You may run across petrolatum as an ingredient in some of your favorite skin care products. Or, you may be familiar with petroleum jelly — a staple in many medicine cabinets.
Moisturizers in beauty products fall into two categories: humectants (which draw moisture out of the air and into the skin) and occlusives. Occlusives trap water in the skin and prevent it from evaporating. Petrolatum is most definitely an occlusive, reducing water loss from the skin by as much as ninety-eight percent in laboratory tests! Other studies have pointed out that petrolatum can help fill in spaces between skin cells in upper layers of the skin.
So where did it come from? Petroleum jelly was discovered in the 1850s when a chemist was touring Pennsylvania oil rigs. A strange, wax-like material kept forming on the oil pumps. Chemist Robert Cheesbrough distilled the stuff into the petroleum jelly we know today and patented it in 1872.
Originally intended as a healing balm, petroleum jelly has a wide range of uses today. You can use it as a sealant to keep wounds clean, but it is NOT recommended for use on fresh burns, as it can trap heat inside and make a fresh burn worse. Petrolatum is a great softener for chapped lips, hands, and other areas of rough skin. A layer of petroleum jelly can also help protect sensitive areas against chapping, chafing, or wind burn — some long-distance runners apply petroleum jelly to prevent chafing from clothing.
And for you beauty pageant participants, there’s the old trick of rubbing petroleum jelly onto your teeth — it can help prevent your lips (and lipstick) from sticking to your teeth.
In lotions, however, petrolatum can contribute to the “greasy” feeling so many people don’t like. This is because petroleum jelly doesn’t really get absorbed into the skin — it is lipid-based and does not dissolve in water. Still, petrolatum is officially classified as non-comedogenic, meaning it will not clog pores. So it’s safe to use petroleum jelly as a facial moisturizer.
What’s your favorite use for petroleum jelly? I’m kind of eager to try the make your own lip balm craft!