by Regina Hill

Created on: January 18, 2009

I'm not a baby but I love baby oil. I love that it clears away my raccoon eyes and leaves my skin feeling moisturized. I love that I can use it for nearly any purpose I might imagine without fear that I'm using something toxic. I love that it smells so delicate and soft, just like the baby I once held in my arms. I love that using one bottle of baby oil as an all purpose oil is much less expensive than buying separate oils for these multiple tasks I use it for.

Baby oil is one of those bathroom essentials that I can't imagine running out of. While I don't use baby oil as much as I might if I had a baby, it's nearly indispensable for using in massaging, sun tanning, in removing eye makeup and even in bathing. I love that this one oil can be used in so many areas and it's always nice to note that this really is the same oil my grandmother used.

Baby oil has been around for a long, long time.

Research reveals that mineral oil or liquid petroleum is a by-product in the refinement of petroleum. The oil is transparent; a colorless oil that is made up of alkenes and cyclic paraffin's. The oil is produced in very large quantities. While mineral oil has been used for multiple medical reasons including its use as a stool softener and ear cleaner, it's also been used by veterinarians, in cosmetics (lotions and creams), for mechanical and industrial purposes (lubricants), as a preservative, in food preparation, for cleaning purposes, and, of course, on babies, for their diaper rash.

When fragrance is added to mineral oil it is marketed as baby oil and is primarily a generic skin care ointment. While the baby oil I use for massages and as a makeup remover, and parents use on diaper rashes often comes from Johnson & Johnson, mineral oil has been used in more ways than we might imagine. Over the years, this "by-product" has been a multiple-use, flexible oil servicing millions of consumers and industries.

Johnson & Johnson's advertising states that pure mineral oil moisturizes a baby's delicate skin and protects it from dryness; forms a silky barrier to help prevent excess moisture loss and clinically proven to be a mild and gentle formula. Johnson's Baby Oil locks in up to ten times more moisture on wet skin than ordinary lotion can on dry skin. It's only ingredients are mineral oil and fragrance.

The name "baby" oil most likely resulted from mineral oil's usefulness in healing diaper rash. I like that "baby" oil helps me to baby myself and the people I love.

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