By Lauren D. Ragland The Inter-Mountain photo by Lauren D.
Ragland Plant-based products, such as those that contain coconut
oil, make great natural moisturizers. "After you change the
baby's diaper, spread this rod wax all over her bottom." That
sounds ridiculous, right? But that is what petroleum jelly
actually is, the paraffin-like goo formed on oil rigs. This
black, unrefined rod wax is distilled, the lighter oil products
are removed and a light-colored gel commonly called Vaseline is
created. We actually are putting a fossil fuel product on our
skin - a known environmental hazard. Are we stupid, or just
uninformed? White petroleum jelly (petrolatum) is a cheap
product known to cause cancer. It is practically unregulated.
Neither the raw material petrolatum, nor the final products are
checked for harmful ingredients in the United States. The
product is banned for use in cosmetics in both the European
Union and Canada - but no, not in America. Most of the labels I
have checked state that the product was mad