jade make it here!

Moisturizing Hair Mask  

1/4 cup eucalyptus honey 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

In a bowl, combine honey and olive oil. (If honey is too thick to mix evenly, microwave it in 10-second intervals until it runs easily but is not too hot.) Gently smooth the mixture through damp hair, ensuring even coverage from root to tip. 

Pin up your hair or put on a shower cap and let the mask soak in for 30 minutes. Rinse and proceed with your regular shampoo and conditioning routine.  

Note: You may need more or less product depending on your hair’s length and thickness. To adjust quantities, simply maintain a 2:1 ratio of honey to olive oil. 

Moisturizing Face Mask  

2 Tablespoons eucalyptus honey 

This one couldn’t be simpler! Simply apply honey in a thin, even layer to clean, dry skin, avoiding the eye area. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with warm water.