Growing up, the only skin care regimen I knew was to cleanse with Imperial Leather soap and then slather on some Vaseline to moisturize my skin. I have since moved on to a more sophisticated skin care regimen but Vaseline still remains my number one choice when it come to taking care of dry skin issues especially my lips, hands, feet and elbows. There is always a tub of Vaseline petroleum jelly in my house and I’m sure it’s the same with many other households around the world. The great thing about this product is that it’s cheap and very versatile.
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly was named Vaseline by Robert Cheesebrough in 1869, after he discovered its various remarkable healing properties on the skin. However it has no medicinal value. Vaseline cannot be absorbed by the skin, therefore it acts as a seal around minor cuts and burns preventing germs from getting into the wound and locking in moisture thus it’s healing properties.
Vaseline has been around for over 100 years and over time it has evolved to include a variety of uses. Is it any wonder that women have discovered that petroleum jelly acts as a wonderful and cheap beauty aid. Here are a few ways you can use Vaseline as part of your beauty routine. Some were new to me and I can’t wait to try them out.
- It works as a great makeup remover. It can be used to take off eye-shadow eyeliner, mascara and lipstick.
- Use Vaseline Petroleum Jelly with salt for a foot scrub or on elbows to get rid of dry skin.
- Dab it lightly around the eye area to hydrate and smooth away fine lines.
- Add to lipstick for real shine.
- It is a great remedy for chapped lips.
- Put Vaseline on your lips, leave it a few minutes, then scrub your lips with a toothbrush to exfoliate and leave them. It leaves them smooth
- Apply a small amount of Vaseline on eyelashes as you would mascara then apply mascara as normal. It helps extend the effectiveness of mascara gives you a wide eye look.
- If you need a break from mascara, rub some Vaseline on the lashes, It gives the appearance that you have a light coat of mascara on.(A good idea would be to clean an old mascara brush and apply Vaseline using it). It defines eyelashes and leaves them with a glossy and waterproof look.
- Also if a lip gloss or lipstick is too harsh colored for your skin tone, blend a small amount of Vaseline into it and apply as normal, brings it down a tone or two and moisturizes the lips at the same time!
- Use it on dry hands by rubbing a small amount onto dry skin.
- For beautiful soft fingers and healthy looking nails apply Vaseline all over the fingers and palms and massage for two minutes until the Vaseline is completely rubbed in, then put on a pair of cotton gloves. Do this overnight, 2 to 3 times a week and you will never have any need for hand creams.
- For smooth hands and fingers you can also use Vaseline to exfoliate rough and dry flaky skin on your hands. Just add a little granulated sugar plus an equal portion of Vaseline and scrub your chapped hands with the mixture for at least a minute and wash off with a mild soap and water to get the sugar off.
- After your daily bath massage your feet with Vaseline to add moisture. You can also put it on your feet before bed and wear socks and you’ll wake up with soft, smooth, lovely feet.
- A small dab of Vaseline can act as a primer for your eye-shadow. Helps it stay on longer.
- Vaseline will help your rings slide on and off easily on the fingers.
- To keep hair color from staining your skin, apply Petroleum Jelly along hairline and ears before you begin.
- It’s also used as a base on the scalp before applying relaxer.
- If you have sensitive skin Petroleum Jelly can be used as an all over body moisturizer. It contains no chemicals or perfumes.
- Rub Petroleum Jelly on the skin around your nails before polishing. If you make a mistake it can be wiped off when your nails are dry and it softens cuticles at the same time.
- It is sometimes spread on the teeth of beauty pageant contestants in order to remind the contestants to smile
- Keeps your hands clean. Rub some petroleum jelly onto your hands before doing any type of messy work. It’ll keep things like paint from absorbing into your skin, making it easy to just wipe them off later.
- If you apply Vaseline on your lashes every night before bed you will have longer, stronger, thicker lashes over time.
- Apply to your cheeks for a radiant dewy glow.
- Helps tame your brows. Apply a tiny bit of petroleum jelly to your brows for a fabulous finished look.
- Vaseline removes false eyelash glue. Rub a little on your eyelashes to remove frustrating leftover glue from fake eyelashes.
- It’s great as an after-shave lotion. Apply a little to your legs after shaving. It will both soothe them and smooth them.
- Maintains perfume scent longer when applied at perfume points before spritzing the perfume.
- It lubricates ear lobes and helps to make earring insertion easy and painless.
- Use with your lipstick to create a cream blusher for your cheeks.
- It reduces the scaling and itching associated with dandruff.
- Use a tiny dab to put a quick shine on your shoes and bags.
- It removes makeup stains from clothing.
- Rub Vaseline on the neck of your nail polish bottles and they won’t get stuck to the caps. (Not beauty related but works the same on a tube of super glue)
- Stretch your favorite lotion by mixing it with Vaseline.
- Use it on your belly during pregnancy. It minimizes the appearance of stretch marks.
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Prisca Mwangi is a Beauty Consultant at The Color Palette Company. She can be reached at beautiodyssey@gmail.com.