Mineral Oil for Skin

Mineral oil is also known as liquid petroleum, which suggests that it is a form of petroleum. Basically, mineral oil is a distilled form of petroleum. Distillation of petroleum is done in order to gain some petroleum based products. Mineral oil is colorless and mainly contains cyclic paraffin and alkane. Cyclic paraffin is often used in the production of the petroleum jelly, which is an essential skin care product. Mineral oil doesn't cost much and it is also produced on larger basis, for its chemical as well as several other uses.

The uses of mineral oil for the skin are not that new to us, not after I tell you that most of the makeup removal products are made of the mineral oil as the prime base. Well, yes! Mineral oil is very useful for skin care and is used for cleaning remnants of makeup and provides skin with essential moisture. It has some strong qualities that help to remove layers of makeup, dirt and grease from the face, in absolutely no time. As a result, it is a popular substance in the world of cosmetics and beauty care.

Mineral Oil for Skin Care

Also called white oil, mineral oil is an inevitable part of various products used as anti aging skin care products. Mineral oil is also a main ingredient in different skin oils, lotions, creams and makeup bases. The main reason for such vast usage of mineral oil is its quality to act as a barrier between the skin and its surrounding. As a result, skin gets least exposed to the external factors including dust, pollutants, harmful sunrays and other things that may cause damage to the skin.

As a matter of fact, mineral oil is the basic thing that we see in all the baby oils. In fact, it won't be wrong to say that baby oils are made of mineral oils only. It is also used as a main ingredient in various diaper rash creams, hemorrhoid medication and eye care products too. Apart from all that it is used as a laxative internally and is also used in many antacids as well. There are many other uses apart from skin care.

Mineral Oil Side Effects on Skin

Now, we all are aware about the uses and benefits of mineral oil. But there is a lot of controversy involved when it comes to mineral oil skin care and its side effects. There is a lot of criticism about the use of mineral oil for the skin. Firstly, many researchers doubt it because of it being a product of petroleum and crude oil. According to them, there are always chances of mineral oil to be harmful if used for longer periods of time, even externally. Actually, mineral oil clogs the skin pores and suffocates them. This way the skin is not able to breathe and this whole process increases oil secretion and acne formation. Hence, some experts suggest not to use mineral oil for the skin.

Another interesting thing that many researchers argue is about interference of mineral oil in the working mechanism of various vitamins, like vitamin D. According to them, mineral oil bars the absorption of vitamins, which are very essential for a healthy body and skin. As they create a layer on the skin surface, they actually resent the vitamins from entering the skin, which can be harmful in the long run. According to the cosmetic safety database, mineral oil is carcinogenic, which means having potential threat of causing cancer, but this database is not conclusively proven.

Whatever may the researchers and their reports suggest, the fact is that mineral oil is not much helpful for oily and acne prone skin. For people with dry skin, it is better to find some other skin care products that are not oil based, but are gel based. As we can see from the above article, the reputation of using mineral oil for the skin is not that good. Hence, without getting into the debate about the question - is mineral oil bad for skin? It is better to use other safer products that are thoroughly researched and evaluated by the experts. This way, the safety of your skin as well as your health could be taken care of! All the best!