Petroleum Jelly Side Effects
Petroleum, also known as petroleum jelly, is actually a semisolid mixture of fat-based substances. It is highly inflammable, and pure petroleum jelly is always colorless. Wrongly distilled petroleum jelly is actually pale yellow in color. It has many uses and benefits that make it one of the top most ingredient for many skin care products. Petroleum jelly has numerous healing properties that work not only for the cause of skin care but also for several other purposes like shining leather shoes, damaged wood, preventing wind burn and such.
Petroleum Jelly
Its ingredients are nothing but a mixture of hydrocarbons. Petroleum jelly is insoluble in water and does not get oxidized when exposed to air. Due to many of these 'friendly' properties, petroleum jelly is widely recognized as 'the best' solution for many personal care applications like moisturizers, baby oils, lotions and hair care products. Along with the healing properties, the biggest advantage is that is very low cost and has almost unlimited shelf life. Hence, it is available for all sorts of budgets and almost all sorts of usages too. With so many uses, can there be any side effects too? Let's find out.
Side Effects
Several long term side effects of petroleum jelly have been observed of late. The main reason behind this can be the fact that petroleum jelly is used in a large amount on a regular basis, by many people. No doubt it has plenty of healing and moisturizing properties and it also makes the skin feel smooth and soft. But the fact is that the smoothness and softness that we feel is actually the layer of petroleum jelly that we keep on adding over the skin. It protects the skin but also restricts the pours of the skin from letting the toxins and actual moisture out.
This makes the secretion of all the toxins and unwanted substances to form a layer under the actual layer of petroleum jelly. The whole process results into several skin disorders and leads to dandruff, acne, dryness of the skin and hair and skin irritation. It is always strictly advised to use petroleum jelly for only external purposes as on negligence there can be several side effects of petroleum jelly like abdominal pain, diarrhea, shortness of breath, coughing, irritation of nose, skin and eyes and other such complications.
Many people use petroleum jelly lubricant that can cause adverse effects on latex and also on the functioning of the condom. The biggest side effect is said to be the risk of breast cancer. There are several substances that contaminate the petroleum jelly, the biggest culprit can be named as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or the PAHs. Along with the PAHs, other ingredients namely, 1,3-butadiene and ethylene oxide have connections with the mammary tumors, in short breast cancer.
These ingredients are also found in one of the 15 various products available in the market including, lipsticks and baby lotions. It is strictly advised to not consume the petroleum jelly, internally. Due to its constant use, many consumers observe various side effects. To avoid the same, its use in cosmetics is banned in many nations including the EU. It is important to remember the fact that it is the wrong preparation method that exposes us to all these side effects. Just being aware about the jelly side is not enough as one also has to be a little more cautious before buying petroleum jelly. There are several easy things that we, as consumers can do. The most important of them all is observation and keeping the eyes open while buying things.
Checking whether the beauty products, baby products and hair care products that we are using are made using natural oils and substances is the first step. Instead of petroleum jelly, we can also use several other natural and healthy substitutes like jojoba oil, shea butter, coconut oil and olive oil. This will surely help us to stay away from the potential side effects.
