"Vaseline" - the Other "Gasoline"

Still use Vaseline? We don't recommend it. Especially on babies and children. It doesn't "moisturize" but simply "lock in moisture". (water & hydration are the only sure-fire ways to moisturize- from within!)

It's vacuum distilled crude oil, filtered through bone char to yield petroleum jelly. It also houses hydrocarbons. (Hydrocarbons are bad: like causing a nerve disorder called "peripheral neuropathy")

If you remove the "V", and replace it with a "G". It's a petroleum product. Would you smear gas, petrol or oil on your skin? Of course not. So why do you think it's ok for Vaseline to be on your body?? Just because it's odorless and colorless? So is natural gas, but it will still kill you.

A Fun "Yikes" fact:

"Petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, glows bright blue under a black light. Anything you paint with the petroleum jelly will glow blue under ultraviolet light."

Anne Helmenstine

“What Is Petroleum Jelly?"

Petroleum jelly or petrolatum was discovered as a paraffin-like material coating oil rigs. Since then, it has been used in various ointments and as a lubricant. Here is a look at what petroleum jelly is and its chemical composition.
Answer: Petroleum jelly is made by the waxy petroleum material that formed on oil rigs and distilling it. The lighter and thinner oil-based products make up petroleum jelly, also known as white petrolatum or simply as petrolatum. Robert Chesebrough is the chemist who devised and patented this process (U.S. Patent 127,568) in 1872. Basically, the crude material undergoes vacuum distillation. The still residue is then filtered through bone char to yield petroleum jelly.
At room temperature, petroleum jelly is an odorless semi-solid which consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons.”

HERE ARE THE FACTS.

Origins of Petroleum Jelly

While investigating the site, Chesebrough observed that oil workers would smear this white gooey residue (that they called "rod wax") from the drills onto burns and cuts on their skin and it appeared to aid in the healing process. Chesebrough took samples back to New York and began experimenting with the substance until he was able to extract what would become petroleum jelly.
In 1870 he began marketing his Vaseline product. He marketed (meaning sold, and assumed its uses without testing them) it as an oiling product for leather, a lubricant, and for medicinal uses for chapped skin, blisters, burns, sunburns, cuts and for keeping wounds clean by sealing them off.

Consumer Concerns

In later years it was found that petroleum jelly did not actually heal cuts and wounds as previously thought and that it could actually trap bacteria in the skin and therefore should not be used on fresh burns. Other problems have been discovered through the years, including something called lipid pneumonia, when petroleum jelly is used around and inside the nose. Lipid pneumonia is an infection caused by the inhalation of fats.

Now petrolatum is regularly added to lotions and creams because of its ability to retain moisture. But some health issues have raised concerns. The major concern that has flooded the Internet with numerous pro and con articles, are PAHs, known contaminants in unrefined petrolatum. Many health professionals like Dr. Andrew Weil don’t believe consumers should be concerned with petroleum jelly causing cancer.
USP petroleum jelly is not the same as the unrefined petrolatum material that is said to be carcinogenic. Petrolatum in drugs, food and food packaging must meet FDA impurity restrictions. White petroleum jelly is a refined, purified extract of heavy waxes and paraffinic oils and USP white petroleum jelly has passed the safety standards of the FDA for use in food and cosmetics. Dr. Jim DeVito stated in an interview with KDVR-TV (Fox 31 Denver) that as long as the consumer “knows where it comes from and what procedures have been used to purify it--it’s totally safe.” The problem is that not all manufacturers choose to use refined petrolatum or use low-grade refinement processing, and there is the potential for PAHs to still be present. Consumers should look for USP white petroleum jelly (BP in Britain and Ph. Eur in Europe) which indicates the grade, where it was refined and that it meets specific purity standards, and go with trusted brands like Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has given Vaseline Petroleum Jelly a 0 rating, meaning that the organization considers it to be a low hazard. See more about the rating.
While it has not been definitively proven that petroleum-based products are carcinogenic in humans, those who want to err on the side of caution and wish to avoid petrolatum in their skin care products can look for ingredients listed as petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum, mineral oil (which is a petroleum-derived oil) and soft paraffin.

So again - we leave it to you!