Petroleum Jelly : The Good Not The Bad
Most people think that USP White Petroleum Jelly commonly known as Vaseline blocks skin pores. Now, I am not sure when this belief about Vaseline actually started but nothing could be further from the truth. As a research scientist I am not aware of any credible scientific data that has established petroleum jelly or mineral oil as "comedogenic". What do I mean by comedogenic? According to the FDA a comedogenic substance is any substance that blocks skin pores and cause acne. In fact, the term “comedogenic” according to the FDA is only to be used to describe a substance that may cause acne. Many retailers of natural products have stretched the definition of comedogenic outside of the scope of the FDA definition to include cosmetic products.
Technically speaking, petroleum jelly is a greasy substance extracted from hydrocarbon processing of heavy paraffin oils and crystalline waxes. According to established protocols of solubility science the prerequisite for a molecule to pass through the bi-lipid layer of the skin is that it weighs less than 500 Daltons (or 500 amu), that it has a melting point less than 200°C, and that it has a moderate lipophilicity value (using a octanol/water standard) between 10 and 1000. USP White Petroleum jelly (better known as Vaseline) and USP mineral oil meet all of these requirements. In fact, because petroleum jelly and mineral oil are hydrophobic substances when applied to the skin both substances migrate to the bi-lipid layer portion in the epidermal skin and penetrate through the underlying skin tissue by this route.
Regardless of what many dermatologist say or natural product companies claim there are no credible scientific studies that have been published and reviewed that unequivocally demonstrates petroleum jelly and mineral oil blocks skin pores. Many pharmaceutical companies that quietly own well known natural product manufacturers and wholesale food stores nowadays are just in the business of trying to sell more expensive moisturizers in order to increase profit margins in a sagging economy. They do this by having so-called experts write articles and give seminars on how many known inexpensive moisturizers used in cosmetics for years are now somehow unsafe for consumer use. They have been able to sell their story with much success by using this analogy: “since petroleum jelly is a solid at room temperature, thick and greasy” it must block skin pores.
Fifty years ago pharmaceutical companies had no problem selling petroleum jelly. Nowadays, petroleum jelly is no good so buy our much more expensive and less effective jojoba oil or avocado oil. Other smaller companies or individuals in the alternative health business honestly think they are doing the “natural thing” but are in fact only following the new tends in the natural health industry set by big pharmaceutical companies. Since most consumers are science illiterate these so-called natural product companies have been very successful with this market strategy.
Establish research studies have clearly showned that USP White Petroleum Jelly and USP mineral oil do not block skin pores and are better moisturizers than other natural substances like shea butter, cocoa butter, almond oil, olive oil, and jojoba oil. We recognize the myths and distortions surrounding pure USP White Petroleum Jelly. For more information read the publication, Petroleum Jelly: Facts and Myths which addresses common beliefs about pharmaceutical grade petroleum jelly and mineral oil.
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