Have you ever wondered why we say

"No! You can't use that product here?"

Well, Mineral Oil Causes Our Bed Acrylics to Crack

It "bakes" on an acrylic, breaking down the integrity of it, leaving roughness and makes it non transparent.

So, if mineral oil is this bad for our beds...

IMAGINE WHAT IT IS DOING TO YOUR SKIN!

 The human skin is the largest organ in the body and most have proper nutrition to carry out its many important functions. We should be just as concerned about what goes on our skin as what we eat and drink. Since you are reading this perhaps you too are seeking a better way of caring for your skin. One thing is certain, it’s never too late to make a change and there is definitely something you can do about it. The fact is that most ingredients in the products we use are absorbed by the skin into the body. The skin acts as a filter for the body for even the smallest molecule not seen by the naked eye is being absorbed and in some cases is accumulating in our bodies.

Don’t believe me?  Put a piece of garlic between your toes. Within minutes you will taste it. Why because it is absorbed through your skin. The things you put on your skin goes into your body!  It is that plain and simple.

First the sun, the #1 source of Vitamin D, is made out to be evil and then we lather on stuff that is full of chemicals and other junk. When we put a product on our skin, the chemicals are absorbed into the organs of our body within 30 seconds according to the US EPA.

Hmmmm.... Since we started putting chemicals in our body products the cancer rates in this country have skyrocketed and we wonder why skin cancer on the rise!

Seriously go through your cabinets at home and see how many things you put on daily have mineral oil, petrolatum, SD alcohol, etc. Then look for preservatives. Most OTC products have 45 - 55% preservatives so they can have a very long shelf life; up to 25 years in most cases. Even the big “name” companies that you see in the mall do this.

Large cosmetic companies are continuing to use synthetic and petrochemical ingredients in personal care products. Pick up any bottle of lotions, cream, shampoo, conditioner, or toothpaste in your house right now and see how many natural ingredients they contain. Based on FDA's personal care products packaging standards, the further the name of an ingredient is down the list on a product label, the lesser of that ingredient the product contains. If this is true how much synthetic material have you feed your skin today?

If the above wasn’t enough to convince you how about the next fact: Mineral Oil can actually enhance cellulite. Any petroleum by-product produces estrogen in our body. Estrogen loves, loves, loves fat. So it stores itself in fat and doesn't like to let go of it. Cellulite is hard fat. So if you like cellulite, keep on using mineral oil and the like in your skin care.

 Let's explore mineral oil, a common ingredient in commercial lotions, creams, and baby care products, Mineral Oil.

Mineral oil is clear, liquid oil with no scent and will not spoil. It is produced as a byproduct of the distillation of gasoline from crude oil, the same stuff they make gasoline from. Mineral oil is leftover liquid, and because it is abundant, it is very inexpensive.  It is CHEAPER for manufacturers to purchase these byproducts as filler than it is for the industry to dispose of it. In fact, it is more expensive to dispose of mineral oil, than to purchase it.  Mineral oil is the main ingredient in many baby care items as well. Baby oil, Vaseline (petroleum jelly), baby wash liquid soap, and baby lotions all contain mineral oil as a key ingredient.  In fact 98% of all cosmetics use mineral oil, including your eye shadow, blush, lipstick, shaving cream and your everyday moisturizer and lotion you use at home.  It is also used in most SPF sunscreen.

  Gasoline and Mineral Oil are known for their bleaching ability.  Ever wonder why gasoline is often used to remove paint?  Ever wonder why artists use mineral oil on their brushes?  Ever wonder why mineral oil is often used to clean tools?  It's because it whitens and releases grease.  Mineral oil is light machine oil.  

Petrolatum (petrela´tem) - colorless to yellowish-white hydrocarbon mixture obtained by fractional distillation of petroleum. In its jellylike semisolid form (known as petroleum jelly and also by several trade names) it is used in preparing medicinal ointments and for lubrication. As a nearly colorless, highly refined liquid known as liquid petrolatum, liquid paraffin, or mineral oil, it is used as a lubricant, as a laxative, and as a base for nasal sprays.

Vaseline is obtained from crude petroleum, in the form of a petroleum jelly. In the distillation of crude petroleum there remains in the apparatus, after the separation of the light oils, a semi-liquid tar, which constitutes crude Vaseline, which, in such a state, has a disagreeable odor like petroleum and strong taste and black color. This compound is heated in the open air, and decolorizing by animal charcoal, the product being the petroleum jelly known as Vaseline, which is a mixture of several hydrocarbons.

When pure, Vaseline is white, in odorous and colorless, and of the consistence of jelly, or very oily fat. Exposed for a considerable time to light, it acquires a slight odor of petroleum. It is insoluble in water, sparingly soluble in alcohol, and very soluble in warm ether, chloroform, fats, volatile oils, and sulfide of carbon. It sensibly dissolves iodine, bromine, sulfur, phosphorus, carbolic acid, benzoic acid, atropine and strychnine.

Basically, Mineral oil or petroleum strips your tan and whitens your skin.

Some of the effects of mineral oil may be a little surprising.

 Mineral oil acts as a thin layer on the skin.  Mineral oil is not absorbed into your skin because the molecules are too large.  It just sits on top of your skin and clogs your pores, which doesn't allow your skin to absorb water (moisture) which slows the skins ability to eliminate toxins.

 The problem is that mineral oil is foreign to the human body and has many harmful effects.

If the above wasn’t enough to convince you how about considering the following facts:

Why would you want to use it on your skin?

 “We look good, we smell good, and we have just exposed ourselves to 200 different chemicals a day through cosmetics”

U.S. News & World Report

You may be saying: There are carcinogens and reproductive toxins in my personal care products? You may conclude that requiring companies to disclose if not entirely eliminate possible toxic ingredients seems sensible. After all what you put on your skin can go into your body to affect your health and sense of well-being either negatively or positively. As your body’s largest organ, your skin is your most important immune defense barrier as well as your largest organ for eliminating waste but it is not an impenetrable shield. Skin absorption is the number one form of chemical absorption and contamination. Commercial products with harmful petroleum ingredients can plasticize and “constipate” your skin, making germs more likely to get in and toxins less likely to get out of your body. The result: Neither you or your skin is as radiant and healthy as you could be; as is evident with increased skin irritations, itching, inflammation and the appearance of acne, brown spots, saggy skin, rosacea, wrinkles and fine lines to name a few.

FDA & the Self-Regulated Chemical & Cosmetic Industry: Every day we use products that we think are safe; but the truth is that products are NOT always safe and manufacturers don’t have to tell us so. Yes, believe it or not ever since 1938 when the FDA granted self-regulation to the cosmetics industry- such products can be marketed without government approval of ingredients, regardless of what tests show. Most of the 25,000 chemicals used, have not been tested for long-term toxic effects. In a typical day, you may be exposed to over 200 different chemicals, many of which are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting your hormones. Yes, it is trace amounts but the accumulative affects could be devastating for people suffering serious illnesses, cancer/disease, immune disorders, babies, pregnancy, etc.

Remember, the skin in the body's largest organ and plays an important role in maintaining overall health! What oils and chemicals are absorbed, are broken down by the liver and passes through the intestinal tract; oil will then absorb all of the fat-soluble vitamins found there. It is essentially stealing important vitamins from the body, which the body will not be able to replace. This can eventually lead to nutritional deficiencies.

Mineral Oil increases the photo-aging of the skin...and we wonder why we keep looking older, why our skin continues to dry out, even with all the products we use? (Plus you will burn faster when using petroleum products...and a burn is not a tan).

Studies have also shown forms of pneumonia maybe caused by mineral oil decreasing lung function, know as lipoid pneumonia. Because of these dangers, the medical community has condemned the use of mineral oil taken orally or as an ingredient in medications.

EPA tests conclude that ingredients in shampoos, dyes, and other personal care products “may be playing havoc with hormones that control reproduction and development.” Medical research, including Brunnell University, Tufts University, Boston Research Center, and Centers of Disease Control has found these chemicals absorb through the skin and often remain in fat tissue (CELLULITE) for indefinite periods of time. These chemicals are present in our personal care, oral care and household cleaning products. Constant daily exposure slowly weakens the immune system causing longer recovery time from surgery, stress and illness. And contribute to allergies, respiratory ailments, hormone disruption, memory lapse, nervous system disorders, birth defects, sterility, cancer and other diseases as well. Perhaps the most dramatic recent example is that Parabens (a chemical used as a preservative in many personal care products) was found in breast tumors.

Are you now asking WHY would anyone want to use it on their skin?

Some well know persons say that mineral oil is perfectly okay to use because it forms a film/barrier on the skin that seals in moisture and it repels water, etc. Your skin is a living organ not a car part, it’s alive and must be allowed to live and function as intended or there will be consequences. Those can range from a simple rash to discolorations, or cysts and sores to cancer. The body will react one way or the other when it’s not being cared for properly or fed bad food (even in the form of skin care products). In some individuals reactions may be immediate for others it may be over a period

Still not convinced?  Try this following experiment:

Two Triscuits or Raisins

Two Small Bowls

Mineral Oil

Water

Place a Triscuit in each bowl and fill one bowl with water and the other with mineral oil.  Watch the changes.

The following picture was taken after the 2007 Knightdale Business Expo after the experiment had been on display for 5 hours.  The Triscuit never changed!

Second Experiment:

Take a sponge and set it in, or even better, cover it with mineral oil. Leave it for a couple minutes, hours, or days, it doesn’t matter.  When you cut it will still be dry in the middle because mineral oil can't be absorbed.

The following are links to enable you start some research of your own:

Call For Change to Mineral Oil Label

The Major Toxic Ingredients to Avoid