Foregoing the common solution of simply slapping a serum or cream on top of a skin concern, he developed an elixir made of olive oil to be used for internal treatment. The idea came to him in a tree house, in the middle of his first olive grove.

Just a few years earlier, Lommel’s life had looked very different. He was neck-deep in hustle culture: by 29, he was running a group of companies with over a thousand employees. By 33, his health was beginning to suffer, something he links to his non-stop work.

He thought back to a conversation with an astrologer, many years before. “Earth, trees, and creative work under the southern sun,” she had recommended to him. It was only when his symptoms intensified that he finally understood what she had meant.

“I was put on strong prescription medications,” he writes, “and every time I stopped taking them for a few days, things got worse than before.” This forced him to come to terms with one startling truth: any real solution had to be holistic, not only pharmaceutical.

He had always daydreamed of growing his own olive grove in Greece. Now, he allowed those dreams to take root. He began travelling to places with lots of olive farms. He immersed himself in the trees, to the point, he says, that he felt he was communicating with them. A new regimen arose: embalming himself in olive oil, “inside and out”.

From Italy and Tuscany to Apulia, Andalusia, and Seville, Lommel threw himself into learning what a holistic olive-based approach would require. Though he studied oils obsessively, it was the connections with people, especially farmers, that shaped his understanding.

Apulian farmers taught him that olive leaves held more of the nutrients he wanted than the fruit or the oil. Rich in antioxidants, especially oleuropein, olive leaves have been linked (in early research) to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, stronger immunity, better blood-sugar regulation, and improved cardiovascular health. Their antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties only deepened their appeal.

A friend in Andalusia eventually pointed him in the direction of a grove for sale. Lommel practically lived in his car on the 3500 km trip to get there. Securing 120 trees – all approximately 100 years old – excited him so much he immediately built himself a treehouse to live among them while he worked.

The first elixir he developed was sent to early customers, alternative medicine practitioners, and doctors. Struggling to drum up local interest, he wore posters across his chest while wandering the streets of Seville. Weeks later, he was ready to quit when the feedback started pouring in. Letters of gratitude were so touching, Lommel felt electrified.

The deeper he dived into research, the more he discovered the environmental cost of conventional cosmetics. Many “natural” or “active” products were mostly water — often around 70% — with another 25% made up of emulsifiers and binding agents. That left little room for true active ingredients. And big volumes meant more plastic, more shipping, more energy use, and more waste.

Lommel was reminded of a personal experience: a neighbor’s newer, deeper well had once deprived Lommel, his family, and their land of water they’d previously freely utilised from their own older well. Lommel considered that damage magnified on a larger scale, impacting vulnerable communities, countries, and entire regions. The terms “carbon footprint” and “environmental impact” joined the klaxons sounding in his head. Things had to change – and Lommel decided Olive Tree Therapy would be his way to help do it.

He decided to remove water from his product range, replacing it with cell elixir from olive leaves and bio-active arbequina oil. This – and a host of other active ingredients sourced from the olive trees and the flora that grew around it, became the basis of the products he proudly serves today.

Today, several brands exist under the Olive Tree People umbrella. All of them share a commitment to sustainability and the reduction of their global carbon footprint. They run reforestation initiatives, have dug wells that to date have provided over 15000 people with fresh water, and are educating youths to work in and develop their localities instead of adding to urban migration.

In doing so, the team keeps working to achieve its founder’s vision of not only sustainable, holistic healthcare, but of becoming part of the solution, not the problems caused by the beauty industry.

Consider their Anti-Oxidant Intuitive Eye Treatment. Gently patted into the under-eye area, it’s designed with the same oil Lommel swears by, promising reduction of puffiness, the diminishing appearance of worrying fine lines, and defense of the sensitive area from the harmful influences of environmental factors.

Minor blemishes, redness, sunburn, and eczema, even acne or small abrasions and scars, can evade the most regimental of skincare routines. When you need a minor miracle, stop reaching over the counter – try the B14 SOS Olive Leaf Gel. A host of ingredients, including olive leaf and rosemary leaf oil, combine for effective relief.

For those willing to try, there’s always the I47 Just Pure Olive Matcha – pure, ground, dried olive leaf. While the team encourages creative utilisation, to stay true to the original intention, half a teaspoon of the ground powder in 100-500ml of boiling water can be drunk immediately – or when it’s at your preferred, suitably warm temperature. Or, use it as a face mask.

Oil pulling has been a buzzword since pre-pandemic days. Lommel’s team suggests 124 Moroccan Mint Oil Cure – minty freshness following the absorption of contaminants accumulating overnight. Eight to twelve minutes every day, constantly moving it in your mouth. Or – following Lommel’s holistic dreams – added to body/facial oils, masks, and serums. The sky’s the limit.

Hyaluron and hemp extract join forces in a powerful anti-wrinkle active complex, with each shot promising 6.3 ml of hydroxytyrosol to defend against oxidative stress. LaDope’s 001 Internal Hemp Beauty Molecule thus joins the list of products Lommel and team promise will provide rosy, radiant skin through regular use.