- "Vaseline" redirects here. "Vaseline" is also the title of a song performed by Elastica.
Vaseline is a well-known brand of petrolatum (petroleum jelly) originally produced by Chesebrough-Ponds, which was purchased by Unilever in 1987.
History
The raw material for petroleum jelly was discovered in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania where it was stuck to some of the first oil rigs in the U.S. The riggers hated the paraffin-like material because it caused the rigs to seize up, but they used it on cuts and burns because it hastened healing. Robert Chesebrough, a young chemist whose previous work, distilling fuel from the oil of sperm whales, had been rendered obsolete by petroleum, went to Titusville to see what new materials had commercial potential. Chesebrough took the unrefined black "rod wax", as the drillers called it, back to his laboratory to refine it and explore potential uses.
Chesebrough discovered that by distilling the lighter, thinner oil products from the rod wax, he could create a light-colored gel. Chesebrough patented the process of making petroleum jelly (U.S. patent 127,568) in 1872. The process involved vacuum distillation of the crude material followed by filtration of the still residue through bone char.
Chesebrough travelled around New York State demonstrating the product to drum up sales. Before a rapt audience he'd burn his skin with acid or an open flame, then spread the clear jelly on his injuries, showing at the same time his past injuries, healed, he claimed, by his miracle product.
Chesebrough opened his first factory in 1870 in Brooklyn. The brand name Vaseline was coined, by some accounts, as a combination of the German word for water, wasser (pronounced vahser), and the Greek word for oil, elaion.
Physical properties
Petrolatum is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons, having a melting-point usually ranging from a little below to a few degrees above 100° F (37° C). It is colorless, or of a pale yellow color, translucent, and devoid of taste and smell. It does not oxidize on exposure to the air, and is not readily acted on by chemical reagents. It is insoluble in water. It is soluble in chloroform, benzene, carbon disulfide and oil of turpentine.
Uses
Chesebrough originally promoted Vaseline primarily as an ointment for scrapes, burns, and cuts. Today these claims have been largely debunked.[1] Physicians have shown that Vaseline has no medicinal effect or any effect on the blistering process, nor is it absorbed by the skin. Vaseline’s effectiveness stems from its sealing effect on cuts and burns, which inhibits germs from getting into the wound and keeps the injured area supple by preventing the skin's moisture from evaporating. "Vaseline First Aid Petroleum Jelly" brand, (which contained carbolic acid to give the jelly additional anti-bacterial effect), has been discontinued.
However after becoming a medicine chest staple, consumers began to use Vaseline for a myriad of ailments including chapped hands or lips, toenail fungus, nosebleeds, diaper rash, chest colds, nasal congestion, and even to remove stains from furniture. Beginning in the 1920s, petrolatum, either pure or as an ingredient, was also popular as a hair pomade.
Most petrolatum today is consumed as an ingredient in skin lotions and cosmetics. Although petrolatum is less expensive than glycerol, the most common active lubricating ingredient in skin lotion, it is not used in expensive lotions because it is not absorbed into the skin and therefore leaves a greasy feel.
Pure petroleum jelly is widely used by men for masturbation. However, petroleum jelly is not recommended for use as a sexual lubricant because it is oil-based and therefore dissolves latex condoms. Vaseline should also not be used for anal or vaginal sex because, like other oil-based substances, it may coat the lining of the rectum or vagina, providing a haven for infection. ([2]).
Petroleum jelly was formerly used as a way to pitch a spitball in baseball. Although the pitch was banned in 1920, pitchers sometimes throw "the spitter" surreptitiously.
Petroleum jelly in popular culture
- In the animated TV show The Simpsons, the character Milhouse Van Houten is said to enjoy the unusual delicacy of Vaseline on toast. Also, Homer Simpson once ate an entire tub of petroleum jelly.
- The lyrics of the song "She Don't Use Jelly" by The Flaming Lips speak of a girl who slathers Vaseline on her toast.
- The band Stone Temple Pilots have a song called "Vasoline" on their second album Purple.
- Artist Matthew Barney has used petroleum jelly in his performance art and for creating sculptures. For his recent film Drawing Restraint 9, he created a large oval shaped block of it and filmed its installation on the deck of a whaling ship.
- Elastica included a song called "Vaseline" on their debut album.
- The actor Frank Kelly says he had vaseline used in his ears to look like discharge for the unkempt Father Jack Hackett.
- The rock band The Talking Heads released a compilation album of their work from 1976-1992 titled, Sand in the Vasoline.