Mineral Oil is used in a wide variety of skincare and cosmetic products for its moisturizing properties, but lately this ingredient is getting a bad reputation and many are recommending to avoid it at all costs. But what’s the truth? Is Mineral Oil really that bad for skin or is its ill reputation undeserved?
What is mineral oil?
Mineral Oil is a colorless and odorless oil derived from petroleum, which is a natural substance extracted from the earth. There are several grades of Mineral Oil and the type used in cosmetics, called Cosmetic Grade Mineral Oil, is highly purified, not carcinogenic and doesn’t even resemble petroleum anymore.
Why is mineral oil used in beauty products?
Mineral Oil is used in many cosmetics and skincare products because it is inexpensive, rarely causes allergies or irritations and is considered to be one of the best moisturizing ingredients available. It creates a protective barrier on the skin that binds moisture in and prevents water loss, keeping skin hydrated. In addition, it has effective wound healing properties.
Does Mineral Oil clog pores?
Because Mineral Oil is an occlusive agent that forms a barrier on the surface, many people think it suffocates skin and clogs pores. But scientific studies have shown that, while Industrial Mineral Oil is comedogenic, Cosmetic Grade Mineral Oil isn’t. However, Mineral Oil should never be used in products that contain comedogenic ingredients or it’ll trap them into the skin, aggravating their effects and causing breakouts. In addition, those who suffer from acne should be careful when using products with Mineral Oil, as this ingredient can worsen this condition in some people. In this case, use of this ingredient should be avoided.
Mineral Oil and Collagen
Another misconception about Mineral Oil is that the occlusive barrier it creates doesn’t allow the collagen present in some skincare products to penetrate the skin. But collagen molecules wouldn’t be absorbed by the skin anyway simply because they are too big to penetrate it. Mineral Oil has no effect on them at all.
So, is mineral oil really bad for skin?
No, it isn’t. Products with mineral oil are safe, inexpensive, well tolerated by most people and effective at moisturizing the skin. Just don’t expect more than that. But unless your skin reacts badly to Mineral Oil there is no reason to stop using it. However, be careful not to use it in conjunction with comedogenic ingredients or breakouts could occur.
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This is good to know. I know a lot of people freak out when they see mineral oil in the ingredients list. Because of that, I stayed away from it too. Thanks for clearing it up Gio. I have a few breakouts here and there and my current tinted moisturizer has mineral oil in it and I don’t find that its making my skin worse – at least for now anyway, lol.
.-= Dee´s last blog ..Giveaways You Should Know About =-.
I can’t use any moisturizer with mineral oil and I found out the hard way. I used La Mer once and got horrible break out from “the miracle cream.” It turns out La Mer contains petroleum-based products and my skin does not like them.
.-= Dao´s last blog ..Makeup Emergency: The Palette =-.
Dee, you’re welcome. There is a lot of confusing and misleding information about mineral oil and it’s a shame that people are staying away from it for that. It really is an effective moisturizing ingredient and I’ve never had problems with it.
Products with minreal oil won’t damage the skin nor clog pores unless they contain comedogenic ingredients too. I always stay away from products with isopropyl palmitate or myristate at the top of the list cos they give me horrible breakouts! But a well-formulated product wouldn’t contain comedogenic ingredients and without those, mineral oil is perfectly fine and will moisturize skin without clogging pores.
Dao, that’s a shame. Mineral Oil is usually well-tolerated by most people but unfortunately it can cause problems for those with acne-prone skin and aggravate their condition.
I guess that shows that expensive products aren’t always better but I hope you didn’t pay the full price for the La Mer cream.
I have been using straight Vaseline (petroleum jelly – one step ‘up’ from mineral oil in both thickness and bad press!) on my face as a moisturizer since I was 12. I’m in my 40′s now and I have yet to see any lines – even around my eyes, none at all – or loss of firmness of any kind in my skin. It is my ‘open secret’ – people ask me all the time what I do to my skin and when I tell them they usually look blank and then want to know what the real secret is. I’ve done a lot of research on it and found only things that convince me more that it is safe and adds no further burden on the environment (no need to test on animals, since it has been around so long and tested enough in the past; it is a byproduct of an oil-refining process that would occur anyway, whether you got petrolatum or not, so might as well make good use of it). It heals cuts like magic! I get big tubs in my Christmas stocking every year! You have to use the kind that says USP though – otherwise no way to tell for sure if it has been purified to highest-grade standards and free of contaminants.
Kristen, I’m glad vaseline works so well for you.There really is no secret to aging well but using effective ingredients helps a lot. It’s a perfectly ok and safe ingredient and it’s a shame many people refuse to use it due to unjustified bad press.
Well said. Thanks so much. I’ve a small baby and it has been our habit to apply baby oil on her chest and back before giving her a bath. Then I suddenly read some articles claiming that mineral oil isn’t good for our skin. I’m glad that you clear the issue out.
Lots of love,
.-= Golden´s last blog ..Stuff I Bought at the End of February =-.
Golden, you’re welcome. It’s a shame there are so many misconceptions about mineral oil that only scare people unneccessarily. It’s a fine, safe and very moisturizing ingredient and there really is no reason not to use it. I’m happy this article helped set the record straight.
Hi. I recently purchased a moisturizer (ponds dry skin cream) that has mineral oil, isopropyl palmitate, stearic acid, and cetyl alcohol. I’m guessing I shouldn’t use it? :p It was recommended by someone who is pretty in the know-how about skin, but only after I purchased it did I notice she said that the only problem she had with it was that it contained mineral oil. After I looked it up it sounded pretty nasty, but this article made me give a second thought – but it does have these comedogenic ingredients…
I did get one pimple shortly after use, but I had been trying several new skin products so I’m not sure which was the culprit. I have been using it on my rosacea, (which is in the only particularly dry area of my face) but not the area of which pimples were produced. But I also read that mineral oil can do unseen damage to your skin that is only visible when you stop using the product…
Darn. I really wanted to use this product, but it just seems to be getting worse and worse :p I want to try Olay Complete, but they introduced this new formula that everyone hates, and it is already in every store, replacing the old formula.
Anita, first of all I apologize for my late answer but I’ve been away for a few days and still trying to catch up on comments. From the ingredients you mentioned, the Pond Cream seems to be a very basic formula as most products use them too. I guess most of its hydrating properties come from mineral oil, which is one of the best moisturizing ingredients available.
I don’t have any problems with Mineral Oil in skincare products. All the negative things you hear come from natural cosmetics companies that try to sell more products by scaring people into believing Mineral Oil is bad. But I haven’t come across any scientific studies yet that show Mineral Oil causes unseen damage at all.
I’m actually more concerned with Isopropyl Palmitate, which is very comedogenic. Every time I use a product that states it at the top of the ingredient list, I get horrible breakouts. Mineral Oil instead is not comedogenic, but it is occlusive. That means that Mineral Oil per se won’t cause breakouts, but it tends to trap the other ingredients in the skin and if these ingredients are comedogenic like Isopropyl Palmiate, then breakouts can occurr.
Personally, I would try this product and see how my skin reacts. If you get breakouts, throw it away. Otherwise, there’s no reason not to use it. Hope this helps.
Thanks! During this time I had decided to stop using it on my face (still found a use for it though, it works great on my arms) and just started using regular lotion (without mineral oil) on my face…the funny thing is that this lotion I started using is a new formula that skips the mineral oil and it actually gave me a pimple, whereas the old formula did not. I have eczema, I wonder if that has something to do with it. I don’t want to blame the products because I could just be getting a random pimple. Lol, it’s a mystery, I suppose I will just have to keep trying around to find the right one.
Anita, you’re welcome. I’m glad you still found an use for the cream. Mineral Oil isn’t comedogenic, people just assume it is because it is occlusive but if the ingredients it traps underneath aren’t comedogenic there’s not much chance of getting pimples. I guess that could be a random pimple. Maybe try using the cream a few more days and see how it goes. If you don’t get any more pimples, it may be just a random one but if you keep getting zits, ditch it.
and NOW, I’ve switched back to ponds, because the other cream I had started using gave me THREE PIMPLES. Very random. Lol thanks for your help
Anita, I’m sorry you got more pimples. I guess the cream you were using must have been the culprit then. And you’re welcome. I’m glad I could help
Thank you for this post! I’ve always thought mineral oil got an undeserved bad repuation. Sure it’s not for everyone, but for me it’s wonderful. I wrote about it in my blog.
http://polkadotglam.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/mia-lately-artifical-nails-and-body-moisturizer-tips/
Shelle, thank you for this post and I’m glad to know I’m not the only one that doesn’t seem to have a problem with mineral oil. It’s cheap, very moisturizing and isn’t dangerous for your health so I don’t see any reason not to use it. I’ll go check out your post now
Thank you for the education on mineral oil. I had never thought about it, but lately have seen such bad things being said about it. And, so I checked the source of these allegations, and found out they were from companies selling herbal and natural products. And, also Alpha Hydrox, makes your skin age, like mineral oil. Both of witch I have used all my life, and I am 58 years old. One site said wait 10 years and you won’t look so good. How horrible. I don’t listen to them anymore.
wozin, good for you for not listening to them anymore. It’s a shame that some companies need to spread such lies on ingredients used by their competitors to scare customers into buying their own products instead. People seem to think that Mineral Oil is based just because it is derived from petroleum, but once refined they are too completely substances that don’t resemble each other anymore. And I haven’t seen one study saying mineral oil is bad for skin, in fact they all agree is one of the most moisturizing ingredients available!
wow thank you for this, I’m so glad I stumbled upon your post! I have been having (these past months that I got into make-up and natural products) bad thoughts and bad misconceptions (?) about mineral oil, I had read it’s bad for the skin, it’s a bad ingredient like petroleum etc. Petroleum (petrolatum?) is bad, though, right?
I’m so glad now, I hadn’t considered that the rumors were coming from natural/mineral companies etc. I’m using a Boots Botanics face cream and it has mineral oil, petroleum etc in it and I was bummed that there was mineral oil in it haha, The cream itself is very moisturizing, I just have to check if there are comedogenic ingredients, now. =) and I don’t even know what those are so I’m reading your other post about them, now. thanks!
I’m also considering using Vaseline on my face, though I’m concerned about the petroleum. (Kandee Johnson swears by the Un-petroleum jelly one!) ^_^
Denise, you’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed this post and found it useful. When I first started getting into makeup and researching the ingredients I too would believe that lots of ingredients, including mineral oil, very bad for you but it is not. The information comes from natural website and sources who just assume mineral oil is bad because it comes from petroleum without taking into consideration that once refines, they don’t even resemble each other anymore! They are too different things and there is no proof in scientific journals and research that they cause any negative side effects. It is the same from petroleum, it is said by some to bad because of its origin, but that is refined and safe. It is actually very moisturizing so you can just use both mineral oil and petrolatum without problems.
thank you for your reply!!
I can now be more confident and I’ll be more weary from now on, as to what ingredients are bad, and the sources that those rumors come from (even though I’m a big supporter of natural cosmetics and skincare, with the least number of ingredients)
thanks! xx
Denise, you’re welcome. I like natural products too (I use both those and traditional/synthetic ones) and anything with a few ingredients is always a good thing as there is a lot less risk of them causing an irritation. But in the end, this whole chemicals are bad thing is just a marketing strategy natural brands use to make you buy their products, just like traditional companies put one or two natural ingredients in a product claiming they are benficial when their concentrations are too small to do anything and it’s the synthetic ingredients that do all the work.
In a nutshell, every brand twists the truth to convince customers to buy from them, so just use what works for you. As for bad ingredients, they are very few (mainly alcohol) and very strictly regulated.
yes, you are right about the traditional companies making those claims about the natural ingredients. haha very true ^_^ yes, I can never trust completely a brand but all we can do is try and be informed and try to choose carefully (and consciously) what we put on our skin.
*hugs* =)
xx Denise
Denise´s last [type] ..Pet Society
Denise, I completely agree with you. We can’t trust advertisements and marketing claims but we can educate ourselves so that we can choose the safest products that work best for us.
are you kidding me? that is the stupidest thing i have ever heard. Did you really just say: “Mineral Oil is a colorless and odorless oil derived from petroleum, WHICH IS A NATURAL SUBSTANCE EXTRACTED FROM THE EARTH.” ? Because uranium and mercury are also natural substances extracted from the earth and no matter how much its been REFINED or processed, i will not smear that all over myself or my children. Any person that even takes that risk is a horrible parent.
Jennifer, all comments left by first time commenters are moderated. It is simply a measure to avoid spam, that’s all. I publish every comment, unless they are spam or offensive. And I don’t really have any agenda. I don’t work for a cosmetic company, I don’t sell cosmetics, no one is paying me to blog so why would I say that mineral oil is safe unless I didn’t believe it to be true? It’s natural companies that have an agenda as they are the ones that started spreading lies about this ingredient claiming it causes all sortsof diseases but never providing any proof supporting their statements.
I don’t see what your problem is with what I wrote. Petroleum is a natural substance extracted from the earth. It is a fact. I’m not saying that all natural things are good for you. Like you pointed out, there are natural things that are deadly to humans, but mineral oil is just not one of them. I’ve been researching mineral oil (and cosmetic ingredients in general) for more than three years, keeping up with the latest findings and study in scietnific research and I haven’t found a single study that says mineral oil causes cancer or is bad for you. What I found are lots of studies that say how effective and safe it is.
If you have any proof of the contrary, please send me the links to support your statement. If I say a real proof that it is so bad, I will change my mind. And I don’t think someone is a horrible parent just because applies mineral oil on thier child, when there is absolutely no proof it is bad for you. Horrible parents are those that hit their children, that leave them in front of the tv all the time instead of taking care of them even when they’re not working or justify their children even when commit serious crimes and offences. Choosing to believe science over unfounded rumours doesn’t make you a horrible parent.
oh its awaiting moderation. you’ll never post what i wrote because its right and you would only post comments that further your agenda. whatevs.
I just decided to research mineral oil because I went to an Arbonne party by my sister-in-law last night and her sponsor was all over mineral oil and how it will age your skin.
She told my sister-in-law to throw it all away. (She didn’t, stating it cleans her tub of soap scum really well.)
I wanted to verify her claims because I have baby oil which I apply to my girls (2 1/2 & 6 months) occasionally.
I’m glad I checked it out! This was a very informative post.
Cara, I’m so glad you found this post useful. Mineral Oil is a very moisturizing ingredient and it is a shame it is so vilified. There is a lot of misinformation about it because of its origin, but it is safe and won’t harm skin nor make it age faster so there is no reason to stop using it.
Hi beautifulwithbrains, that was a very informative reading, thank you. I live in sweden and have extremely dry flaky skin in winter time. Can you recommend some cheap good non-comedogenic moisturizers. And where can I find a complete list of comedogenic ingredients?
Thank you
Jenny, thanks. Mmm, have you tried Clinique Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturizer, for Very Dry to Dry Skin? It’s a night time moisturizer (although it can be used during the day too) and it is very rich and doesn’t contain ingredients that should cause breakouts. For a cheaper option you can check out some Olay moisturizers (just avoid those that list Isopropyl Palmitate or Myristate at the beginning of the ingredient list). You can find a list of comedogenic ingredients here: http://beautifulwithbrains.com/2009/06/10/what-ingredients-are-comedogenic/ Hope this helps.
Hi,
I have now tried both vaseline and pure mineral oil on top of moisturizer.
I got some red rashes from vaseline and it make my face itchy. They are not breakouts, just rashes that disappears after a day or 2. Not sure it was because of the vaseline or the combination of my moisturizer.
Mineral oil works better for me, less itchiness and no rashes.
How come i get so different results from those 2? i thought they should be the same.
Another strange thing is that both vaseline and mineral oil doenst just sit on top of my skin, it seems like they absorbs into my skin after a couple of hours. If i have quite alot of it on my whole face before bedtime, in the morning they are just all gone! Same thing during the day time. Is it even possible?
hi Jenni, mineral oil and vaseline are closely related but still two different substances so it is possible that one causes problems for you while the other doesn’t. I’m sorry to hear vaseline gives you a bad reaction.
Both substances also sit on top of the skin and are difficult to absorb but I guess it is possible that a tiny amount does get absorbed. I think it’s more likely they just fade away overtime rather than getting absorbed into the skin.
WHAT ABOUT PARABENS? OR THOSE BAD THEY HAVE BEEN GETTING A BAD RAP ALSO
Brandon, parabens too have a bad reputation but it isn’t deserved. Some people say they are bad because a study has found parabens in breast tissue of women who have breast cancer, but no one took samples from the breast tissue of healthy women. It is very possible, thus, that healthy women have the same levels of parabens and they have nothing to do with the cancer. The researches themselves didn’t do further tests of parabens because they didn’t find any evidence they are harmful.
It is also true that parabens have an estrogenic activity but so have a lot of plant extracts so I can’t see why parabens would be singled out as bad. In any case, they are used in miniscule amounts in cosmetics and have a long history of safety (they have been used for decades without anyone reporting any problems) so until I see real proof that they are bad (and so far, there isn’t), I’ll keep using them.
Considering this research was done by J&J it could be bias…
If it’s not true that mineral oil is bad for you, then why do so many people say it is?
Ana, I don’t completely trust studies made by the companies themselves. I don’t think they lie, but they could exaggerate the good results and minimize the bad ones. So, instead than trusting those, I use pubmed, an online database of peer-reviewed studies.
Just because a lot of people believe something, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is true. It’s natural companies that started slating off mineral oil. That’s because natural products are very often less effective but more expensive than those that contain synthetic ingredients, so to convince people to buy their products, a lot of these companies have started spreading lies of how harmful these ingredients (such as mineral oil, silicones etc) are. But they always fail to provide proof and back up their claims with scientific studies. Which doesn’t surprise me since I have never come across a study claiming mineral oil is bad for skin.
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