Oh how the sound of mineral oil sounds soothing! Our thought reflex connects such ingredient to all things beauty, doesn’t it? Maybe so, but, little did we know what has fooled us as ‘yay’, is really a nay!

Mineral oil is an extremely common ingredient used in several personal care products ranging from moisturizers, lip balms, hair products, bath oils, and the list goes on! Beauty companies are a huge fan of mineral oil because it is colorless, odorless, cheap, and can be preserved for long periods of time. Surprisingly enough, some of your most trusted products carry this moisturizing agent in their brand, and advertisers have actually been naming it differently on their ingredient list—petrolatum, paraffin to name a few—in hopes to steer away from its stigmatism.

According to Livestrong, mineral oil is said to be contaminated with cancerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by the Environmental Working Group. It also negatively impacts the skin, causing it to age prematurely. Considering the skin is our body’s largest organ, this is severely detrimental to our health as it contains absolutely no nutrients and coats the skin in such a way it prevents our skin from breathing due to the clogging. If you think the bad side effects ends there—it doesn’t! The constant application of mineral oil effects hormones including “ovarian dysfunction, endometriosis, miscarriages, and damage to the immune system,” according to Livestrong. According to celebrity Aesthetician Renée Rouleau, she says that mineral oil is “the one type of oil I don’t recommend for any skin types.” Ouch! Some familiar products containing this oil are Vaseline, Johnson’s Baby Oil and Nivea.

Well, there you have it. Try not to get lost in beauty products immediately thinking they equal ‘beauty’, and rather pay attention to what is infused in those products. Don’t worry though, there are many more reputable products out there waiting for your use! After all, glam never goes out of style!

By: Vera El-Timany