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j&j pulls skin-lightening creams: 'healthy skin is beautiful skin'
not only are skin-lightening creams perceived as racist, they can also be toxic to your health.
petroleum jelly: is the skin care staple safe?
despite once being advertised as a 'vaseline confection,' don't eat it. or use it in the bedroom.
many canadians use it on their lips or as part of their skin care routine.
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in the 1870s, inventor robert chesebrough called it “wonder jelly” — a thick, oily mixture of mineral oils and waxes distilled from a petroleum product that oil rig workers would use to speed the healing of cuts and burns. by 1872, he patented the light-coloured gel under the name vaseline and it has since been used for everything from oiling squeaky hinges and hiding scuffs on furniture to preventing nasal crustiness and soothing dry skin.
petrolatum or petroleum jelly, is a winter staple for many canadians. the thick, slippery substance sits on top of the skin, creating a barrier that stops moisture loss and protects against harsh winds and dry air.
but despite the nice, cozy attachment many of us have to vaseline as a childhood salve for both our bums and lips, should we be putting a by-product of crude oil on our bodies?
according to dr. zaki taher, a board-certified dermatologist at lucere skin in edmonton, the product is safe to use.
“there isn’t any evidence at this time that would suggest major safety issues of the use of petroleum jelly on the skin,” he says.
in fact, according to taher, there’s lots that good about the seemingly all-purpose jelly, especially its ability to keep skin hydrated.
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“petrolatum is one of the best occlusive (blocks water loss) moisturizers that can be used,” he says. “there’s something called trans epidermal water loss (tewl), which is basically…a measurement of how well something that’s put on skin prevents the escape of water — five per cent of petroleum jelly can reduce that tewl by more than 98 per cent.”
this simple method of keeping skin hydrated has been shown to have some serious skin care benefits — a study published in the journal of allergy and clinical immunology found that “emollient therapy” — coating a child’s entire body, excluding the scalp, with various occlusives, from sunflower oil to petrolatum-based products, correlated with a 50 per cent decrease in at-risk babies developing atopic eczema.
petroleum jelly also continues to be widely used in treating small wounds and burns, not only to heal by also reduce scarring.
“in many cases with wound healing or patients who are in the burn ward at the hospital, we often use petroleum jelly or petrolatum products like that, to help with the healing process,” says taher.
slugging, skin care and lip balm
refined petroleum jelly is non-comedogenic, meaning it won’t clog pores, however other ingredients added to the product may cause problems. the occlusive nature of petrolatum also means it can trap harmful factors, like dirt and bacteria, next to the skin, potentially causing irritation.
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slugging, the practice of ending an evening skin care routine by smearing a layer of petrolatum over the face can also have mixed results. the jelly will keep the moisture in, but will also do the same for potentially sensitizing ingredients such as lanolin and essential oils.
“the most classic problem, especially now during covid, is people who use it for moisturization on the face [develop] acne or aggravate it,” says taher. “some people having maskne anyway are going to find that the vaseline is just fuel to the fire”
is petroleum jelly a carcinogen?
in canada, petrolatum is approved for a limited number of uses as a food additive, for example, to keep bakery products “fresh” and in the wax coating used to protect raw fruits and vegetables. but in 2016, the government completed a screening assessment for petrolatum after concerns arose that impurities in these substances could harm consumers and the environment. it found that existing canadian regulation on these products — like only using pharmaceutical grade products for cosmetics — limits potential carcinogens such as aromatic hydrocarbons to levels that are not harmful to humans.
a separate study published in f1000
research tested the level or aromatic hydrocarbons in popular products such as vaseline and bag balm and found that the presence of aromatic hydrocarbons in pure petroleum jelly hovered at about one per cent. cosmetics containing the petrolatum had rates far below that mark. currently, there is no standard set for what concentration of hydrocarbons is dangerous.
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lip service
and while rubbing minute amounts petroleum jelly on your lips is considered safe, according to taher, it’s not for eating, although historically, it was known as “vaseline confection” to aid sore throats. consuming large amounts of the semi-solid can result in abdominal pain, coughing and diarrhea. if the jelly happens to be breathed in and gets into your lungs, symptoms include chest pain and coughing up blood and is worthy of a call to your local poison control centre.
and in case all the talk of moisture and protection has you thinking that the jelly has a role to play in the bedroom, don’t: studies have shown that using petroleum jelly internally is linked to bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections. it also weakens the latex of condoms, increasing the likelihood of breakage during sex.
despite the fact researchers continue to evaluate petroleum jelly for health effects, as it stands, there has yet to be any confirmation that petroleum jelly has resulted in serious health concerns, says taher.
“i use it almost every day, especially in the winter…sometimes it’s what you need to do to take care of your lips.”
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