noobWhat do you use Vaseline for?
queermunist she/herI slather it on my face before bed as a mask. Works great to fight acne imo
This is surprising advice. I would have assumed it would make people break out.
Vaseline is a poor choice of moisturiser because it does not moisturise. It blocks air from entering your pores and I would have assumed this leads to clogged pores and hence acne.
It also forms a protective barrier for your skin, so nothing can contaminate it and you don’t lose moisture to evaporation.
Also, pores don’t actually clog from stuff getting into them. What happens is your skin becomes inflamed (due to contaminants or bacterial growth or diet or hormones) and squeezes the pores shut. Blackheads aren’t dirt but are actually oxidized sebum, which is the oil your skin secretes.
Interesting. Maybe I don’t know as much as I thought. Let me do some more reading…
LemmyLeftyIs there a skincare community? Asking for me and my dumb face.
Provoked GamerI’d also like to know, same reason
A lot of this is stuff I picked up over a decade of dealing with chronic and painful acne, so I’d probably have to spend an evening finding different articles lol
But, yeah, acne comes from inside. It’s a more like an allergic reaction, where a normally helpful part of the immune system freaks the f out and causes harm. The bacteria that sometimes causes acne also comes from the body and normally lives harmlessly in our skin oil. And it’s not even always the cause! Sometimes bacteria doesn’t grow inside the zit at all, though it usually does and when it does it usually makes it a lot worse.
Gosh there’s just so much stuff. Scrubbing with a cloth or using overly hot water actually make acne worse because they cause irritation, which triggers a stress response. Overly drying soaps can cause acne by drying out the skin, which can trigger a stress response. Sunlight is necessary for human life, but lots of exposure causes inflammation and stress.
Acne.org has a lot of good info, highly recommend.
The Role of Inflammation in the Development of Acne
Inflammation Plays a Central Role in All Stages of Acne Development The Essential Info The body’s immune system is responsible for creating inflammation. It does this in response to anything that it sees as “foreign” or as an “invader.” This is normally a good thing because the inflammation serves to heal tissue damage or fight …
Ah man, this actually explains one of the reasons my body sucks at skin cycles and seems to produce too much skin. Thanks for the info, pity I can't get rid of the systemic inflammation completely.
Incidentally and a bit off topic, what's your take on salicylic acid, if you have one?
I react badly to it! I’ve only had luck with low% benzoyl peroxide cream, with retinol to help with hyperpigmentation.
I do have to try some retinol. And that makes sense on the peroxide, that was not so helpful to me but the doctor did bill it as being better for whiteheads and other infected types, which I'm guessing is what your Vaseline mask helps with most.
Thanks! It's nice to see someone not just buying into the expensive cosmetics but going for the actual chemistry.
An online article had a fascinating to me tidbit about a rich eccentric woman, who smothered her face in petroleum jelly:
As for Mrs Wood, her personal hygiene was said to be dreadful as she hadn’t bathed in several years. She did, however, take care of her face; smothering her skin in petroleum jelly every day.
When lawyer Morgan O’Brien first laid eyes on her, he told Cox that it was easy to tell she had once been incredibly attractive.
“Her complexion in spite of her age, was as creamy and pink and unwrinkled as any I have ever seen. It was link tinted ivory, her profile was like a lovely cameo,” Mr O’Brien said.
Interesting note: Along with hundreds of jars of petroleum jelly, it was clear Mrs Wood had a thing for Cuban cigars and snuff from Copenhagen.
From: news.com.au/…/73861b86b94f792017d7787aedb2ab7e
And not sure about the hyperlink I posted so the online article I linked above is from www.news.com.au and it’s titled:
The story of the rich New York socialite who hid in a hotel room for 24 years
Thanks. Let me read it a bit more closely.
elavat0rIt is also great to take makeup off or products that build up (like sunscreen).
Oh yeah! I use it to touch up eyeliner - a teeny amount on a q-tip and I can pretend I don’t keep over applying makeup lol
iDunnoBroOh… You know. Hehehe
Yes, but IMO it’s not the best sensation. Water based (like KY) is much better.
relative_iteratorWater based dries pretty quickly
Talking like a true iterator
If I’m feelin’ fancy, I’ll break out the WD-40 Specialist Silicone
∟⊔⊤∦∣≶YES. Tiny cuts.
You know when you get a paper cut or similar, (not a scratch, a clean cut) and it stings and is really irritating, but it’s not deep enough to bleed much if at all?
Whack some vaseline on it. You block the air from your nerves and get instant relief.
Also use it sometimes to prevent chafing, like before a long bike ride.
That’s exactly what it was originally meant for.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_jelly
Native Americans discovered the use of petroleum jelly for protecting and healing skin.[4] Sophisticated oil pits had been built as early as 1415–1450 in Western Pennsylvania.[5] In 1859, workers operating the United States’s first oil rigs noticed a paraffin-like material forming on rigs in the course of investigating malfunctions. Believing the substance hastened healing, the workers used the jelly on cuts and burns.
Oh wow, I never knew!
I’m pretty sure that most of what Neosporin is is Vaseline… And it makes sense. It’s basically Vaseline with a mild antibiotic.
Vaseline is awesome for preventing scars too: when the wound is still open, use Neosporin, but after it closes up a bit and is just healing, switch to Vaseline and just keep it in Vaseline until it’s totally gone.
This.
Wounds heal best when they’re kept moist and have a barrier.
No need for the Neosporin at all, just use the vaseline
OwenEverbindeCarmex lip balm as well.
banana_meccanicaFor fill sometimes that empty inside your heart
It’s good for knuckles that crack and bleed in the winter. Lotion isn’t really good enough unless you’re applying it multiple times a day.
Same, and also for the tip of my nose. Windy weather with low humidity makes the tip of my nose itch like crazy. Normal moisturiser helps remove the itch but it absorbs too quickly to work as a protective measure, so an extra coat of Vaseline stops the area drying out again as quickly.
Countess425I used it around my hairline before I color my hair so as not to stain my skin.
Same. Also use it to smooth down any wayward eyebrows.
Had to read ‘cuts’ twice
TowerofPimpsGiggity
MelancholikhPatataI like putting vaseline on my lips overnight
The damp part is key. It can lock in moisture, but can’t add any on its own.
I use it on my hearing aid moulds, it stops them irritating and creates a better seal.
Mixing Vaseline with cotton and rolling it into small balls makes for surprisingly effective firestarter. Catches fire from almost everything (even flint and steel) and the burns with strong flame for like 2 minutes.
I used these a bunch in some jungle training. Any petroleum based jellies worked great, so we used bacitracin packets as our additive.
Fun fact: dead bamboo will always be dry in the middle between two joints. You can split it up into a couple thin pieces and it makes great kindling.
Live bamboo will create a small pressure bomb.
Another fun fact for if you’re in a deciduous forest, beach tree bark will always light, even when wet. It contains a flammable oil.
PyrThat seems counter productive to tree survival
Dryer lint is great for that combo.
We put a cotton ball in the dogs’ ears when giving them a bath to prevent water going in their ears, and we apply Vaseline to the exposed part of the cotton ball - makes the cotton ball waterproof. I thought you were describing that when I started reading your comment.
Vaseline is just a petrolatum jelly and a lot of creams and moisturisers have this as a component. The problem with Vaseline is that it’s basically pure petrolatum and so blocks the skin completely.
You rarely want to block the skin completely. The uses some other people noted, like stopping bleeding, is one of those uses.
The truth is that I rarely recommend Vaseline because of how limited it is on skin use.
I recommend people look into Aquaphor by Eucerin, which is only about 40% petrolatum and moisturises a bit better. I always travel with a very small container (just a tiny bit) of the stuff. It’s useful if you have any skin conditions (flaked skin, rashes, etc) that you might want to deal with pronto.
Aveeno (a very good brand for skincare) also make very similar heavy creams.
Long story short, no, Vaseline is pretty bad choice for skincare because it just blocks all air exchange. There are better choices. You often do want petrolatum…just not 100%.
Source: lifelong eczema issues
This might sound like an ad, but I always keep Aquaphor in my bag. I go rock climbing which gives me really dry hands and Aquaphor helps with that so much
I have a bizarre sensitivity to shea butter and beeswax, so am heavily limited in the chapstick department. Aquaphor is absolutely the best!
Aquaphor is sold in the Baby Supplies aisle of drug stores and bigger grocery stores. It’s been great for alleviating diaper rash with my kids.
rm_dash_r_starThat Eucerin makes really good stuff. They have a thick healing cream that’s amazing, like supercharged moisturizer. I use it on my feet once in a while to avoid skin problems.
I feel like sometimes you want a complete block to lock in moisture. I put vaseline on over my moisturiser every night and wash off the remainder in the morning.
Also to answer OP’s question I also use it to take my makeup off.
wildeaboutoskarIt’s used at festivals - put some under your nose and the portaloos aren’t so bad
I know a girl who thinks of ghosts. She’ll make you breakfast; she’ll make you toast. But she don’t use butter. And she don’t use cheese. She don’t use jelly, or any of these.
She uses Vaseline.
Vaseline.
Vaseline.
Is it you? Is it me? Search for things that you can’t see.
A new a_poem_for_your_sprog spotted
Those are song lyrics. She Don’t Use Jelly by The Flaming Lips
Oh my bad!!
If only. We can dream.
debouncedO-rings. Lube them up so they don't leak in use/dry out in storage for my cheap-o pool, works great.
Eczema, where your typical lotion just won’t cut it.
MaestroI use it on my instruments. Greasing the cork connectors on my clarinet and lubricating the tuning slide on my trumpet.