Mineral Oil
Mineral OIL (PETROLATUM, PETROLEUM) (MSDS)
Mineral Oil comes from crude oil (petroleum) used in industry as metal cutting fluid. It may suffocate the skin by forming an oil film as healthy skin needs to take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. It causes petrochemical hypersensitivity. This allergic reaction can become quite serious. Serious carcinogens are commonly found in mineral oil. Companies wanting to reduce their production costs on skincare products claim that it appears to form a good skin barrier against moisture loss. The truth is its cheap and nasty.
Mineral oil is commonly added to a variety of beauty products including moisturizing creams and lotions as well as make-up and hair products. It’s a popular cosmetic additive because it has no odour, and it feels good on the skin. Despite this, mineral oil is the subject of serious concerns regarding potential toxicity and the potential for it to clog pores, increasing the risk of breakouts and acne.
When petroleum is distilled to produce gasoline, mineral oil emerges as a by-product. With such an origin, it isn’t surprising that there’s a concern about the toxicity of this oil since petroleum products contain benzene, one of the most potent human cancer-causing agents.
Amongst the other side effects already mentioned the consistent use of products with mineral oils may also result in the development of allergies. Many of us do not know the fact that most baby lotions are nothing but mineral oils in different forms that are modified with fragrance.
The Known Dangers of Mineral Oil
After the innovation of fractional distillation, many different by products were derived from petroleum. Though these by products were inflammable and had a high calorific value, they were virtually useless, until manufacturers started using them in cosmetics and home appliances. One of the biggest draw backs of using mineral oil as a cosmetic is that it is a foreign application or an alien coating on the human skin. Mineral oil is harmful to the skin because it tends to form a thin layer on the skin, which resembles a layer of plastic. The human skin is an organ that plays a vital role in the production of vitamin D, in the cooling down of the body temperature and in the ejection of toxins from the body. Also Vitamin C is needed as a key to release the essential protective Ceramides from the cells in the surface layers of the skin.
The mineral oils in skincare products all but stop these processes. The thin plastic-like layer that appears after the use of mineral oil based lotions and creams drastically slows down the process of vitamin D manufacturing. When the human skin is exposed to the sunlight, it starts the production of vitamin D, which is one of the most needed ingredients of the body. The mineral oil film on the skin prevents Sometimes because the sweating process is hampered by the mineral oils; the human body also takes a very long time to cool down. The deposition of oil on the skin, accompanied by the salt and minerals that are present on the human skin, can cause skin itching and can develop into painful skin rashes.
Ones skin becomes addicted to mineral oils and withdrawal symptoms when one starts to use only healthy, safe vegetable oils is a dry, reddened skin or a skin with a slight rash- at least for a week or so until it regains its equilibrium.
So, a genuine question that still tends to remain on the back of some peoples' minds, is that why do manufacturers of such products use mineral oil? Simple answer, mineral oil is just a by product and is of virtually no value to the oil refinery. Thus the manufacturers of mineral oil based products get to purchase it at very reasonable prices.
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