Tips For Applying Cosmetic Mineral Oil

Cosmetic mineral oil (USP/BP), whether it is in the form of baby oil or sold for wooden utensils and cutting boards or for laxative use can be tricky at first to get drops of the right size to apply to hair.

One thing I have found helpful is to pour out a very small amount of mineral oil onto a saucer (a small plastic scoop would do too) and use a Q-tip to apply the oil to the inside of fingers for finger combing or to hands for application. It makes such a light oil more easily controlled without waste, as what is not used can be returned to the bottle or used on wet skin as a moisturizer.

The beauty for me at least is that if I have applied too much to my hands for example, rather than have to stop and wash off the excess, the other end of the Q-tip can be used to take off extra oil with a swipe or two and I can continue with the application.

Updated November 2, 2012
Recently, I used baby oil to "polish" mostly dry, catnipped hair. I tipped the bottle of baby oil very carefully, to get one small drop in my hand and used a Q-tip or swab, to swipe away about half of that. I rubbed the remaining oil between my hands and ran them down the length of my hair on one side, on the top of my hair and on the top layer of the back of my hair.

My hands showed no oil on them after that. I then repeated the procedure and applied the oil to the other half of my length and the same other places as the first time. Again my hands showed no oil or shine left on them. The baby oil was not visible on my hair, except for the results. My hair was somewhat smoother looking and remained that way until I washed my hair again.

See Also
http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.ca/2012/10/the-skinny-details-on-mineral-oil-baby.html

Conditioners, Treatments and Mineral Oil

I do believe that cosmetic mineral oil can replace conditioner and treatments for more people than just me, using an acidic rinse beforehand or not, after washing hair with an acidic shampoo, preferably one that does not cause build-up. Acidic rinses can help with hard water issues and are needed after an alkaline shampoo and those are soap based. Most shampoos today are acidic.

Conditioner can coat the hair unevenly because the hair itself is uneven, not only because of possible damage but individual hair shafts have different thicknesses and texture variations on one head of hair. Not all conditioners work well either as many people know. Mineral oil, spreading so evenly, results in smoothing well, reducing friction in doing so and is known for that property (slip).

True story: Years ago a hairstylist told me that the best remedy for hair damage caused by a perm is oil. She did not specify the kind of oil. But the research is clear that mineral oil outperforms vegetable oils and silicone for moisture and slip and more. It makes sense to me.

I do not think most damaged hair needs protein replaced. Cuticles that have been lost through damage (protein loss) can be coated to replace the lost hair shaft protection. That is what most protein additives do in conditioners, some shampoos and even in treatments where some kinds of protein can also penetrate hair.That is exactly what mineral oil does too. It only coats the hair, See this Update -  but it can be used without the downside of build-up and resulting residue limiting its effectiveness.

The interesting thing to me is that aside from catnip, mineral oil is the only product that has ever left my mostly fine hair tangle-free with a great moisture level, after washing and drying it, until my next hair wash as long as on average, a week later. I let my hair air dry. The shampoo I use that does not cause build-up is Sunsilk Lively Blonde Shampoo.

I used many conditioners years ago. The one thing my hair always did back then was tangle very easily, which led to a good amount of mechanical damage and breakage. My hair was dry then too at the ends and it split badly.

Catnip has solved all of that for me. Now mineral oil can do the same thing for me, when not using catnip, and I have seen no increase in the minimal mechanical breakage I can get when I am sometimes careless with my hair, nor have I seen any split ends.

Update: April 17, 2012
Friends of mine have successfully been using cosmetic mineral oil on their hair since I started recommending it at the beginning of December 2011. Some still use conditioner but much less of it and some now prefer no conditioner or styling aids, just mineral oil after washing. They update me periodically.

Among recent updates I received is one regarding treatments. None were used following a lot of conventional chemical processing a while back. My friend forgot to use any form of pre-treatment which can help considerably and even prevent damage, depending on the choice, method of use, type of processing and how the processing is done. She had used treatments previously after such processing and found most she tried to not be all that helpful in the long run. She used mineral oil drops alone this time at my suggestion, to see if that would help instead. She clarified her hair first as she had been using heavy conditioners and was unhappy with the results. Using the mineral oil has brought her hair back to a healthy looking and feeling state. It looks like that hairstylist was right about most kinds of hair damage and right "on the money", literally too.

Cosmetic mineral oil is much less expensive than most treatments and can be used as one much more simply, as a grooming aid, in place of conditioner and treatments, on fairly wet, damp or dry hair. That is how my friend has been using it, no fuss, no long hours, no fancy application techniques. Her hair's condition has simply, steadily improved.

Dry Skin, Dry Scalp And Dandruff

Mineral oil or baby oil has been used by many people for dry skin over the years after bathing, on wet skin, to help keep it moisturized.

The research is clear that cosmetic (USP/BP) mineral oil does a better job of that and more, than vegetable oils or silicones, while not clogging pores.

It is natural, and safe, and washes out easily when used in small amounts, even with non sulfate shampoo or conditioner only. It is considered to be vegan.

It has been cleared of causing acne and pimples too.

Mineral oil  for cradle cap, the Mayo Clinic

Mineral oil is not greasy, sticky or waxy, like petrolatum.

For common dry scalp, a few very small drops of a lightweight cosmetic mineral oil, like baby oil, or that can be bought unfragranced, may relieve the dryness used on a wet scalp, without leaving it greasy, or causing any problems.

I see no reason why it cannot be used that way too.

Update: I phoned Johnson and Johnson to confirm that there is no expiry date for their baby oil. There is none on the their Original Baby Oil, I purchased and use. The product can last indefinitely. Then I phoned my pharmacist and asked why USP/BP mineral oil sold for laxative use has an expiry date. This is how it was explained to me. Over time any product can become contaminated with bacteria, depending too on how it is handled and stored. Cosmetic mineral oil does not support bacterial growth the way vegetable oils can and is very resistant to degradation. So, why the apparent contradiction? It is about liability concerning products sold for ingestion. For that use of mineral oil, manufacturers make sure they have the issue covered. In other words, as long as the USP/BP mineral oil bought for cosmetic use is not also used for ingestion, it can last and be used indefinitely. Updated information on cosmetic expiration dates can be found, from the FDA here.

Hair Penetration By Conventional Cosmetic Ingredients

These are not current research studies.

This one is from 2005, and is about the quaternium ammonium compound, cetrimonium bromide, being able to be absorbed into hair because of its low molecular weight. Again, the hair preparation, is not clear to me. However, it had to have nothing on it that could prevent absorption for the tests to be accurate. The catch? "Quats" as they are often referred to are highly toxic and are recommended to be used only in very small percentages in hair care. They are not used on their own but in a formulation. In order to get the absorption benefits from it, the hair would need to be well clarified and the formulation would have to be free of barrier coatings like waxes and other high molecular ingredients that would interfere with its absorption. That is different to toxic consituents in ingredients being absorbed into even intact skin in creams, for example, see Page 2 "Safety". 

This one, from 1995 is most interesting to me, as it concerns the absorption of various silicone emulsions used as a pre-treatment before chemical hair dye and bleach to help prevent oxidative hair damage. The hair was prepped or prepared, by washing it. This 2002 patent by L'Oreal, uses the 1995 study as a reference.

So, what happened to all of that between then and now?

There appears to have been or is some difficulty in stabilizing such emulsions.

Coconut and argan oils used as a pre-treatment before the application of conventional peroxide containing dye, help increase dye uptake while helping to prevent processing damage and condition the hair. Used the same way before the application of bleach, or only conventional peroxide, they help prevent such peroxide oxidative damage too, while not hindering hair colour lightening, and they condition the hair at the same time. See http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-1-of-3-part-series-on-innovative.html.

More On Oils And Oil Shampoo

I have said all of this regarding oil shampoo and oil penetration of hair, on LHC. My posts there are copyright protected as are my posts in this blog. Linked sources, and partial quotes in this blog are from websites which anyone can access.

Someone once asked me about the 2003 research, the one "everyone" including scientists quote that shows that coconut oil can penetrate hair the deepest, compared to other oils. I was asked if I thought the research study was biased, since it was funded by a company that sells vegetable oils. My reply at the time was that it is a peer-reviewed study. To me, the results are accurate.

However, after rereading the research study, I realized that the hair had been prepped or prepared, with an emulsifier first to remove oils and then washed with SLES (sodium laureth sulfate), to make sure nothing could prevent any of the oils from penetrating hair.

In the 2005 study, on hair penetration and heat being used, the hair preparation is unclear to me. However, what is clear is that the cuticle scales are clear to the researchers in measuring what if any oils remain on the hair surface, or are visible. That means to me that absolutely nothing was on the hair that could obstruct any of the oils from penetrating it, in as much as the researchers could do to make that so.

I have no issues with the research studies. What they did not address was that in real life today, many shampoos and conditioners coat the hair and do obstruct the lauric acid in coconut oil from penetrating hair.

If this were not so, the results the movie stars in those articles I wrote about regarding oil shampoo had, hair with volume and curls and waves, with no tangling, when no conditioner had been used afterward and no styling aids either, just acidic rinses, would be the same results that anyone who tried any coconut oil shampoo would get.

That did not happen and I realized why. The coatings that exist today in products did not exist then. The coatings that did exist like certain botanicals were not widely used in soaps or the shampoos available then, like today in "all natural" hair products.

Coconut oil used over conditioner can cause dry "crunchy" ends. It is not going into the hair one bit. It is just sitting on top of the conditioner, which can be nice though, if there is also no product residue on the hair. No oil mixed with conditioner, or a butter on unclarified or clarified hair is going into the hair. They can make very nice surface conditioners only.

Even herb washes coat the hair and no results like those of the movie stars have been reported by people using coconut oil as a pre-wash before a herb wash that I have read anywhere.

It is as simple as that. Some coatings in shampoos today do allow lauric acid to penetrate hair. That is the biggest issue with oil shampoo, finding those shampoos and finding a clarifying shampoo that does not leave barrier coatings behind. Superfatted soaps can also create problems for an oil shampoo and lauric acid penetration. Extra, double bond oils, which can also be drying oils and cause tangling, or butters, which contain waxy stearic acid, choke off lauric acid access to the hair. Only a small amount of lauric acid can access hair without barrier coatings present.

Concerning coconut oil used as a grooming aid reducing protein loss from combing, the same thing applies. It would need to be used on bare hair for that benefit, like in the research. Used over coatings, it has no direct access to the hair. The protein loss coconut oil can help prevent is from the hair cuticles. Conditioner can help do that too or any coating on the hair that helps prevent friction, like mineral oil, which can do so better than conditioners, vegetable oils and silicones.

Protein treatments can penetrate hair, well clarified hair best, as directions on packaging often indicate and they can wash out easily, easy in, easy out.

When coconut oil lauric acid deeply penetrates well clarified hair, it bonds with protein in the hair cortex and while it can be washed out too, it tends not to be washed out as easily as protein treatments. Note: Most fractionated coconut oils contain no to almost no lauric acid. They are not suitable to be used to achieve this result.

Why was the research conducted? Here is the answer from your Page 3 or Page 177 of the study. Colour added by me.
"Prolonged use of coconut oil has been known to lead to healthy looking long hair, suggesting that it may prevent damage to the cuticle in grooming procedures involving abrasion. Obvious is the lubricating effect of oil on fiber friction, which reduces abrasive damage, especially in combing. However, in modern times, the trend in hair oil formulations is more towards the use of non-sticky oils such as mineral oil ..."

Cosmetic Mineral Oil Or Baby Oil Summary

Conditioners are not without their uses. The coatings and waxes most contain fill in the gaps in cuticles from damage and help smooth the hair and make it easy to comb. That is what catnip steeped for 4.75 hours does for my hair when I use it as a treatment. Catnip also moisturizes my hair very well.

Without mineral oil in them, conditioners are not great moisturizers for hair. Other oils, butters or silicone cannot outperform mineral oil for that or its detangling effects.

My hair is not damaged. I can use baby oil drops on my hair without catnip. Friends of mine can go without conditioning and use baby oil drops too.

For those with damaged hair using a light conditioner first may be helpful.

It is not an either or proposition to get great hair. There is no reason to me why you cannot mix it up and add the mineral oil to conditioner (drops) or use a conditioner lightly and the drops over that one time and go without conditioning first another time, whatever works best.

You can use a protein treatment if desired and use the drops as a moisturizing treatment afterward on damp hair or use a moisturizing conditioner lightly after the protein treatment and use the drops after that on damp hair for extra moisturizing.

Using mineral oil drops as a pre-treatment before washing with shampoo may be helpful but not necessary. Less drops would be needed afterward for detangling I would bet.

For those who clarify anyway because of conditioner and conditioning shampoo or styling aids, the above are options to try. Cosmetic mineral oil or lightweight mineral oil baby oil otherwise is very easy to completely shampoo or conditoner only wash remove from hair.

For those like me who do not want build-up or to clarify and if your hair is not damaged, clarify the hair first and try the drops alone on damp hair and switch to a shampoo that does not cause build-up. I had no build-up on my hair when I used the baby oil without anything else on my hair after washing and I got 0 tangles. It may be, that that if someone does not want to use conditioner following clarifying, that a well diluted vinegar rinse can be substituted for conditioner. A well diluted vinegar or lemon juice, or citric acid rinse is no doubt more acidic than the shampoo used and that may be enough to reduce tangling, before the oil is applied. My shampoo, although not a clarifying one is more acidic than others I have used in the past.

If the hair has a great moisture level, the drops can be used on dry hair (as opposed to damp or very damp hair). It may also be, that by continuous use of the oil, dry hair can be moisturized enough, to no longer require the oil being used on damp hair and using it on dry hair can be done to maintain the new, moisturized level.

The key is less is more with cosmetic mineral oil. Use and think small drops.

It spreads so easily, that much less than you would ever think necessary can give fantastic results without the downsides of vegetable oils or butters - heavy, greasy, stringy, sticky hair. To top it off, it is antistatic and helps control frizz.

More On Cosmetic Mineral Oil Or Baby Oil

The idea of using drops only of mineral oil was the key in the research study for me that led to this blog post.

I had tried small amounts of other oils before. Drops were less intimidating and worked for me without waste, aside from being incredibly economical, although the price of mineral oil is low to start with, especially for baby oil.

They also reduced the possibility of using too much and my having to rewash my hair because it would look and feel bad.

I had no reason to worry. Mineral oil spreadability is another commonly known factor in the cosmetic industry that sets it apart from vegetable oils and silicone, in addition to its superior moisturization abilities and it not being as potentially greasy. It goes further and better than other oils can using an equivalent amount.

See "Emolliency" Pages 5 and 6, as well as the "Synopsis" on Page 1 and "Slip, Shine and Safety" on Pages 6 and 7. As I reported here, I had no tangles with mineral oil because it reduced friction and that means less hair stress, which in turn means less potential hair damage.

Dow Corning has come up with a silicone product to enhance vegetable oils.

That would not be necessary if vegetable oils did not need enhancing to deliver the same qualities mineral oil can on its own.

Going back to sustainability, mineral oil is already widely available, especially baby oil, which is what I used. Applications of drops only, means much less is needed. Producing the product to enhance vegetable oils requires power and that power comes from non renewable resources.

Every vegetable oil out there used for cosmetics or food is processed, even the unrefined ones. Heat is used in processing virgin coconut oil for example, more power generation from non renewable resources.

To me, mineral oil is a win win product. Mineral oil cannot replace all vegetable oil cosmetic applications but it can replace oiling hair as a grooming aid and with better results.

Cosmetic mineral oil (USP/BP) comes in different grades unfragranced, for laxative use; and in lightweight grades fragranced and unfragranced, as baby oil and unfragranced, to help keep wooden cutting boards and utensils from drying out and it is considered to be vegan.