My Occlusive Companion

 

You definitely do not read this from a Beauty Guru. Yeap, but I am a self-claimed skincare enthusiast and throughout the years, the way I view beauty products has lean more towards:

1. Finding the right solution for your skin problem (either you have dull skin, hyperpigmentation, acne prone, etc)

2. Inexpensive, cost-friendly products.

                                                    My companion, my holy grail, Vaseline. 

All the while I used to look up to bigger brands like Caudalie, Lamer, whatever products that comes from Sephora and those fancy beauty counters. Those beauty blogger sites like Vogue, Harpers Bazaar are really my go to videoes especially on skincare and makeup and I thought "wow their skin looks amazing because they use X and Y products on their face". But those are really expensive and honestly if you were to incorporate 4-5 steps that require $50 per product, you already wasted $250 and in Malaysia its probably RM750-RM800. In fact, some would even spend RM800 per product! I mean if you can afford it, and it plays a vital role to your skin, I'd say why not? But really, you don't need to spend that much. 

I usually used korean skincare products coz they're alot cheaper, but a friend of mine recommended me to watch videos from certified dermatologists in order to gain knowledge about our skin. So I started off with Dr. Shereene Idriss and eventually Dr. Dray, and I thought to myself "wow, in order to supply ingredients in your skincare doesn't require to splurge the high brands, you can actually get it from Pharmacy or local store!

But thats a story for another day. Dr. Dray saved my life by her video on vaseline. Like WHAT??! You can actually put vaseline on your face? The beauty society did create some fear mongering about Petroleum Jelly aka Petrolatum because it comes from the oil refining industry. So naturally what comes into our head was probably the oil injected into our cars are also the same thing we apply  to our face. However, cosmetic grade petrolatum is a by-product of dewaxing mineral oil and it is very safe to use. 

Lets understand about occlusives first. According to Olay Scientific Communications Senior Director Frauke Neuser Ph. D, the medical definition of occlusives are moisturizing agents that work by forming a protective layer on the surface of your skin and create a barrier to prevent moisture loss. In simpler terms, petroleum jelly locks the moisture on your skin, acting as a seal, to prevent the moisture loss from your skin so it doesn't get dry or irritated, similar to cap on the bottle analogy. 

You can watch videos about petrolatum or other occlusives on Dermatologists channel. Here are the links of skincare doctors i personally love to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ShereeneIdrissPillowtalkderm

https://www.youtube.com/c/DrDrayzday

https://www.youtube.com/c/DrDanielSugai

I personally use Vaseline on the last step of my skincare. After moisturizer, I apply a thin layer of vaseline, not too much, to seal the products I applied to my skincare, that way I am confident the active ingredients are working well when theres a seal on top of my skin barrier. According to Dr. Dray, Vaseline is non-comedogenic, therefore you won't need to worry about whether or not it will clog your pores. Coz it won't! The structure of Vaseline is that it doesn't interacts with the protein in your skin. If  a product messes up with the protein in our skin, it will irritate our skin and cause acne. Suffice to say after putting vaseline on top of my moisturizer, my skin felt healthier and moisturized without feeling "too wet" and getting dried up too fast and hey I'm an eczema prone gal, it doesn't irritate at all! For RM6 product, I'm so happy and very surprised. 

If you are using a stronger active ingredients, example like retinoids that can cause your skin to be inflamed. Applying vaseline first followed by retinoids can help act as a barrier or what Dr Idriss would imply it, buffer it up to avoid direct application of retinoid. Buffer, buffer and buffer!

You can read other uses of vaseline here:

https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/petroleum-jelly#uses

And of course from many other sites you can google, or watch certified Cosmetic Dermatologists videos, coz their explanation definitely helps on understanding more of any skincare product you're using. 

I bought a tub for my hubby which has aloe vera extract in it since hes always outside and get sunburned, aloe vera will definitely help soothe it. Also he had a minor cut today, and I told him to apply sufficient amount of Vaseline on top of his wound. Wives, mothers, everyone, need to have at least one tub at home. You don't know when you might need it! 

I hope this does lessen the fear mongering that has been lingering around about Vaseline. Get it. Its cheap. Its worth it. Can be used for your skincare. It has been around for really long time!

With that, Batgirl Sasha aka Gotham skincare enthusiast signing off.