Vaseline Petroleum Jelly is a mixture of mineral oils, paraffin and microcrystalline waxes that, when blended together; create something remarkable - a smooth jelly that has a melting point just above body temperature. The result - it literally melts into skin, flowing into the spaces between cells and the gaps in lipid barrier. Once there, it re-solidifies, locking itself in place. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly serves two functions: First it helps keep the outside world out - it protects skin from the effects of weather and exposure. Second, it acts like a sealant to help keep the inside world in - it forms an occlusive barrier to the natural water loss of our skin. So skin that is dry and chapped is protected from drying elements, enabling skin-softening moisture to build up naturally from within the skin.
Petroleum was first found and extracted from something called “rod wax” a waste product that had to be periodically removed from oil rig pumps. The oil rig workers had been using this “rod wax” in a similar way. In 1859 Robert Chesebrough went to the oil fields in Titusville, Pennsylvania and discovered this “rod wax” and saw the massive potential it had, he took a sample home and extracted the Petroleum Jelly which he called Vaseline.
