Pamela Ponders: Since the weather is getting drier, I’ve decided to look for some cuticle treaments to help them from drying. I’ve noticed that a lot of them include very similar ingredients, like jojoba oil, apricot kernel oil, shea butter, and in particular sweet almond oil and lavender oil. Do these ingredients really help to moisturize and what exactly do they do? I’ve noticed a lot of body care products emphasize shea butter. I’ve also noticed them some body lotions have coconut oil in it, is this another beneficial ingredient?
The Right Brain Responds:
All the oils you mentioned can moisturize skin – but they’re not the BEST moisturizers. What are the best, you ask? Ah, that is the question. But first you have to sit through this quick explanation:
How Oils Moisturize
Moisture evaporates from your skin by slipping though tiny cracks and fissures. Oils form a barrier layer on top of the skin that prevents the water molecules from escaping. It’s all about stopping evaporation! This property is called occlusivity and it’s measured by a rating called Transepidermal Water Loss, or TEWL. (pronounced “tool.”) The TEWL value has been measured for various oils, and the ones that have the highest rating (in other words, the ones that stop the most water from escaping your skin) are as follows:
1. Petroleum jelly
(in a minimum concentration of 5%, reduces TEWL by more than 98%)
2. Lanolin
3. Mineral oil
4. Dimethicone
a type of silicone
5. Coconut Oil and Others
including other oils (like coconut oil), fatty alcohols, and waxes
Some of the other oils you mentioned are still beneficial – they can make skin feel softer and smoother. But if really want to keep your skin moist, you need to reduce evaporation with one of these top 5.
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The thing is, don’t a lot of people have skin sensitivities to lanolin?
It turns out that the best medical evidence suggests that lanolin sensitivity is a myth.
See this The Myth of Lanolin Sensitivity
The author, Albert Kligman, is one of the premier researchers in the area of skin research. He was the guy who invented alpha hydroxy acids.
I totally agree with this. Recently I got off the “natural” kick and spending WAY too much for lotions that still did not work, and started using Queen Helene Cocoa Butter lotion(32oz for $1.99!) It’s got mineral oil and lanolin. Of course, it’s also got cocoa butter in it. My skin hasn’t been this soft and moisturized in ten years. My feet, which were beginning to look quite Hobbit-like, now look like they belong to a female again. It smells fantastic, and it’s got this wonderful cooling affect that will be great for after the sun.
I use petroleum jelly all the time. Something else that I use is Olive Oil right after a shower. My skin is so soft and smooth for HOURS. The olive oil is actually supposed to be for my hair (I have relaxed hair) and I discovered its moisterizing abilities on my skin by mistake! But I heard that the greatest discoveries of society are those that were not found intentionally
Some would say that ALL significant breakthroughs in science were the result of seeing something while looking for something else.
i thought those 5 ingredients especially mineral oil are really bad for the skin. i’ve read in every organic skincare website/book that mineral oil blocks your pores and they’re unable to breathe.
Petroleum mineral oil lanolin etc.. may be good at keeping moisture in your skin/ hair but it is very cheap and can clog your pores.it will also not allow moisture into your skin/hair. these things are not healty for your skin and can be toxic when absorbed into the skin. the best things to use are jojoba oil and grapeseed oil because these oils mimic our natural oils also olive oil, almond oil, shea butter and cocoa butter are really good for sustaining moisture
And your proof that the cosmetic grade petrolatum, mineral oil and lanolin are toxic is where? And how about your proof that these ingredients clog pores? Here is a scientific study that says exactly the opposite.
Meanwhile, there are a few studies like this that demonstrate jojoba oil causes contact dermatitis. For some, they should avoid this material.
While these are great barriers for the skin, they have little to none nutritional benefits to the skin, which should be fed with vitamins and antioxidants. Other than coconut oil, all the others mentioned are most synthetic which do nothing for the skin. I dont know why these are listed here because they are actually quite damaging.
Your skin is not part of the digestive system so it doesn’t get nutritional benefits from any ingredient. Vitamins on your skin do not work the same as they do inside your body.
You are mistaken that synthetics do nothing for the skin. There is plenty of peer reviewed research to demonstrate otherwise. In fact, petrolatum is approved for use as a pharmaceutical grade skin moisturizer and is prescribed by dermatologists. That’s why it’s listed there.
Where is your proof that there is benefit in topically applying vitamins to “feed” the skin?
THESE OILS LISTED IN THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE DELETED ASAP, except for the coconut oil.
THEY ARE IN NO WAY THE TOP 5 MOISTURIZING OILS, THEY ARE THE TOP 5 WORST OILS YOU SHOULD NEVER PUT ON YOUR BODY AS THEY ARE UNHEALTHY, CLOG PORES, AND BLOCKS THE DIRT AND TOXINS IN THE BODY. SILICONE IS NOT EVEN AN OIL. THEY ALL SUCK.
THIS ARTICLE WHOULD BE RE-WRITTEN WITH ACCURATE INFORMATION PLEASE! thank you.
What is the information you think is more accurate? And what is your proof? This article is based on the best science available, not unreliable anecdotal evidence.
i often hear that i have to seal in the moisture in my hair with oil. It is really worth it if the hair ” naturally equilibrates to the humidity in your environment” ? Will the oil really stop that form hapening?
I am launching a new line of natural lotions and soap products. I am learning about the wonderful butters of the world and essential oils for the skin. This is a beautification product that enhances our minds, our bodies and our spirits. I am appauled with the products that the general public uses. As we educate, we must involve change. Thank you for the tremendous website. I would like to shout out to the world that a movement has begun for “healthy change”.
One world, one nature, one love.
Our skin is our largest organ, and penetratives placed upon it have shown up in the liver directly afterwards.
YES, there are actually studies questioning the PAH’s tainting of petrolatum, linked to cancer.(Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons)and those studies are also”the best science available”. By the way, the “best science available cannot cure or tell us exactly what causes cancer, so I’d go easy on how much you throw that term in peoples faces who are understandably concerned. Petroleum by-products coat the skin like plastic, clogging the pores. Interfering with skin’s ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging. Used in many products (baby oil is 100% mineral oil!) Any mineral oil derivative can be contaminated with cancer causing PAH’s (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons). Manufacturers use petrolatum because it is unbelievably cheap. Mineral oil
Liquidum paraffinum (also known as posh mineral oil!)
Paraffin oil
Paraffin wax
Petrolatum
Among the studies linking the petrolatum impurity PAHs to breast cancer is a Columbia University study in which researchers found that the breast tissue of women with breast cancer was 2.6 times more likely to contain elevated levels of PAHs bound to DNA (called DNA adducts) than the breast tissue of women without breast cancer (Rundle et al. 2000). The National Toxicology Programs finds that some PAHs are reasonable anticipated to be human carcinogens, and the State of California lists a number of PAHs as carcinogens in its Proposition 65 program (NTP 2002, OEHHA 2004).
Petrolatum is listed as a probable human carcinogen in the European Union’s Dangerous Substances Directive (UNECE 2004).
I used to use petroleum (vaseline) but i would say it could clog your pores as theres no way nothing is escaping or getting into the skin.
i remember in winter when i wore a below knee level skirt, the vaseline kept my legs warm.
we used to use it on my scalp but there is no benefits using that in hair and its quite a heavy oil to use.
I too earlier was under the mistaken notion that herbal = good and mineral oil = bad for skin.
Untill I started to suffer from very dry skin, I picked up a jar of Jergens Facial Cream which is nothing but mineral oil & beeswax mixture. It has made my skin very soft and better than when i was using all the herbal stuff.