Curly Hair and Cosmetic Mineral Oil

Curly hair, and "African-American" hair in particular can be dry. Often, products marketed for the latter contain not only mineral oil but petrolatum and lanolin and sometimes vegetable oils. Petrolatum is greasy, sticky and contains wax ^[1], lanolin is a greasy, sticky wax and both can be difficult to remove from hair. Cosmetic (USP/BP) mineral oil used on its own can be lightweight, enhance curls and moisturize hair. It can be removed easily even with a sulfate-free shampoo or conditioner only, when used in small amounts. It is a non-drying oil, not a liquid wax like jojoba oil. A drying oil can leave “a dry, hard and tough film” on hair and have environmental consequences as well ^{[2, 12, 15]}.

"African-American" hair is often said to be more fragile than other hair types, yet there are no actual differences between it and Caucasian and Asian hair to explain this, except as it has been shown in research, it has less apparent moisture, not less protein. It is believed that the difference in observed fragility is down to hair care practices. One of the hair care practices mentioned, aside from the obvious ones like chemical processing and combing and brushing, or a less obvious one like over twisting hair, is the manipulation of the hair when using styling aids ^[3].

With its emollient, moisturizing, and detangling properties, mineral oil may reduce or eliminate the friction and breakage manipulation can cause when using styling aids, and they may no longer be necessary. Better curl formation can result by using mineral oil alone. Unlike other natural products, oils, or butters, it does not make hair "stiff".

Mineral oil sold as baby oil is usually inexpensive, lightweight and can be fragrance-free. Lightweight fragrance-free USP/BP mineral oils are sold to keep wooden cutting boards from warping. Fragrance-free USP/BP mineral oils are sold as laxatives in different weights.

Mineral oil can rehydrate dry hair, and prevent unneeded trims of previously dry ends for those wanting to grow their hair longer. When a small amount (small drops) are evenly applied to damp to wet hair for hair lacking moisture, it can help keep moisture in the hair as it can in skin by slowing down evaporation "even under extremes of low humidity" [4], and allow good curl retention. It also slows but does not seal out access to the hair by atmospheric moisture ^[6], and help to, or prevent frizz. For hair with a good moisture level, it can be used on dry hair to help maintain that level.

There is no reason why mineral oil should not moisturize even severely damaged hair caused by chemical processing, or heat styling. Damaged hair can be very dry. Mineral oil is used for thermal protection in other applications [17], and USP/BP mineral oil is often added to thermal protection hair care products. It may be sufficient used on its own for thermal protection for hair, depending on the temperatures used for heat styling [18].

Mineral oil is not sticky. Used in small amounts it is not greasy, which can result in hair looking stringy. Mineral oil can reduce or eliminate tangles, and it is antistatic ^[7]. It can work effectively on hair that has been conditioned or unconditioned. It works most effectively when hair does not have a lot of conditioner on it at one time, or residue (build-up), and when it is not combined with other oils. Reapplication between washes is usually not necessary.

Mineral oil is known to moisturize skin more effectively than vegetable oils and silicones ^{[4, 5, 20]}. It is also known in the cosmetic industry for: ease of spreading; shine; and slip thereby reducing friction ^[5].

The best choice of mineral oil is one with the least ingredients because it is the mineral oil itself that is the effective ingredient needed. Other ingredients may cause build-up, or cause hair to look stringy. Baby oil is often sold with just two ingredients, paraffinum liquidum (mineral oil), and fragrance. Sometimes tocopherol actetate (Vitamin E) is listed. It is used as a stabilizer for cosmetic mineral oil and is often not listed.

USP/BP mineral oil is safe ^{[5, 7, 13]}, classified as natural ^[8], can be biodegradable ^[9], does not clog pores ^[13], has a very long shelf life, and is resistant to bacteria ^{[5, 16]}. Unless there is a rare allergy to it, unlike other natural oils, or butters, mineral oil with its lack of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, is not known to cause issues, or make skin or scalp issues worse ^{[13, 14, 20]}. It is also used as a lubricant to manage wounds ^[19]. With such a small amount needed for great results, using mineral oil for hair and skin is managing a limited resource very well ^{[10, 11]}. There is no downside to it at all.

References
1. "Petrolatum/Petroleum Jelly"
http://cosmeticsandskin.com/bcb/petrolatum.php

2. “Understanding the Drying Capacity of Oils”

http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2011/12/understanding-drying-capacity-of-oils.html

3. “Hair Breakage in Normal and Weathered Hair: Focus on the Black Patient”

http://www.jidsponline.org/article/S0022-202X(15)52656-0/fulltext

4. “Clinical Evaluation of Baby Oil as a Dermal Moisturizer”
http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1975/cc026n05/p00227-p00234.pdf

5. “THE SCOPE OF MINERAL OIL IN PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS AND ITS ROLE IN COSMETIC FORMULATION”

6. “Effect of oil films on moisture vapor absorption on human hair”
http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2007/cc058n02/p00135-p00145.pdf

7. “European Commission Health and Consumers Cosmetics – Cosing, Mineral Oil”

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.details_v2&id=35850

8. “Myths About Mineral Oil :: Part 2”

http://personalcaretruth.com/2010/11/myths-about-mineral-oil-part-2/

9. “USP WHITE OIL”

http://www.ochsoil.com/Food%20Grade/PDS%20data/Guardian%20USP%20White%20Oil.pdf

10.”Petrochemicals: Confusion and Hypocrisy”

http://personalcaretruth.com/2010/08/petrochemicals-confusion-and-hypocrisy/

11. "The oil industry" OPEC

12. “Vegetable Oils and Animal Fats | Emergency Response | US EPA"
http://www2.epa.gov/emergency-resp

13. “Truly Natural"
http://www.happi.com/contents/view_features/2012-03-01/truly-natural

14. "Use of Olive Oil for the Treatment of Seborreic Dematitis in Children"
http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1308503

15. "LIPIDS"
http://www.citycollegiate.com/biochemistry5.htm

16. "The Infant Skin Barrier: Can We Preserve, Protect, and Enhance the Barrier?"
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2012/198789/

17. "Heat Transfer Oils - Cutting & Grinding Fluids"
http://www.exol-lubricants.com/c/heat-transfer-oils-cutting-fluids-quenching-thermal/

18. "WHITE MINERAL OIL TYPICAL PROPERTIES"
http://www.hollandchemicals.com/Documents/Ctrl_Hyperlink/White_Oil_Specifications_and_Applications_uid62320091115061.pdf

19. "A 10-Step Guide To Applying Split Thickness Skin Grafts"
http://www.podiatrytoday.com/10-step-guide-applying-split-thickness-skin-grafts

20. "Moisturizers: The Slippery Road", India

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4885180/

UV, Skin And Oils, Psoriasis And Phototherapy Risks

I sent an email to Health Canada about mineral oil baby oil use on skin and UV and received this back some time ago, colour and bolding added by me. I asked for references too and received them as well. This email information was posted by me online previously but not in this blog. Outside of phototherapy, a lot of oil is not going to do much to protect you from UV without a decent SPF, and a broad spectrum SPF is best. A thicker application of petrolatum (Vaseline), or a cream is about such use negatively affecting desired phototherapy results, and possibly the safety of some types of phototherapy. Risk factors include the number of treatments and the UV dose used. See the end of this post for SPF information in previous blog posts. 

"There are a number of resources that support the fact the baby oil (oils in general) can intensify the absorption of UV rays. First of all, oils applied to the skin causes less reflection and refraction (bouncing-off) of the UV rays, therefore allowing larger proportion of the UV radiation to be absorbed by the skin. The skin surface on close inspection is quite irregular and by applying oils you make the surface smoother and more uniform, allowing a larger proportion of the UV radiation to be captured by the skin. Lastly, there are tiny air pockets between the horny scales in the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin), creating spaces that allow a lot of scattering of the UV radiation. Oil is the perfect substance that is able to seep between these horny scales and minimizes diffusion of UV rays allowing more of it to penetrate deeper into the skin to be absorbed.

Here are a number of resources/references.

Penetration of epidermis by ultraviolet rays. Everett MA, Yeargers E, Sayre RM, Olson RL.
Photochem Photobiol. 1966 Jul;5(7):533-42.

The light barrier of the epidermis Dermatol Wochenschr. 1965 Jul 24;151 (30):887-9.

Increased penetration of epidermis by high intensity ultraviolet rays following the application of vaseline oil.
Leroy D, Dompmartin A, Deschamps P. Photodermatol. 1986 Feb;3(1):51-2.

Change in ultraviolet (UV) transmission following the application of vaseline to non-irradiated and UVB-exposed split skin K. Hoffmann, K. Kaspar, T. Gambichler, P. Altmeyer British Journal of Dermatology
Volume 143, Issue 3, pages 532–538, September 2000"


It is the thickness of the vaseline or petrolatum application, or cream used, which can make a difference in phototherapy. Thicker application of either can result in a higher dose of UV used, or an increased number of phototherapy treatments.

"Effects of topical preparations on the eyrthemogenicity of UVB: implications for psoriasis phototherapy." 1995, colour added by me.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7868718
"Thick application of petrolatum and emollient creams can reduce transmission of UVB. Mineral oil and a clear liquid emollient did not significantly affect transmission or erythemogenicity of UVB."
erythema defined

"Change in ultraviolet (UV) transmission following the application of vaseline to non-irradiated and UVB-exposed split skin." 2000, colour added by me.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10971325
"The thicker the layer of vaseline applied, the lower was the difference in transmission between non-irradiated split skin and UVB-exposed split skin. 
CONCLUSIONS: Application of the correct amount of vaseline can enhance transmission in either the UVA or UVB range, and would enable dose reduction during a course of phototherapy."


While NB-UVB treatment appears to have lower risks, more research needs to be done.

"Incidence of skin cancers in 3867 patients treated with narrow-band ultaviolet B phototherapy", 2008, colour and bolding added by me.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834483
"CONCLUSION: We found no significant association between NB-UVB treatment and BCC, SCC or melanoma. There was a small increase in BCCs amongst those also treated with PUVA. These reassuring results do not demonstrate the early increase in skin cancers that was found associated with PUVA treatment. However, cautious interpretation is required as the cohort contained relatively few patients who had a high treatment number and because the slow evolution of skin cancers may result in a delayed incidence peak. Ongoing risk assessment is therefore essential."

"Enhanced response of childhood psoriasis to narrow-band UV-B with preirradiation use of mineral oil." 2008, colour added by me.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18950402
"The cumulative dose for clearance was significantly lower on the emollient pretreated side. No adverse effects were observed with mineral oil or narrow-band ultraviolet-B phototherapy. We conclude that preirradiation use of mineral oil enhances the therapeutic efficacy of narrow-band ultraviolet-B phototherapy in children with widespread psoriasis."

Phototherapy risks 2009
"[Narrow-band UVB therapy in psoriasis vulgaris: good practice guideline and recommendations of the French Society of Photodermatology].", colour and bolding added by me.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110064  
"(2) Adverse effects. The immediate adverse effects were generally of little consequence, with later effects alone posing problems. Because of the risk of induction of cataract, ocular protection must be used during sessions. In the absence of symptoms or known ocular disorder, prior ophthalmologic control is not considered necessary. The risk of skin cancer remains poorly defined, and this risk has not been clearly shown to be lower than with broad-spectrum UVB therapy or PUVA. The studies give no indication of the number of sessions after which therapy must be completely discontinued." 

More and larger studies need to be done. 
"Carcenogenic risks of psoralen UV-A therapy and narrowband UV-B therapy in chronic plaque psoriasis: a systematic literature review." 2012, colour and bolding added by me.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22512677
"CONCLUSION: There is an increased risk of skin cancer following PUVA, shown by both US and European studies. The greater risk measured by the US studies may be at least partly explained by high UVA dose exposure and the lighter phototypes of the treated patients. The lack of prospective studies in psoriasis patients treated with NB-UVB constitutes a barrier to the robust assessment of carcinogenic risk of this phototherapy technique." 

See more about phototherapy at the Mayo Clinic 2015

See Also
The New York Times Article "Phototherapy" 2013, information review date "12/3/2013"
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/psoriasis/phototherapy.html
and these blog posts, here, here and here, for more details on SPF and hair and scalp protection. 

How And Why Mineral Oil Can Give Damaged Hair More Than A Healthy Appearance

Petrolatum contains both wax and mineral oil. In this study, it was shown to accelerate skin barrier recovery while it replaced intercellular layers. What this means for damaged hair, which does not heal naturally and cannot be healed period by any cosmetic preparation - Update: See this post - is that mineral oil, which contains no wax is doing more than just sitting on the hair surface when used. It is filling in gaps in the hair cuticles and replacing lost lipids needed to make hair shine and look and feel its best. That is what conditioners and treatments are supposed to do well. In spite of hype to the contrary, no natural oil is similar to human sebum, which has a unique composition and cosmetic grade mineral oil outperforms it for moisturizing and more.

Mineral oil is not new to hair care. Used separately from other ingredients like petrolatum that are heavy, sticky, greasy, can be much harder to remove by comparison, and using a lightweight version on its own, in small evenly distributed drops, on damp to wet, or dry hair can allow it to: rehydrate hair, maintain a good moisture level, and reduce or eliminate friction, frizz, and tangles. It is also antistatic. It is a different approach to using a product with well documented advantages over other products. Pure cosmetic mineral oil (USB/BP) is not heavy or sticky. It is not greasy unless overused and that is more difficult to do than with other oils used in similar amounts.

It can provide all of the benefits to hair mentioned above more effectively, easily and cheaply than conditioners or treatments, vegetable oils, butters, or silicones, without build-up or making hair feel coated and stiff, or look unappealing. The benefits last longer too and can last, without reapplication, between hair washes, for a week or longer.

With mineral oil helping to prevent more damage caused by friction and tangling and re-balancing the hair's moisture level, damaged hair can grow out stronger and be manageable and its appearance can be very pleasing and shiny. The hair can feel much softer and be easily combed and styled.

Setting The Record Straight About The Safety of Fats, Oils, Petrolatum, Iron Oxides And Our Lungs

While I was double checking the risks of inhaling iron oxide powder, I came across this research, that states while they found no link to inhaling iron oxides and lung cancer, there is a link between occupational workers and exposure to oil mists and bladder cancer.

There is thought to be about a weak link between populations exposed to iron oxides and cancer, where there is no exact cause identified. As stated here, "there is no evidence that occupational inhalation of iron oxides alone", alone being the operative word, can cause anything more than benign lung inflammation that does not restrict lung function.

Where is this leading and what does it have to to with is blog? It has do do with half truths and misinformation on the Internet and elsewhere, being perpetrated by marketers to generate profits, by not making all of the information known on products, that may be competing with their own.

Moving on to petrolatum and mineral oil, I came across this Wikipedia entry on petroleum jelly and the section on "improper uses" leading to lipid or more properly known as lipoid pneumonia, which when you click on it, gives a definition of the two kinds there are but not the causes in detail.

The truth about refined petrolatum, including mineral oil is that it is safe to use when it is USP or cosmetic grade.

The interesting thing is that the PHA contaminants, often incorrectly associated with cosmetic grade petrolatum may not be associated with lung cancer alone for occupational workers, but may actually be a combination of high levels and another contaminant.

The most fascinating thing about all of this to me has been understanding exactly how our bodies function regarding how fats can get into our lungs and cause lipoid pneumonia, which although rare does happen and it is not restricted to the use of petrolatum or mineral oil. It can be caused by the aspiration of any fat, including vegetable oils.

First some useful definitions. Vegetable oil is defined scientifically more broadly than one would think. Aspiration simply means breathing in. I found it very helpful to get a better understanding of just how we breathe and the anatomy of the lung.

Of the types of oils that can be aspirated, animal oil causes more problems than vegetable oil, which causes more than mineral oil. The oils are not intentionally introduced into the lungs. That can result from cultural practices as well as happen accidentally through a problem with a swallowing response.

Interestingly enough, the question about lipoid pneumonia and petroleum jelly was asked on the Mayo Clinic website and the reply is detailed.

Iron oxides should not present a risk to the consumer who wants to buy small amounts to use and is careful not to inhale the powder. They are not known to be carcinogens.