Here's our breakdown of the notable ingredients, benefits, and concerns we determined from the ingredients in this product. Click any item to learn more.

Concerns

May Worsen Oily Skin

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.

alcohol-free

silicon-free

fragrance-free

sulfate-free

paraben-free

oil-free

fungal-acne safe

reef-safe

eu-allergen-free

vegan

cruelty-free

Ingredients Overview

Here's our quick-to-read summary of the ingredients in this product. Keep scrolling if you'd like to learn more about what each ingredient does!

Ingredient

Com. / Irr. Rating

Features

Emollient

Ingredients Explained

This product contains 1 ingredient. Click on any ingredient to learn more about it

Petrolatum 100%

What it does: Emollient

Community Rating: Disliked

Petrolatum is more commonly known as petroleum jelly. It is created by mixing waxes and mineral oils.

This ingredient is effective at reducing water loss by 99%. This is because it is an occlusive. Occlusives create a hydrophobic barrier on the skin to prevent evaporation. This property makes it great for hydrating dry skin.

Pro tip: Use occlusives, such as this ingredient, on damp skin for the best results.

The quality or origin of petrolatum is only known when disclosed by the brand.

Other benefits of occlusives include protecting your skin against infection or allergies.

Petrolatum may not be safe for fungal-acne.

Learn more about Petrolatum

Embed Ingredients

Here's what our community thinks of the 1 ingredient in this product ✨

0% are loved or liked

0% have mixed ratings

100% are disliked or very disliked

0% have no rating yet

When to use

We've created a guide with info on when you should use Vaseline 100% Pure Petroleum Jelly. We've also included some recommended products to use it with, as well as some routine inspiration!

Read our guide on when to use 100% Pure Petroleum Jelly ->

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Top Reviews

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Review by BrodyTosi

Jan 17, 2024

Petroleum Jelly is one product I believe is quite underrated in the general skincare community due to hasty generalizations about its safety. Petroleum jelly is composed of mineral oils and waxes (i.e., paraffin wax) which can be generalized as mostly long-chain hydrocarbons that act as a hydrophobic (water repellent) occlusive to the skin. Occlusive ingredients such as petroleum jelly are very effective for preventing transepidermal water loss because they act as a physical layer to trap water along with natural moisturizing factors inside the skin while also temporarily protecting the skin against environmental aggressors. This mechanism can additionally be attributed to the overall efficacy of topical antibiotics like neomycin or polymyxin B as cut/burn treatments. When it comes to who should or shouldn't be using this product, my philosophy is that occlusive ingredients keep what is inside the skin, inside the skin. For skin types that are inherently at a hormonal imbalance or by other means overproducing sebum, this could indirectly lead to increased incidence of clogged sebaceous glands and subsequently acne. Another consideration is purity of the petroleum jelly used on the skin. I would personally stick to brands like Vaseline that have more stringent quality control measures, only because if petroleum jelly isn't fully refined this runs a minimal risk of carcinogenic contamination (the FDA monitors this as well, and honestly I would call this a minimal consideration with current carcinogenic research). As for who should use this product: dry skin, chapped skin, cracked skin, most skin types during the winter and/or in cold or arid climates. There is a vast amount of indications for using petroleum jelly that can likewise vastly benefit skin health. Aforementioned indications aside, my top two recommendations would be on skin in individuals taking oral isotretinoin (Accutane) and on skin that products running irritation and/or dryness risks are subsequently being applied to, specifically referencing topical retinoids (i.e., tazarotene, adapalene, tretinoin) and benzoyl peroxide. As always, do your own research (PubMed Central is a great start, or even Wikipedia!) and stay moisturized.

Great Value

Hydrating

Heavy

Works Well

Like review

4 likes