What is in your skin care products: Mineral Oil

Your skin is the largest organ in your body. Most of the ingredients you use on your skin are absorbed into your body. What do you know about what is in your skin care products and their effect on your health?


For the next few weeks I thought I would give you a little information about some of the chemicals you may see when you read the label on the side of your personal care products. My aim is to enable you to make an informed choice about the products you use on yourself and your baby. 


Many products that were given to me by the hospital in my free baby bonus gift bag contain these chemicals. Clever marketing by big brand companies who have worked to create a direct link in your mind between their product and the safe nurturing environment of a hospital. After spending some time reading the product labels on these items, I left most of the "gifts" from my bag in the hospital room declining their offer to place these chemicals on my one day old babies skin.


The good news is that it is now quite easy to avoid the following list, if you choose to.


1. Mineral Oil (Petrolatum, Vaseline, Paraffin)
2. Methyl / Propyl / Butyl / Ethyl Paraben
3. Imidazolidinyl Urea and Diazolidinyl Urea
4. Propylene Glycol
5. Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth Sulphate
6. Synthetic Colours
7. Synthetic Fragrances

MINERAL OIL (Petrolatum, Vaseline, Paraffin)

It is found in many skin care products from baby oil which can be 100% Mineral Oil, to lipsticks and lip balms. Mineral oil is a clear, liquid oil with no scent and it will not spoil. It is produced as a byproduct of the distillation of petrol from crude oil. Mineral oil is the leftover liquid, and because it is abundant, it is very cheap. 


The World Health Organisation has classified Mineral Oil as a carcinogen to humans. Many mineral oils have been shown to be contaminated with cancer causing PAH's (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons).  It is often impossible to know the source of the mineral oils used in a product and therefore it is impossible to assess the risk of products containing 'mineral oil'.


Mineral Oil forms a barrier on the skin and is said to interfere with the skin's ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne, eczema and other skin disorders. Petrolatum is a mineral oil jelly. It can interfere with the body's own natural moisturising mechanism, leading to dry skin and chapping. You could be using a product that creates the very conditions it claims to alleviate. 

It is not difficult to take precautionary measures to avoid mineral oils in products. Look for products that contain cold-pressed natural oils instead such as Jojoba or Sweet Almond Oil, particularly for use on the sensitive skin of babies.

Spelt Flour Crackers

With Jack only having two safe grains to eat, so far, I am pretty restricted on what I can buy from the supermarket. I did a bit of research today and found this extremely simple yet delicious recipe for Spelt Flour Crackers. The whole family tried them with hummus and cheese on the back deck in the warm sun this afternoon. They received a big thumbs up by all. I think next time I will try putting some finely chopped rosemary into the dough.


1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups white spelt flour, plus more for flouring surface
Course sea salt or fennel seeds or caraway seeds


1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Dissolve the salt in the cold water. Stir in the spelt flour until combined. Knead the dough a few turns until a ball forms.
2. Flour the back of  a 12 by 17 inch biscuit tray and roll out the dough on top of it, using as much flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough covers the whole tray from edge to edge.
3. Using a spray bottle filled with water, spray the dough to give it a glossy finish.
4. Prick the dough all over with a fork. If you choose, sprinkle with salt or one of the seeds.
5. For neat crackers, score the dough into grids.
6. Bake until the dough is crisp and golden and snaps apart, 15 to 25 minutes. Start checking it after 10 minutes.
7. Break into pieces and serve with hummus or cheese.


Adapted from a recipe by Heidi Julavits published in the New York Times Magazine

A Reprieve

With the relative certainty on foods that Jack is reacting to I made a decision two weeks ago to remove his trigger foods from my diet. I knew rice, soy and oats were passing through my breast milk to him as he always vomited after he breastfed when I ate them. I had not noticed a direct correlation on the other foods though  so I did not cut them out. With a nasal gastric tube looming for him due to his poor nutrition and constant diarrhea I decided to pull out all stops and cut all his trigger foods from my diet and see what happened.

Gees...it has been hard for me to do. Now I am not eating rice, oats, soy, wheat, rye, corn, tomato, citrus fruits or nuts. Are there any grains left I hear you ask. Yes, thank goodness, I am still eating spelt flour and buckwheat. There is not much prepared food in the world that does not have one of these ingredients in it. I am pretty much on a meat and salad and vegetable diet. This week I got adventurous at the local health food shop and tried mung bean pasta, and a potato bread. Both turned out to be surprisingly good.

The exciting news for Jack is... it has been a HUGE success. He has gone from waking up constantly through the night with tummy aches and hunger, to waking up at 11pm, 3am and 5am. Ohhh sleep...I love you and have missed you!  His diarrhea has stopped. He has started to want to eat foods. This week he willingly took a mouthful of natural yoghurt off a spoon. A milestone that caused me to ring everyone I knew cheering about his progress. Jack has been reacting to the foods in my diet.

We saw the Immunologist and Nutricianist again on Thursday and they have given us a reprieve on the nasal gastric tube when they heard our news. Jack gets 2 more weeks to start eating more food and put on weight. We are very hopeful.

Products I Adore - Ziggy Floor Mat

This Ziggy Floor Mat found at French Bull would look perfect in our house. A rainbow of colour to brighten our day.