Mineral Oil is worse than I Thought!

Now, alot of curlies avoid mineral oil because it blocks the hair from getting moisture. But I had no idea it was considered a carcinogen and had so many dangerous effects. Did you?

Heres an exert from OSHA.GOV

"2. Effects on Humans: Exposure to mineral oil mists can cause eye,
skin,

and upper respiratory tract irritation as well as central nervous system

effects in humans. In addition, certain mineral oils are carcinogenic
in

humans [Hathaway et al. 1991]. Exposure to mineral oil mists can result
in

localized irritation of the mucous membranes, and if exposures are
excessive,

headaches, dizziness, and drowsiness may result [Genium 1985]. Liquid

petrolatum is essentially innocuous when it comes in contact with human

corneas [Grant 1986]. A case of lipoid pneumonia was reported in a
worker

following a high-exposure to mineral oil with inadequate ventilation
[ACGIH

1991; Hathaway et al. 1991]. Many studies confirm that poorly refined
mineral

oil can induce skin and scrotal cancers after prolonged, repeated, and
heavy

direct contact with the skin [ACGIH 1991]. In addition, repeated dermal

exposures may result in dermatitis [Genium 1985]. Aspiration of mineral
oil

mists into the lungs can result in blue coloration of the skin, rapid

heartbeat, fever, and chemical pneumonia possibly followed by a
secondary

infection [Genium 1985; Sittig 1991]. Ingestion will cause a burning

sensation in the mouth, throat, and stomach followed by vomiting,
diarrhea,

and belching [Sittig 1991]. IARC has concluded that there is sufficient

evidence for the carcinogenicity of untreated and mildly treated oils in

humans, but inadequate evidence for highly-refined oils [IARC 1987].


* Signs and symptoms of exposure


1. Acute exposure: Acute exposures to mineral oil mists may result in

eye, skin, or upper respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness,

drowsiness, or the respiratory distress associated with chemical
pneumonia.

Aspiration may result in fever, rapid heartbeat, or cyanosis.


2. Chronic exposure: Chronic exposures to mineral oil mists may
result in

skin irritation or dermatitis, shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing,
or

tachypnea."

That's only the half. If you would like to read the full article, here's the link
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/oilmist/recognition.html

Yikes. Makes me want to check my lotion and other things as well.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ........Holy isht. I always knew it was bad, but DAMN.

Good Gravy!!! You will have me reading everything now!

Fail. My facial moisturizer (Ponds Dry Skin Cream) has mineral oil in it [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

O wow, thanks for posting this. My LeKair Cholesterol has mineral oil in it, I will be shopping for a replacement product ASAP!

Wow why is this crap in almost every beauty product????? Goodness!

wow. thats scary!!!

Thanks

LadyMika wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ........Holy isht. I always knew it was bad, but DAMN.

I dont know why this is funny, but its is!!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

jlowman1 wrote:O wow, thanks for posting this. My LeKair Cholesterol has mineral oil in it, I will be shopping for a replacement product ASAP!

Daaaang I was thinking the same thing! I have LeKair sitting in my hair right now ... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

cocoeuro wrote:Wow why is this crap in almost every beauty product????? Goodness!

It's a cheap ingredient.

cocoeuro wrote:Wow why is this crap in almost every beauty product????? Goodness!

Why? Because it's cheap. Durn shame.

Now y'all see why my siggy says what it does!

Er...wait...it says only certain mineral oils are carcinogenic, meaning that there are multiple types of mineral oil, right?Do we really think that just putting some mineral oil on our hair or on our skin would be considered "high exposure"? Or even that companies use poorly refined mineral oil? And what the heck is a mineral oil mist? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I dunno, I'm a little skeptical of this now that I've re-read it. It's kinda like, standing in front of a microwave. Everyone always tells us not to do it, but I do it most of the time and I'm fine [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Meh. I love my Ponds hahaha. I just won't use mineral oil in my hair (it does nothing for it anyways).

Karyn wrote:Er...wait...it says only certain mineral oils are carcinogenic, meaning that there are multiple types of mineral oil, right?Do we really think that just putting some mineral oil on our hair or on our skin would be considered "high exposure"? Or even that companies use poorly refined mineral oil? And what the heck is a mineral oil mist? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I dunno, I'm a little skeptical of this now that I've re-read it. It's kinda like, standing in front of a microwave. Everyone always tells us not to do it, but I do it most of the time and I'm fine [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Meh. I love my Ponds hahaha. I just won't use mineral oil in my hair (it does nothing for it anyways).

I had some of the same questions when reading this Karyn. I tried looking up mineral oil without the mist on the site but didn't find it. So I assume this applies to all forms. Plus, this isn't the only site that states mineral oil can be carcinogenic. Also, if you go to the full article, it does site cosmetics to be a method of exposure. Furthermore, I would hope that companies would use a well refined one, but is there any way to know? My thing is, if at any point within it's lifespan, be it in a mist or during the refining process, a chemical was harmful, how can I know that this has been eliminated by it being in a different form? Just like ice and steam. They're both still water either way you look at it. That being said, I'm not saying anything bad is going to happen if you use it. They say everything causes cancer these days. If you follow it all you may as well just live on your back patio (gotta get that Vit D) drinking water (but not bottled cuz you might ingest plastic) and taking vitamin pills (cause every food has pesticides, or chemicals that make 13 year olds look 30). [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]



BUT I'm with Blondie. I'm not taking ANY chances.

Juices-n-Berries wrote:

Karyn wrote:Er...wait...it says only certain mineral oils are carcinogenic, meaning that there are multiple types of mineral oil, right?Do we really think that just putting some mineral oil on our hair or on our skin would be considered "high exposure"? Or even that companies use poorly refined mineral oil? And what the heck is a mineral oil mist? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I dunno, I'm a little skeptical of this now that I've re-read it. It's kinda like, standing in front of a microwave. Everyone always tells us not to do it, but I do it most of the time and I'm fine [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Meh. I love my Ponds hahaha. I just won't use mineral oil in my hair (it does nothing for it anyways).

I had some of the same questions when reading this Karyn. I tried looking up mineral oil without the mist on the site but didn't find it. So I assume this applies to all forms. Plus, this isn't the only site that states mineral oil can be carcinogenic. Also, if you go to the full article, it does site cosmetics to be a method of exposure. Furthermore, I would hope that companies would use a well refined one, but is there any way to know? My thing is, if at any point within it's lifespan, be it in a mist or during the refining process, a chemical was harmful, how can I know that this has been eliminated by it being in a different form? Just like ice and steam. They're both still water either way you look at it. That being said, I'm not saying anything bad is going to happen if you use it. They say everything causes cancer these days. If you follow it all you may as well just live on your back patio (gotta get that Vit D) drinking water (but not bottled cuz you might ingest plastic) and taking vitamin pills (cause every food has pesticides, or chemicals that make 13 year olds look 30). [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]



BUT I'm with Blondie. I'm not taking ANY chances.

Forrealz, everything nowadays is bad. Iunno. I'm already gonna get breast cancer from soy [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I was going to look for another moisturizer anyways. Got any recommendations? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Depends on your skin type. I have very dry skin so I've been using raw shea butter or a shea butter mix. It works wonders for my skin. I don't get flaky anymore and it's even evening up my skin tone. I hear people with oily skin also use shea on their face as well, but probably not as much.

GO JnB!!! Put that pharmacautical edu--ma--cation to work.....

But this topic is no laughing matter.

fyi: a lot of toxicity studies use the chemical being studied in the most undiluted/adulterated state at varying concentrations (even concentrations so high that it is ridiculous) to test to the rigor of acceptability by the body. they do this in order to delineate the highest concentration that is acceptable in formulations for cosmetics, drugs and food. so, a lot of studies do not test the chemical in question while in formulation. also, studies can only account for so many different physical reactions by the body, and as such, there will always be outliers.

Intelligentbeauty wrote:GO JnB!!! Put that pharmacautical edu--ma--cation to work.....

But this topic is no laughing matter.

Lol.

dajewel wrote:fyi: a lot of toxicity studies use the chemical being studied in the most undiluted/adulterated state at varying concentrations (even concentrations so high that it is ridiculous) to test to the rigor of acceptability by the body. they do this in order to delineate the highest concentration that is acceptable in formulations for cosmetics, drugs and food. so, a lot of studies do not test the chemical in question while in formulation. also, studies can only account for so many different physical reactions by the body, and as such, there will always be outliers.

Thanks so much for stopping by and giving us some input. I know that these studies can be unrealistic. I wasn't trying to scare anyone. Just sharing. However, I still think I'll stick to products that are safe even in their undiluted, unrefined state; like shea butter.

But I'd be interested to see what other thoughts you have on it or any more accurate chemical findings?