Petrolatum
Thinking about Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, I have to shake my head and wonder why we all felt something called “Petroleum Jelly” would be safe on our skin and on our lips. Not surprisingly, it turns out that there are concerns about applying petroleum product to our body. Ava Anderson Non-Toxic does not use Petrolatum or other petroleum products. It is one of the ingredients banned by the European Union, “except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen.” While Petroleum Jelly is sold as a standalone product, Petrolatum also appears as an ingredient in many personal care products.
Here are the concerns:
Petrolatum has an impurity -- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs. PAHs are found in the breast tissue of women with breast cancer at a higher rate than it is found in those without breast cancer. Similarly, aluminum is found in breast tumors. There is an argument that white petroleum jelly is more pure and so does not include this impurity.
There are a variety of issues around using petroleum jelly on your skin. There is a concern that it suffocates the skin, decreasing the amount of oxygen that can be absorbed by the skin. This suffocating property as well as the skin irritations and rashes that petrolatum can cause lead to premature aging of the skin – creating the very lines we are using it to try to avoid. It can also promote sun damage to the skin. Interestingly, since we often use it on our lips, it can actually lead to dry skin and chapping. People often comment on feeling addicted to their lip balm, perhaps this is why, but using more only makes it worse.
Petrolatum is restricted in food and there are impurity restrictions for food packaging and drugs, but this does not help when in comes to personal care products. Even though it is extremely common in lip care products and, of course, we lick our lips and get our lip balm on our food.
Petrolatum should never be applied to cuts because it can trap bacteria inside the wound. Even when you don’t have a wound, think about the Petrolatum trapping bacteria and other substances on the surface of or within your skin, so that the toxins cannot find their way out. Bleckk!
On balance, it is hard to see an upside to this ingredient and there are many down sides. Be an informed consumer!
Thinking about Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, I have to shake my head and wonder why we all felt something called “Petroleum Jelly” would be safe on our skin and on our lips. Not surprisingly, it turns out that there are concerns about applying petroleum product to our body. Ava Anderson Non-Toxic does not use Petrolatum or other petroleum products. It is one of the ingredients banned by the European Union, “except if the full refining history is known and it can be shown that the substance from which it is produced is not a carcinogen.” While Petroleum Jelly is sold as a standalone product, Petrolatum also appears as an ingredient in many personal care products.
Here are the concerns:
Petrolatum has an impurity -- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs. PAHs are found in the breast tissue of women with breast cancer at a higher rate than it is found in those without breast cancer. Similarly, aluminum is found in breast tumors. There is an argument that white petroleum jelly is more pure and so does not include this impurity.
There are a variety of issues around using petroleum jelly on your skin. There is a concern that it suffocates the skin, decreasing the amount of oxygen that can be absorbed by the skin. This suffocating property as well as the skin irritations and rashes that petrolatum can cause lead to premature aging of the skin – creating the very lines we are using it to try to avoid. It can also promote sun damage to the skin. Interestingly, since we often use it on our lips, it can actually lead to dry skin and chapping. People often comment on feeling addicted to their lip balm, perhaps this is why, but using more only makes it worse.
Petrolatum is restricted in food and there are impurity restrictions for food packaging and drugs, but this does not help when in comes to personal care products. Even though it is extremely common in lip care products and, of course, we lick our lips and get our lip balm on our food.
Petrolatum should never be applied to cuts because it can trap bacteria inside the wound. Even when you don’t have a wound, think about the Petrolatum trapping bacteria and other substances on the surface of or within your skin, so that the toxins cannot find their way out. Bleckk!
On balance, it is hard to see an upside to this ingredient and there are many down sides. Be an informed consumer!