Mineral Oils - The Crude Truth About Skin Care

I was just flipping through an old copy of InStyle magazine that I found at my parents home last weekend and in it was an interview with Kate Walsh. She was talking about her mother, who she referred to as an old hipster who is really into skin care and uses olive oil and Vaseline on her face because her skin is so dry.

For years people in the Mediterranean have enjoyed one of the best kept beauty secrets – olive oil. Years ago, I visited Greece with my family and I remember remarking to my mom about how their skin looked so amazing; even the men and women who were noticeably older had skin with a smooth texture and glow. They also enjoy one of the lowest rates of skin cancer, despite how sunny it is.

Olive oil is one of the best oils for your body, both inside and out, and many skin care lines, such as DHC from Japan, use it as a main ingredient. It’s full of polyphenols, which are a form of antioxidant. Antioxidants are vital in helping our skin and bodies ward off the aging process because of their stabilization of free radicals. I could talk about antioxidants and their effects on skin forever…but will save that for another day and time.

What floored me about Kate Walsh’s mom is that she would balance something as positive as olive oil with Vaseline or petroleum jelly, a form of mineral oil. Mineral oil is a byproduct of the distillation process of petroleum to produce gasoline from crude oil. I shudder to think of using it on my skin or the skin of my young son. One of the main reasons that manufacturers of skin care products choose to use mineral oil is because it is extremely cheap. It is commonly found in a variety of skin care lotions, creams and baby products. While mineral oil is extremely emollient, it is very hard for the skin to absorb and can actually clog the pores, making it impossible for the skin to perform one of it’s main functions – to eliminate toxins from the body. When it is absorbed into the body, it is broken down by the liver and passes through the digestive tract. Petroleum jelly can also increase the skin’s photosensitivity, promoting sun damage in the long term. It may also hinder the body’s natural ability to condition itself, which means it has an effect opposite of what it is advertised to do – to heal chapped or dry skin. Don’t believe me? Read the Material Safety Data Sheet, or MSDS from JT Baker. It has quite a few interesting facts about mineral oil that I think you'll find interesting.

There are many alternative oils that are derived from plants – apricot kernal, grapeseed, and jojoba are wonderful alternatives to mineral oil. Oils derived from plants have much more in common with the oil that our body produces – in fact, jojoba oil is actually the closest match to human sebum so I find it to be one of the best oils to use on the skin.

I am not a scientist, and do not pretend to be one. I only write from my personal experiences and opinions about mineral versus plant oils. You will probably find websites that say that mineral oils are completely safe and effective to use on the skin. However, I urge you to explore any unpetroleum skin care products that are available on the market today.