Even a Moisturizing Unguent can be Deadly

On a cold, dry night, you may have reached for a jar of Vaseline to take care of the nuisance of chapped lips. Vaseline, or petroleum jelly, is used for just about everything. Chances are you have a jar of the stuff sitting in your medicine cabinet or drawer somewhere in your home. But when you slathered the Vaseline on, did you ever wonder what the stuff was, exactly?

Marco Polo in 1273 described the oil exportation of Baku oil by hundreds of camels and ships for burning and as an ointment for treating mange.

Native Americans discovered the use of petroleum jelly for protecting and healing skin. Sophisticated oil pits had been built as early as 1415–1450 in Western Pennsylvania.

In 1859, while in the oil fields of Titusville, Robert Chesebrough, a chemist, discovered something interesting. The oil workers there were using a substance to heal their cuts and burns. It was a residue that was removed from oil rig pumps called rod wax. The rod wax was a nuisance to workers because it caused their equipment to malfunction.

Chesebrough saw an opportunity and began to collect the black, waxy substance. Returning to Brooklyn, New York he began refining the substance. He discovered that by distilling the thinner, lighter oils from the rod wax, he could produce a light-coloured gel, and he patented the process in 1865.

After another ten years perfecting the purification of his product he began to demonstrate its uses around New York by burning his skin with acid or on an open flame and then using the product on his self-inflicted injuries.

By 1870, Chesebrough had opened his first factory, and in 1872, he named his product Vaseline. The name was a mix of the German word for water, wasser, and the Greek word for oil, oleon, with the change to a scientific-sounding ending of -ine. Two years later, it was selling across the United States.

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Dr. Phil Updegrave, Medical Examiner, observed that the skin tone and texture of the deceased on his table had, “been preserved by the liberal application of petroleum jelly massaged into her face for several hours each day for years.” However, the moisturizing unguent was the death of her.

A thin coat of Vaseline over a freshly washed skin helps keep the water in the skin from evaporating; Petroleum jelly is one of the strongest moisturizers out there. Moisturized skin will look younger as it’ll make wrinkles less apparent. But, be that as it may, the jelly can’t actually prevent wrinkles or prolong youth.

Now that you know what it is, what else can it be used for? Chesebrough was such a firm believer in the stuff that he claimed to eat a spoonful every day. He died in 1933 at the age of 96. Maybe we won’t go that far, but it does have an endless reported supply of uses. Here are just a few.

1. Take out lipstick stains — put a little on the stain and wash whatever it was on.

2. Get chewing gum off wood or any other surface — dab a little until the gum disintegrates.

3. Restore old leather

4. Lubricate rusty hinges or machinery, zippers, etc

5. Rub on chicken combs to prevent frostbite

6. Stop fungal growth on turtle shells (We all have that problem)

7. Use it on car battery terminals to prevent corrosion

8. Moisturize the paws of dogs

9. Use it to control split ends

10. A component in the manufacture of certain explosives

Those are just a few of the uses. You may not have a turtle or a chicken to try it on, but I’m sure you could find something.

Petroleum jelly has been used widely for over 150 years. You can find it everywhere, from hospitals to classrooms, and it’s used for everything from chapped lips to diaper rash.

In fact, it's become such a staple ingredient in personal care products that we’re often slathering it on ourselves without even knowing it.

There is a growing demand for petroleum jelly products such as Vaseline, lotions, creams, and hand cleaners. In fact the global market for the moisturizing unguent is expected to reach a value of $646,600,000 by the end of 2030.

What it is not is the secret to eternal youth.