Mineral Oil & Petrolatum?? are they always bad?

[celeste0509]

i've been reading and alot of people say stay away from products that contain mineral oil and petrolatum. BUT i also see that alot of people use Silk Elements Silken Child and also Keracare Oil Moisturizer with Jojoba Oil for moisturizer. are these products still okay to use even though they have these ingredients?? does it depend on your hair whether these ingredients are bad?

just curious as i'm looking for a good moisturizer to start using!

 

[longhairlover]

they are just not moisturizers, and when you use products with them they keep moisture out which is not what the hair needs. they don't penetrate the hair shaft they just sit there on the strands blocking.

I personally am trying to steer clear of using any products with mineral oil in them, and even a fave mizani h2o nighttime treatment has mineral oil in it big disappoint, but I guess that's why my hair doesn't feel as moisturized when I use it.

But i've also read if it's one of the last ingredients on the list that it shouldn't be too bad and shouldn't block moisture, but I think it's just best to get in the habit of avoiding it totally.

 

[msa]

They're not bad, you just have to be careful how you use them. It's better to think of mineral oil and petroleum as sealers, and they're definitely not moisturizers as longhairlover said. You just have to know how to use them in a way that's not going to be detrimental to your hair.

Here are two blog posts on mineral oil that might interest you...
http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2009/04/mineral-oil-proof-is-not-in-hair.html

http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2009/08/mineral-oil-is-evillllll-or-maybe-not.html

 

[shunemite]

They're not bad for your hair, just don't benefit it. Like that guy you didn't like in high school that always hung around you- he wasn't bad for you, you just didn't care for him. That's the relationship your hair has with mineral oil- it's dreaming of coconut oil, almond oil, avocado oil, and evoo the whole time mineral oil is there.

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

Well, I use oil sheen to flat iron my hair, and it has mineral oil and petrolatum in it, but my hair comes out great with it, BUT I wash with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner and put a moisturizer in before I blow dry, I can actually say I have a balance, but I wouldn't use mineral oil and petrolatum on the scalp.

 

[KhandiB]

Nope, honestly I think everything I use has at lease mineral oil and cones, and I keeps me some Softee Coconut and Im good. LOL

To Each its own

 

[Poranges]

I don't really think so...for me it just happened that I found my staples and none of them contained mineral oil or petrolatum.

 

[Vshanell]

They aren't a good thing to have in a moisturizer because they are just gonna sit on top of your hair and not really penetrate. If you're using something with those ingredients in it to seal in your moisturizer it's ok to use.

You just have to know how to use "bad" ingredients correctly. Use a sulfate shampoo to remove them and all should be fine.

 

[yardgirl]

For me, they're fine in rinse out products. But i avoid using them in stuff I use everyday. So while Humecto and Aphogee 2 Minute have mineral oil, I use them once a week for like 15 minutes at a time. In a daily moisturiser that I let stay in my hair, I steer clear of those ingredients.

 

[Dani.Nicole]

I wondered about this too! I see a lot of ladies rave about Silicon Mix, but the second ingredient in it is mineral oil erplexed How can something so bad be the greatest thing that ever happened to your hair??

 

[maxineshaw]

This is a subjective topic.

There is so much misinformation and scare tactics surrounding this subject. My ultimate answer is that it's up to you to decide whether or not mineral oil/petrolatum/eum/whateverum is bad.

There are certainly more "beneficial" (and again, that's subjective as well) ingredients out there.


I posted this comment on CurlyNikki's site a while back:


(mineral oil) Clear, odorless oil derived from petroleum that is widely used in cosmetics because it rarely causes allergic reactions and it cannot become a solid and clog pores. Despite mineral oil’s association with petroleum and the hype that it is bad for skin, keep in mind that petroleum is a natural ingredient derived from the earth and that once it becomes mineral oil USP (cosmetics- and pharmaceutical-grade mineral oil), it has no resemblance to the original petroleum. Cosmetics-grade mineral oil and petrolatum are considered the safest, most nonirritating moisturizing ingredients ever found (Sources: Cosmetics & Toiletries, January 2001, page 79; and Cosmetic Dermatology, September 2000, pages 44–46). Yes, they can keep air off the skin to some extent, but that’s what a good antioxidant is supposed to do; they don’t suffocate skin! Moreover, mineral oil and petrolatum are known to be efficacious in wound healing, and are also among the most effective moisturizing ingredients available (Source: Cosmetics & Toiletries, February 1998, pages 33–40).




(petrolatum). Vaseline is pure petrolatum. For some unknown and unsubstantiated reason, petrolatum has attained a negative image in regard to skin care, despite solid research to the contrary. Topical application of petrolatum can help the skin’s outer layer recover from damage, reduce inflammation, and generally heal the skin (Source: Acta Dermato-Venereologica, November–December 2000, pages 412–415). See also mineral oil.


I got both definitions from cosmeticscop.com, and I am inclined to believe her statements because she actually cites reputable sources instead of just throwing something out there like a lot of people tend to do. Here are more links I think you should read before I make my final argument (made by actual scientists):

http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/11/28/the-top-5-myths-about-mineral-oil-part-1/

http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/12/01/myths-about-mineral-oil-part-2/



Now, I hear a lot of people say bad things about mineral oil and petroleum, and all of those comments tend to be incredibly unnerving. The reason why is because while people can make all the claims they want about it, NO PERSON I'VE COME ACROSS HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE A REPUTABLE SOURCE JUSTIFYING THEIR CLAIM. THAT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT WHAT THEY ARE SAYING JUST ISN'T TRUE.

Have you ever actually heard of a person developing cancer from using products that contain mineral oil and/or petroleum? (If this was the case my paternal Grandmother-who sadly STILL wears a curl-would be dead right now^_^.) I know I haven't read about it or seen a single study that justifies this claim. It's just a scare tactic surrounded by a ton of misinformation. Seriously, if mineral oil caused cancer, we would all be deader than a doorknob.



Personally I ignore the debate about oils moisturizing or conditioning because, IMO, when you condition your hair it just means that you are restoring moisture to your hair specifically after you wash it (meaning you are moisturizing it). That wasn't the basis of my post. I was challenging the hype behind using natural oils and their inabilities (which people tend to ignore or be ignorant of because it's a natural product-so it should work in any way that you want it to...right?...Not really...).
fyi evoo, coconut, and avocado CAN actually penetrate into your hair, not just your scalp:

http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/07/08/beauty-q-a-is-oil-good-for-your-hair/

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/14/two-natural-oils-that-make-your-hair-shiny-and-strong/


There are other sources, but I just don't feel like looking right now. ^_^

 

[ladylibra_30]

Well, I use oil sheen to flat iron my hair, and it has mineral oil and petrolatum in it, but my hair comes out great with it, BUT I wash with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner and put a moisturizer in before I blow dry, I can actually say I have a balance, but I wouldn't use mineral oil and petrolatum on the scalp.

Really? You wouldn't happen to be using Revlon Finisheen, would you? I need to look at my cans...

I steer clear of mineral oil/petroleum because I get big corn-flakes (that I can literally peel off my scalp) when I use products that contain them.

 

[30something]

I'm not a scientist or anything... I just avoid mineral oil and petrolatum in my moisturizer, or any leave in. Everything that I rinse out in under an hour I don't mind it being a part of the ingredient. All my DCs have mineral oil in it, its just hard to avoid. I don't know if it rinses all out in the water, i just know the products still work great to moisturize the hair.. and i wont be giving them up.

 

[LaToya28]

No, they are not bad! I think that was just a scare tactic that natural product companies started in order to sell their products...and we've bought it hook, line, and sinker!

 

[exoticmommie]

As others mentioned, I don't thinks it's bad, but is not good. It's just nothing. I don't mind using conditioners with some mineral oil, because I will be rinsing it out anyway. But I try not to buy leave ins and moisturizers that have it in them. Because I don't want it to block my daily moisturizing. Because as mentioned earlier, it is definitely a sealer. I believe when people are against it is it more so of a.... hey, if you need to moisturize your hair why not moisturize it with something that is beneficial to your hair rather than something that is gonna just sit there and chill, doing... nothing.