Petrolatum - what are your views?
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free skin care · Thu May 02, 2013 2:07 am

My hands recently have been incredibly dry, and nothing has helped return them back to normal... except Petrolatum.

I've read lots of negative things about it in the past: just wondering what people's view on it are? Yay or Nay? Smile

free skin care · Thu May 02, 2013 7:03 am

I love it and use it, works for me.

free skin care · Thu May 02, 2013 7:59 am

I use Vaseline daily and have all my life. Sometimes its the ONLY thing that works for me.

free skin care · Thu May 02, 2013 9:22 am

Where do you guys use it? Ever use it on the face? I used it under my eyes a few times...!

free skin care · Thu May 02, 2013 9:26 am

I use it on my face if I am running outside in the cold and wind, on my hands and feet every night and on my lips every day.

free skin care · Thu May 02, 2013 2:32 pm

Other than to act as a barrier vaseline has no medicinal properties.
However it makes sense to use when running in the cold to protect moisture being wicked out. For cuts etc. it protects skin from bacteria getting in. So, useful after ablative laser for both those reasons.
Although I know a few of you feel it helps grow lashes: of course it doesn't! Bald men would exist no more! I guess if you dont wear makeup it could hold down rogue brows or make your lashes shiny; we used it as lip gloss at school.
As a moisturiser? Far too slick and shiny. Under makeup? Everything slides and smudges off!
So I'm a solid NAY! But thats just my opinion remember.

free skin care · Thu May 02, 2013 6:00 pm

Billybob wrote:

Other than to act as a barrier vaseline has no medicinal properties.
However it makes sense to use when running in the cold to protect moisture being wicked out. For cuts etc. it protects skin from bacteria getting in. So, useful after ablative laser for both those reasons.
Although I know a few of you feel it helps grow lashes: of course it doesn't! Bald men would exist no more! I guess if you dont wear makeup it could hold down rogue brows or make your lashes shiny; we used it as lip gloss at school.
As a moisturiser? Far too slick and shiny. Under makeup? Everything slides and smudges off!
So I'm a solid NAY! But thats just my opinion remember.

I suppose we might actually say that petroleum jelly has medicinal properties. There are documented studies that show it helps in the repair of the skin barrier. Here is a link to one http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1564142
but you can find quite a few with similar results. Personally I think it's a great product. Not under makeup of course or for growing lashes Smile

free skin care · Fri May 03, 2013 12:36 am

SnowFairy wrote:

petroleum jelly has medicinal properties. There are documented studies that show it helps in the repair of the skin barrier. Here is a link to one http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1564142
but you can find quite a few with similar results. Personally I think it's a great product. Not under makeup of course or for growing lashes Smile

That's an amazing link! Thank you!!! Off to buy a new tub now Wink

free skin care · Fri May 03, 2013 12:37 am

And do you guys think it would be okay to use under the eyes? I'm paranoid about doing more damage under there, but the skin really needs to heal...

free skin care · Fri May 03, 2013 6:03 am

I use it under my eyes at night and I'm happy with it. Not too much or I wake up with puffy eyes. A little bit on the orbital bone seems to be enough and it spreads to the under eye just from the warmth of the skin.

free skin care · Fri May 03, 2013 6:41 am

I use mine on my lips and nose daily. I also use it on my cuticles and feet overnight in the winter or when needed.
I have used it on my entire face after my CO2 laser and Fraxel, as advised by my doctors.

free skin care · Fri May 03, 2013 2:47 pm

I think the reason it got such a bad rap (besides being a petroleum product) is because it's known to prevent other actives from penetrating the skin due to it's occlusive action.

I think the trick is to allow any actives in thinner formulas to absorb and apply the petroleum product later. Best of both worlds.

Fri May 03, 2013 3:13 pm

I use vaseline on my feet occasionally with great results. Got this from my mom: mix in your hands a scrub of 2 parts sugar to 1 part olive oil, rub all over feet- especially on the heels and any callouses, rinse with warm water and pat dry. Rub Vaseline all over your feet, cover with saran wrap, put socks over the saran wrap, carefully walk to bed (it'll feel slippery), and wake up with baby butt smooth feet. Smile

You can do the same thing with your hands but it bothers me not to be able to use my hands at night.

According to several biographies I've read, Marilyn Monroe swore by Vaseline as a preventative measure against wrinkles. She did look amazingly young when she passed at age 36. My acne prone skin would hate me for it so I could never try.

Sat May 04, 2013 2:40 am

I have acne prone skin but have sometimes used Vaseline on my face as well as feet and hands. I usually use it if my skin is irritated from vitamin c serum or retin a in the cold UK winters. It doesn't bother my acne as long as I don't use it every night. Applying it to damp skin in a very thin layer always makes my face lovely and smooth the next morning.

free skin care · Tue May 07, 2013 12:38 am

Violetlight wrote:

And do you guys think it would be okay to use under the eyes? I'm paranoid about doing more damage under there, but the skin really needs to heal...

I have used it under my eyes every night for over 20 years and my eyes are fine. Got that tip from Eva Fraser although she advised to use it before exercising the eyes. I read in Essence magazine years ago of a celebrity who did it as a night treatment. Since I do face exercises before bed after washing my face, it became the norm to apply Vaseline under eyes before bed.

It was Eva Fraser who introduced me to Vaseline on hands and you can see her hands, which IMO do not betray her age, in the video clip below when she demonstrates an exercise close to the camera. I understand she does a caster sugar scrub but I reckon that is a new addition to her regimen because early in this millennium when I asked about her hands Vaseline and gloves when doing chores and in extreme weather were all she said she uses on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcyRLKq3aZg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I do not believe Petrolatum is bad. I shared my thoughts on it in this discussion: http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=48594

free skin care · Tue May 07, 2013 3:33 pm

Chlorophyll wrote:

I think the trick is to allow any actives in thinner formulas to absorb and apply the petroleum product later. Best of both worlds.

Yes, that's how I think you can get the best too!!
I found out by applying the treatment cream for eczema on my hands,... and then vaseline at night when it was really bad, and it made it work ten times better than without the vaseline afterwards!!
As by what I read only actives -like vit. A and C can actually prevent wrinkles, but also that petrolatum is one of the best moisturising products for the skin... so I agree totally about the best of both worlds!!
By the way I do apply it under eyes too, not on a regular basis but doing more and more often as I don't seem to be satisfied by the eye creams I buy and petrolatum seems far superior to me than most of them.To not get a greasy feeling I apply over dampened skin and only a small amount to keep the skin moist.
Love to hear more about petrolatum use, never tried on feet, may try if I see I need to though.

free skin care · Tue May 07, 2013 4:27 pm

Alba makes an "un-petroleum" jelly that is faaaabulous called Multi Purpose Jelly. You wouldn't even know it's not petroleum jelly until you read the ingredients:

Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut)oil, beeswax, hydrogenated castor oil, tocopheryl acetate, and tocopheral
(vitamin E). (No parafins, mineral oil, or fragrances.)

Even though it has all that castor oil in it, I don't find it drying at all. I luv the stuff!! You can buy it in a health food store.

free skin care · Tue May 07, 2013 5:02 pm

Violetlight wrote:

My hands recently have been incredibly dry, and nothing has helped return them back to normal... except Petrolatum.

I've read lots of negative things about it in the past: just wondering what people's view on it are? Yay or Nay? Smile

I was recently at my derm and I asked him what to put on my dry, cracked cuticles and he told me vaseline, it was still the best moisturizer around. And yes, it is made out of petroleum. I started putting it on my hands and wearing a sock at night and it did help a lot. So my derm definitely is not against petroleum if he recommended I use vaseline!

free skin care · Wed May 08, 2013 9:36 am

i think creme de la mer if i remember correctly has mineral oil or petroleum.

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