Vaseline is more than the goopy stuff you put on your baby’s behinds. It has uses ranging from homesteading to medicinal. Some of these unique uses for Vaseline can be found at Joey Green’s website, who seems to find wacky uses for just about everything.
Vaseline is a mixture of mineral oils, paraffin, and micro-crystalline waxes that, when blended together, creates a jelly-like feel. Since it has a melting point just above body temperature, it re-solidifies, thus locking itself in place. Vaseline is a low cost, multi-purpose prep that should be in every prepper’s storage closet.
Homesteading
- Petroleum jelly can be used for tinder, lightly coated on a cotton ball.
- Lure Trout – Smearing Vaseline on small pieces of sponges and hooking them onto fish hooks will trick the fish into thinking the sponge coated Vaseline is fish eggs
- Lubricates tools and protects them from rusting.
- Rub some Vaseline on the wheels of wagons to keep them lubricated and protect them from rust.
- Protects leather and softens it.
- Rub Vaseline around candle holders and the wax will not stick to them.
- Petrolatum is a useful material when incorporated into candle wax formulas. The petrolatum softens the overall blend, allows the candle to incorporate additional fragrance oil, and facilitates adhesion to the sidewall of glass.
- Use it as a lubricant on your sailboat’s spinnaker pole.
Personal
- Vaseline is an effective moisturizer.
- It is used as a key ingredient for conditioners of ethnic hair.
- It is used in pomades to help users sculpt their hair.
- Removes makeup.
Medicinal
- When petroleum jelly is applied under the eyes and can be used to prevent dirt or sand from irritating the eye.
- Applying Vaseline to lips to help to protect them from chapping.
- Vaseline helps to prevent windburn by creating a barrier on top of the skin to protect it from the wind.
- Put it on scrapes and cuts to use as a barrier to keep moisture out.
- Make your own vapor rub using Vaseline and combining essential oils such as eucalyptus and mint oil.
- It lubricates psoriasis and eczema prone skin to help get rid of the dry patches.
- When applied thick to the scalp, it eliminates lice by smothering them.
- It helps to heal burns and moisturizes the skin.
- When placed under the nose, Vaseline can help minimize allergies by trapping pollen before it enters the nostrils.
- It helps heal poison ivy lesions.
Note: DO NOT apply Vaseline to the insides of the nose due to the risk of lipoid pneumonia.
This article was originally published at Ready Nutrition™ on July 12th, 2011
Hi! Just wanted to let you know that while petroJelly (as I call it) is great for the many uses you listed I personally would go with the all natural Jelly from CamdenGrey.com for medicinal or personal use as the all natural Jelly contains no mineral oil nor petroleum products (both of which are well known and well documented carcinogens/cancer causing agents). It is rather cheap and stores well and can be used as a base for many herbal and essential oil preps. And the oils that are used in the natural Jelly are documented for their healing properties 🙂 so I skip the PetroJelly and just get the natural one…more bang for the buck and less worries!
Thanks for the tip! I’ll keep a look out for the all-natural version.
I make what I call “un” petroleum jelly by melting 1/2 oz. of beeswax and adding 2 oz. sweet almond oil to it.
I was interested to read this article until I saw one of the uses: as a burn cream. This is NOT correct burn treatment protocol! It de-legitimizes all other medical recommendations of vaseline since I am not an expert in the other recommended uses so I have to assume they are all similarly dangerous. Get a medical expert before you harm your customers.
Tom,
The research that I found on vaseline is that it can be used after the “heat” of burns has disapated. The petroleum jelly acts as a barrier and helps keep germs out of a wound as well as keeping the skin’s moisture level regulated instead of it drying out.
If their were second or third degree burns, there would be a risk of infection and other protocals would need to happen for the skin to heal itself.
Another use that came to mind today as I read that the House had passed the budget debt debacle. It’l be used by taxpayers for the s******g we all are going to get in the months and years to come.
I often use vaseline for my lips but I wonder if its safe (completely) considering its petroleum and you may eat it somehow. Any thought ?
@ Vicky,
I have used vaseline on my lips for years and do not have any issues with it. In regards to a SHTF scenario, anything is better than nothing at all. If you are concerned, stock up on some alternative lip therapies such as olive oil, or other natural oils.
One word: CHAFFING.
Ok..two words: BLISTER PREVENTION
…acts as lubricant to skin to prevent chaffing and blisters (light coat will do good)…I just wish I would have known 20+ years ago in boot camp!
My daughter often gets nose bleeds and her doctor told me to apply a light coat using a Q-tip to the lining of each nostril it works really well to moisturize and stop the bleeding faster you still need to do your regular nose bleed protocol what ever that might be but I find that do this helps to speed up the process of stopping the nose bleed.. During the summer when it’s hotter than usual I usually do this before she even leaves the house to help prevent a nose bleed.
I hope this helps someone out there.
Aloha Zena Wright