How safe is mineral oil for our skin?
Mineral oil is a common ingredient in our skin care products and cosmetics. It’s also found in our household products though widely used in the automotive industries. What is mineral oil? Is it natural and safe?
Mineral oil is actually a refined transparent colorless substance processed from petroleum. We know that petroleum is indeed natural since it comes from the earth.
However, being natural does not make it safe. There are many plants and herbs that are toxic to the human body. They are undoubtedly pure and natural. Mineral oil has seen some beneficial health claims. For example, mineral oil is considered good for constipation relief. When consumed by the body, mineral oil works as a laxative to improve bowel movements for stools to pass through the intestine. It is also a common ingredient found in some antacids, eye care products, baby care lotion and petroleum jelly.
Let’s get to the facts as to why you should think twice about having mineral oil as part of your skin care products. Look at one study from Material Safety Data Sheet in 2008. The paper describes Mineral oil as hazardous. The potential health effects include irritation to the respiratory tract if inhaled or prolonged contact. If ingested, the material can cause serious diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms may include coughing, shortness of breath. Inhalation of mist or vapor may produce aspiration pneumonia.
Another MD report highlighted the risk factor if taken as laxative can cause serious lung disease in some people
On the extreme side, untreated and mildly treated mineral oil has been proven to cause cancer, as noted in another research report. There were suggestions that mineral oil interferes with the absorption of various nutrients especially fat-soluble vitamins.
If it is considered unsafe for our skin, why is mineral oil still being readily used in skin care products? First, being a byproduct, mineral oil is cheap and abundantly available. Secondly, mineral oil serves to keep the moisture within your skin to prevent dehydration. Think again, our body is already loaded with many toxins from the food, water and air. It makes sense to choose better alternatives for our skin and body, coconut oil for example.
