Mineral Oil in skincare products

What is mineral oil?

Mineral oil is derived from petroleum as a by-product to produce gasoline. An interesting fact about it is that, it is used in many skincare products in the retail markets. Some of the products that use mineral oil includes lotions, moisturisers and cosmetics. Other names for it might be white petroleum, and paraffin oil.

Why is it bad for your skin?
There is a hype on this ingredient being bad for your skin but why?

Pore blockage 
It is argued by many, mineral oil stays on the surface of your face and block your pores as the molecules are too large to enter the deeper layers of our skin. Even the most refined mineral oil can trap ingredients into your pores and increase the chances of breakouts and pimples if not cleansed or removed properly.

Not beneficial for your skin 
Mineral oil may not be a beneficial ingredient to your skin. It doesn't provide hydration which is supposed to enter the deeper layer of the skin where it is most needed. Instead, it sits on the surface to keep the skin from losing moisture. They feed your skin with no nutritional value. 

If it's bad, why do company's use it?
Since mineral oil sits on the skin's surface, it protects the skin from additional water loss (increase moisture) and reduces dryness. This is one of the reasons why cosmetic and skincare companies use mineral oil. Another reason is that, it is a cheap ingredient to use in skincare as well!

Would you still want to use skincare and make-up products with mineral oil in them? Checking the labels might not be good enough anymore! It's more worthwhile investing in skincare products with safer and beneficial ingredients! :D