Why Vaseline is better than you think it is
27.6.2023
Translation: Katherine Martin
Not only is Vaseline economical, but you can use it on skin, dogs’ paws, leather, metal and much more. Even so, this fatty ointment often comes under fire. But is it really as dangerous as people say it is?
Vaseline truly is the silver bullet of lotions. Perhaps you’ve got a tub of the handy, greasy ointment at home, too? In industry, it’s used to lubricate machines and protect them from corrosion, while in cheese production, it’s used to prevent the cheese rind from drying out. At home, you can grease up your shoes with it to make the leather supple. Dog owners, meanwhile, can apply it to their pooches’ paws to protect them from winter grit. Last but not least, Vaseline nourishes and protects your skin. Cyclists slap on the Vaseline before a long bike ride to protect the skin on their bottoms.
Incidentally, the ointment is good for even more than that. A resourceful German tourist proved this at the end of 2022 when he used Vaseline to stick a highway toll sticker to his car window to get into Switzerland. (The sticker had previously been on his last car.) Not surprisingly, the driver’s trick was discovered – and it cost him dearly.
Another legendary use of Vaseline was pioneered by Switzerland’s former national football team coach Vladimir Petkovic during the 2020 European Championship. Petkovic said he’d coated his hair in Vaseline so that the constant criticism directed his way would drop right off him. The joke does actually have some basis in fact – Vaseline, after all, is water-repellent. But what exactly is Vaseline made of?
What is Vaseline?
From a chemical point of view, Vaseline, also known as petroleum jelly, is a mixture of at least two different mineral oil components. The mixture includes at least one type of oil and one type of wax. The solid and liquid hydrocarbons are obtained from kerosenes during oil production. Before being used in cosmetics, for example as an ointment base, the chemical compounds are highly purified so that it’s not black crude oil you’re dabbing on your skin, but white Vaseline or yellow Vaseline.
The product has been on the market for more than 150 years. In 1872, US-American chemist Robert Augustus Chesebrough brought petroleum jelly to the market under the brand name Vaseline, which has since become known worldwide. The story goes that Chesebrough had watched oil drillers in Pennsylvania smearing a mixture of petroleum and wax on scratches and wounds. Noticing that the by-products of petroleum production had the ability to repair the skin, the young chemist was electrified. He took samples back to his Brooklyn lab, purified and improved the mineral-oil-based product, and named it Vaseline.
What effect does petroleum jelly have on the skin?
In wound management, the kerosene mix has a decades-long tradition as a fat-based gauze. Qualified wound manager Gerhard Kammerlander names surgical follow-up care after skin transplants as an example. Having specialised in skin and wound management for more than 40 years, he works as a consultant and trainer in the subject in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. «Clinical studies clearly demonstrate that Vaseline – the mixture of kerosenes – is the most hypoallergenic ointment base.»
Vaseline is particularly helpful for very dry, scaly skin involving damage to the skin barrier: «Vaseline coats the outermost layer of the epidermis. Like a protective film, protecting it against what’s known as transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Skin that’s already dry is prevented from losing even more moisture through overly quick evaporation.» Because of this, petroleum jelly is also one of the elements included in the NMF (Natural Mosturising Factor).
On the flipside of the coin, Vaseline also helps water-logged skin, preventing excess moisture such as sweat or urine from entering the already swollen, moist skin from the outside. When Zincum oxydatum is mixed with water, it forms a three-phase zinc cream, which also allows moisture to evaporate from the skin.
Kerosenes are also used on very calloused skin. «In dermatology, for example, we’ve been using five-per cent salicyl vaseline for thick calluses on the soles of the feet for decades, applying it in layers 2–3 millimetres thick before covering with a bandage. Along with daily foot baths, special abrasive sponges or special PU foams, this can be used to gently remove the calluses. It’s a gentle way of getting rid of them in 5–7 days.»
Whatever way it’s used, Kammerlander says, «The use of Vaseline must always be indication-based and phase-appropriate. It’s applied for a limited time and usually only in thin layers, and not over the entire surface. However, there are, of course, exceptions to this in dermatology.» For therapeutic applications, such as lotions and creams, people don’t usually use pure petroleum jelly. Instead, a mixture of high-quality vegetable oils and other ingredients, such as zinc or panthenol, is used. Kammerlander stresses, «As Paracelsus once said, the dose makes the poison.»
What are the adverse effects of petroleum jelly?
Kammerlander confirms Vaseline is an all-rounder as a treatment for certain skin conditions. Used improperly, however, it can also damage the skin. The culprit? Its water-repellent effect: «Coating the skin with kerosenes too densely impedes the skin’s ability to transfer heat and moisture. This can cause a build-up of heat and moisture, triggering inflammation, pimples and itching, which is obviously counterproductive.»
This is why the expert advises against «slugging», the cosmetics trend doing the rounds on TikTok and Instagram. The fad involves smearing your face with a thick layer of Vaseline, essentially to seal the skin cream underneath and make it look better.
«Slugging generally isn’t something I’d endorse. On sensitive skin in particular, it can completely tighten your face and sometimes prevent the transport of sweat and sebum. Here’s what you can do instead: if the cream you use on your body, arms or legs doesn’t have enough replenishing oils, mix in five or ten per cent Vaseline.» However, creating a mixture like this doesn’t work with all creams. It’s best to ask the manufacturer whether the product can be mixed with Vaseline.
Dermatologist Dr. Bettina Rümmelein of Zurich dermatology practice Hautwerk (website in German) also advises against slugging: «No one needs to put Vaseline all over their face. We use it in the short term, for example, for a few days as part of a special type of skin cancer therapy. This involves applying a very thin layer of petroleum jelly, which improves the skin’s ability to retain water without completely sealing it and making it greasy.»
Are the MOAH and MOSH in Vaseline dangerous?
With this in mind, it’s impossible to imagine pharmaceuticals without Vaseline. Nevertheless, the product has received its fair share of hefty criticism in recent years, namely because of its origin. Remember how Vaseline is made from petroleum, i.e. mineral oil? Some might say this is neither appealing nor environmentally friendly. But this isn’t a popularity contest – we’re talking about facts here.
And here are the facts. Vaseline is a complex mix of different hydrocarbons, consisting of saturated hydrocarbons known as MOSH (mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons), and aromatic hydrocarbons known as MOAH (mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons).
So how much of it can be found in Vaseline? According to «Stiftung Warentest» (link in German), products it tested contained up to nine per cent MOAH. As for MOSH, the figure ranged from 10 to 94 per cent, depending on the formulation.
The chemical compounds, especially MOAH, are suspected to be mutagenic and carcinogenic. However, there’s a lack of clear scientific evidence to support this, as the German Federal Office for Risk Assessment (BfR) writes in its Fragen und Antworten zu Mineralöl in kosmetischen Mitteln (Questions and Answers on Mineral Oil in Cosmetic Products): «Many of these individual substances haven’t been studied to see how they or their by-products impact the body.»
In contrast, the BfR says, we’ve more than 100 years of experience with mineral oils in cosmetic products: «Despite their widespread use, no health implications have emerged as a result of cosmetic products. There’s currently no clinical or epidemiologic evidence for this.»
Legally speaking, you could argue Vaseline is innocent until proven guilty.
According to the EU Cosmetics Regulation, mineral oils are only permitted in cosmetic products in a highly purified form anyway. «Meaning,» BfR explains, «if the refining process is fully transparent, the starting material is free of carcinogenic substances and the distillate has been tested for carcinogenic properties using specific methods.» When it comes to Vaseline produced in the EU, this is the case.
Vaseline gets the all-clear on MOAH and MOSH
The BfR gave MOAH and MOSH the all-clear in a statement published on 27 February 2018 (in German):
«Based on current scientific knowledge, the BfR doesn’t believe that health risks to consumers are to be expected when cosmetic products are applied to the skin.»
MOAH contents in mineral oils, the organisation says, are reduced by technological purification. «MOSH are hardly absorbed through the skin and therefore don’t enter the body during dermal application of cosmetic products containing mineral oil.»
Vaseline: reputation, benefits and ecology
«The product’s reputation is much worse than its benefits,» says dermatologist Dr. Rümmelein, summarising the debate over Vaseline’s so-called dangers. She, too, highlights the centuries of pharmaceutical experience we have with the product: «If Vaseline were highly carcinogenic, there’d be scientific evidence for it by now.»
And the doctor has other pro-Vaseline arguments: «I don’t know what would replace Vaseline. In my view, Vaseline, even though it’s made of petroleum, is a very ecologically friendly product. Because it’s incredibly economical, it’s not a product that encourages mass consumption. Not only that, but a clinical study found a wound-healing ointment containing petrolatum outperformed all kinds of antibiotic ointments. The formula with Vaseline, which is more than 125 years old, came up trumps. With all the antibiotic resistance we’re now experiencing, it’s brilliant when a non-antibiotic all-rounder wins.»
Header image: Shutterstock
Mareike Steger
Autorin von customize mediahouse
I could've become a teacher, but I prefer learning to teaching. Now I learn something new with every article I write. Especially in the field of health and psychology.