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Petrolatum is the least glamorous product in the aisle and the one I recommend most often — cracked hands, chapped lips, eczema in February, the skin around a child's mouth, the first week after a procedure. Nothing outperforms it, and a tub costs a few dollars. Yes, it feels greasy; use a thin layer at night and something lighter during the day, because most people apply far too much. It does not suffocate skin or stop it making its own oils — cosmetic-grade petrolatum is highly purified and barely absorbed — though I would not smear it over an acne-prone face every night.
— Dr. Schwarz, Board Certified Dermatologist
Key Facts
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| Also called | Petroleum jelly, white petrolatum, soft paraffin, white soft paraffin; Vaseline is a brand name |
| Type | Occlusive, forms a film that stops water escaping |
| Strengths sold | Sold pure at 100%, and as an ingredient in creams and ointments; 30% to 100% is the range recognized for over-the-counter skin protectants |
| Use | Any time, most often at night |
| Time to work | Hours for comfort, days to weeks for cracked or scaly skin |
| Prescription needed | No |
What It Is
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Petrolatum is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons refined from petroleum. It was found in the nineteenth century on oil rigs, where workers noticed the residue on the drilling equipment helped cuts and burns heal, and it has been in use ever since — a longer safety record than almost anything in skincare. The grade used in cosmetics and medicines, white petrolatum or white soft paraffin, is purified far beyond the crude material. Refining strips out the aromatic compounds behind the safety concerns, and pharmaceutical grades meet a defined purity standard. What you read applies to unrefined and industrial grades, not the jar on the shelf. It is also the base of many prescription ointments; when a dermatologist writes for one, petrolatum is most of the tube.
How It Works
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Petrolatum works by occlusion. It sits on the surface as a water-repellent film and physically stops water evaporating out of the skin. In laboratory measurements it cuts water loss by around 98%, far more than any other common moisturizing ingredient. Everything else follows from that one property.
It does not add water. Petrolatum traps whatever water is already there, so applying it within a few minutes of washing, while skin is still damp, is the difference between working and merely feeling greasy. It also pairs well with a humectant such as glycerin — one draws water in, the other stops it leaving.
It is not entirely passive. It works into the spaces between cells in the outer layer rather than only sitting on top, and skin under it repairs its barrier at close to a normal rate — which is why it goes on after procedures and on healing wounds.
The three words worth keeping straight: a humectant draws water in, an emollient smooths the surface, an occlusive seals it under a film. Petrolatum is the strongest occlusive available, and barely anything else.
Here is where Petrolatum acts in the skin, and what the others do instead.
About Petrolatum
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Skin basics
An occlusive sits on the surface and slows water escaping. It adds nothing to the skin; it stops what is already there from leaving, which is why it works best over damp skin. The most effective occlusive there is, and it does not clog pores.
Petrolatum is a large, greasy molecule that does not dissolve in water and does not enter the skin at all. It sits on top, and that is the job: it cuts water loss through the barrier by about half.
These acids work at the surface. They break the bonds holding dead cells to each other, so the top layer sheds more evenly. Skin looks smoother and brighter, and anything applied afterwards gets in more easily.
A humectant draws water into the outer layer and holds it there. Skin holding more water is plumper and more flexible, and fine lines caused by dryness soften within minutes. Seal it with something on top or in dry air the water can simply evaporate away.
A humectant draws water into the outer layer and holds it there. Skin holding more water is plumper and more flexible, and fine lines caused by dryness soften within minutes. Seal it with something on top or in dry air the water can simply evaporate away.
Emollients are oils and lipids that sit in the spaces between the cells of the outer layer, the mortar between the bricks. They fill those gaps rather than covering them over, so skin feels smoother straight away, water stays in and irritants stay out.
Emollients are oils and lipids that sit in the spaces between the cells of the outer layer, the mortar between the bricks. They fill those gaps rather than covering them over, so skin feels smoother straight away, water stays in and irritants stay out.
The outermost layer, and the one every moisturizer is aiming at. It is dead — flattened cells stacked like bricks, with a mix of fats as the glue between them. That glue is what holds water in and keeps irritants out.
The outer layer, and the only one anything in a jar reaches. It renews itself constantly: a cell made at the bottom takes about a month to reach the surface and flake off. Most of what a skincare product does, it does here.
The living layer underneath, holding the blood vessels, the nerves and the collagen. It is where lasting change happens and it is hard to reach: most of what is sold for the skin never gets this far.
What It Treats
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The most effective sealer there is, cutting water loss from the outer layer by more than any other single ingredient. It works best as the last step over a cream, and under cotton gloves or socks overnight it does more for cracked hands and heels in three nights than a cream does in three weeks. It is greasy, which is the only real objection to it.
Plain ointment, over damp skin, as the moisturizer rather than beside it. It seals water in rather than adding any. It is the one thing that is safe to put on eyelids as often as you like, and on a weeping flare it is usually the best thing on the shelf.
Plain petroleum jelly, or any thick fragrance-free ointment, rebuilds the barrier that irritation broke. Barrier repair is genuinely half the treatment in irritant hand dermatitis, and it works because it has no fragrance, preservative or botanical in it to start a second reaction. Apply after every hand wash, not once a day.
Not the Best For
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Rubbed into the nail folds and the nail itself at night, it keeps the skin around the nail from cracking and makes a brittle nail less likely to split. It does nothing to the inflammation underneath. Its real value here is that it protects the seal around the nail, which is the part you can influence without a prescription.
This is aftercare rather than treatment. A dab of plain petroleum jelly and a small dressing over the spot left after a tag is removed keeps the scab soft and gives the neatest healing. It does nothing to a tag that is still there, and it will not shrink one.
This is aftercare, not treatment. A thin layer of plain petroleum jelly over a treated spot keeps the scab soft and gives the neatest healing, under a small dressing rather than an adhesive strip. It does nothing to a growth that is still there.
A thin layer of plain petroleum jelly on broken or crusting areas stops them drying and cracking, which lowers the risk of bacteria getting in. It has no effect on the virus itself. Use it under a loose, non-stick dressing rather than an adhesive one, which tears blisters when it comes off.
Plain ointment dabbed over the crust keeps it soft so it does not split each time you talk or eat, which hurts less and leaves less of a mark. Drying the sore out does the opposite of what people expect. Apply it with a clean fingertip or a cotton bud and wash your hands afterwards - it does nothing to the virus itself.
Its job here comes later, on peeling skin and on any blister that has opened, where it stops the new skin drying and cracking and reduces the itch. Use it under a loose non-stick dressing rather than an adhesive one. It is not for the first day on an intact, hot burn, where a thick greasy layer traps heat and makes things feel worse.
Forms
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Strengths
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More petrolatum means a greasier product and a better seal. There is no irritation ceiling, so the choice is texture and where you are using it.
Basics
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Popular Products
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Showing all 12. Narrow it with the menus above.
The most effective occlusive there is, with essentially no allergens, for a few dollars. When everything else stings, this still works.
41% petrolatum, and the most useful product in most cabinets. It contains lanolin — dermatologists' Allergen of the Year in 2023.
49.5% petrolatum with ceramides and no lanolin. The obvious swap if Aquaphor has ever irritated you.
Boring, cheap, fragrance-free, with no common allergens. The moisturizer dermatologists reach for when skin is reacting to everything.
About a dollar an ounce, fragrance-free, and what most dermatologists recommend. Its one flaw is the tub.
Eleven ingredients, no fragrance, dye or lanolin. No glycerin either, and the main humectant is a recognized sensitizer.
Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25
Avobenzone paired with octinoxate, which destroys it. Real UVA protection is likely well below the label.
Vaseline Blue Seal Cocoa Butter Petroleum Jelly
Vaseline Blue Seal Aloe Fresh Petroleum Jelly
Vaseline Blue Seal Baby Soft Petroleum Jelly
Vaseline Blue Seal Vitamin E Petroleum Jelly
ISDIN Reparador Labial Fluido
Nothing matches all of those together. Set one back to Any and try again.
What to Expect
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What to Avoid
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- Petrolatum conflicts with almost nothing The cautions are about where and when you put it.
- Putting it on wet, oozing or infected skin sealing over an infection does not help, and weeping skin needs treatment first. Have crusted, golden-yellow or spreading skin looked at before covering it.
- Applying it over a prescription cream an occlusive layer increases how much of the product underneath is absorbed, which can mean more irritation or side effects. Unless you were told to, leave a gap.
- Slugging over active acne covering an acne-prone face overnight worsens congestion in some people. Lips, eyelids and dry patches are safer.
- Using it under clothing in hot weather an occlusive film traps sweat, and blocked sweat ducts cause prickly heat rash.
- Putting it inside the nose petrolatum in the nostrils has been linked to rare lung problems when repeatedly inhaled, particularly in very young children and frail older adults. Water-based nasal gels exist.
- The folklore because it comes from petroleum, it gets called toxic. Cosmetic and pharmaceutical grades are purified to remove the compounds the concern was about, and the record over a century is unusually good.
If You Stop
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Skin dries back to its own baseline within a day or two. Cracks reopen if the cause — hand washing, cold air, eczema — is still going on. There is no rebound and no dependence. Petrolatum does not thin skin, does not stop it producing its own oils, and does not leave skin worse for having used it. That worry belongs to steroid creams. Many people use it every winter for decades, which is exactly what it is for.
Ask Your Doctor
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How It Compares
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Mineral oil
WorseThe same family and similarly well tolerated, but a liquid, so it seals less effectively and rubs off sooner. Easier to spread over large areas.
Dimethicone
WorseA silicone that seals reasonably well and feels far less greasy, which is why it is in most daytime hand creams. It does not match petrolatum on badly cracked skin.
Lanolin
WorseExcellent on lips and nipples and slightly less greasy in feel, but a well-known cause of contact allergy in a way petrolatum is not.
Ceramide creams
Different jobBetter to wear during the day and more pleasant on the face, but weaker at holding water in. Many people use a ceramide cream by day and petrolatum at night.
Glycerin
Different jobA humectant rather than an occlusive, so it does the opposite half of the job. The pair together works better than either alone.
Myths
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- "Petrolatum suffocates the skin." Skin does not breathe through its surface; it takes oxygen from the blood. What petrolatum blocks is water leaving — the point of it.
- "It clogs pores." In testing it is among the less pore-clogging substances, and is used routinely on eyelids and lips. Heavy overnight use on an acne-prone face can still cause bumps, so this is not wrong, only smaller than its reputation.
- "It causes cancer." The concern comes from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in unrefined petroleum. Cosmetic and pharmaceutical grades are refined to remove these, and no link has been shown.
- "It does not moisturize, because there is no water in it." Right on the facts, wrong on the conclusion. It holds in the water already in your skin — why damp skin matters, and why it beats most water-containing creams.
- "It stops your skin making its own oil." It does not affect oil glands. Skin under petrolatum behaves and repairs normally.
Questions Patients Ask
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Does petroleum jelly clog pores?
It rates as low risk in testing and is used on eyelids and lips without trouble. Covering an acne-prone face every night can still cause bumps, so use it where it is needed rather than everywhere.
Is slugging worth doing?
A reasonable way to hold water in overnight on dry or irritated skin, over a moisturizer on damp skin. Skip it if you are acne-prone, or if a prescription treatment is underneath, since occlusion increases its absorption.
Is it dangerous because it comes from petroleum?
The grades used in skincare and medicine are purified to remove the compounds that concern relates to, and they have been on skin for well over a century. The record is strong.
Can I use it on a wound or after a procedure?
Plain petroleum jelly on a clean wound keeps it moist, and moist wounds heal more comfortably and with less crusting. Most dermatologists suggest it after minor procedures instead of antibiotic ointment, which causes allergy more often. Follow your aftercare instructions.
Can I use it while pregnant?
It stays on the surface and is not absorbed in any meaningful amount. Even so, check your routine with the doctor managing your pregnancy.
Why does my skin still feel dry under it?
Almost always because it went on dry skin. Petrolatum holds water in but cannot add any, so apply it within a few minutes of washing, while skin is damp.
References
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- Saco M, Howe N, Nathoo R, et al. Topical antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of surgical wound infections from dermatologic procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of dermatological treatment. 2015. — The Journal of dermatological treatment, 2015
- Blume-Peytavi U, Hauser M, Lünnemann L, et al. Prevention of diaper dermatitis in infants--a literature review. Pediatric dermatology. 2014. — Pediatric dermatology, 2014
- Lichterfeld-Kottner A, El Genedy M, Lahmann N, et al. Maintaining skin integrity in the aged: A systematic review. International journal of nursing studies. 2020. — International journal of nursing studies, 2020
- Zhu F, Su H, Kong Y, et al. Evaluation of dressings preventing facial medical device-related pressure injury in medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Journal of clinical nursing. 2023. — Journal of clinical nursing, 2023