Baby oil is, in general terms, an inert

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

for the purpose of keeping

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...

soft and supple. It is often used on babies for the purpose of maintaining "baby-soft" skin, but it is also often used by adults for skincare and massage. The

of an infant, especially a

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

one, is sensitive, thin and fragile. The skin's neutral pH on the surface significantly reduces the protection against excessive

bacterial Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

growth. The

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...

and

dermis The dermis or corium is a layer of skin between the epidermis (with which it makes up the cutis) and subcutaneous tissues, that primarily consists of dense irregular connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. It is divided i ...

are thinner than those of adults and the epidermal barrier is not yet fully developed. Consequences can for example be dry skin,

infections An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmiss ...

, peeling, blister formation and poor

thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

. The application of different

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

to the skin of the newborn is routinely practiced in many countries. In general, these oils are used for cleansing, to maintain the skin's moisture and to protect its surface. Additionally, baby oil is used for the

massage Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

of newborns and as additive in

lotions Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, Cream (pharmaceutical), creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare ...

and creams.

Ingredients

Baby oils can be classified by the base formulation of the product. They are based on *

Mineral oil Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...

or *

Vegetable oils Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

Products based on mineral oil

Typical components of baby oils are the highly purified mineral oil products such as liquid paraffin (INCI name: paraffinum liquidum) and

vaseline Vaseline ()Also pronounced with the main stress on the last syllable . is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products owned by transnational company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soa ...

(INCI name:

petrolatum Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum, soft paraffin, or multi-hydrocarbon, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25), originally promoted as a topical ointment for its he ...

). These compounds are odorless and tasteless, dermatologically tested and approved, not allergenic,

hydrophobic In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the physical property of a molecule that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water (known as a hydrophobe). In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water. Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, th ...

and contain no

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampric ...

herbicides Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

Preservatives A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by ...

antioxidants Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...

are not necessary, because in contrast to vegetable oils, there is no risk of rancidity with paraffins. Nevertheless, the use of mineral oil in cosmetics is being criticized. Natural cosmetic companies claim that the use of mineral oil results in skin occlusion. Conventional cosmetic manufacturers and even dermatologists and cosmetic chemists argue against that and studies were not able to show any statistical difference between paraffin oil and vegetable oils in terms of skin penetration and skin occlusion. On the contrary, petrolatum-based preparations have been shown to be effective to the skin barrier function, even in premature infants.

Products based on vegetable oils

Vegetable oils are produced by plants with the highest concentration being present in

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

and

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...

. About 95% of each vegetable oil is primarily composed of

triglycerides A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride''). Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as we ...

Coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

contain mainly

saturated fatty acids A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched c ...

, while other oils largely contain

unsaturated fatty acids In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

, for example

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega ...

and

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...

. Accompanying substances in vegetable oils are, inter alia,

phospholipids Phospholipids, are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...

glycolipids Glycolipids are lipids with a carbohydrate attached by a glycosidic (covalent) bond. Their role is to maintain the stability of the cell membrane and to facilitate cellular recognition, which is crucial to the immune response and in the connec ...

, sulfolipids,

squalene Squalene is an organic compound. It is a triterpenoid with the formula C30H50. It is a colourless oil, although impure samples appear yellow. It was originally obtained from shark liver oil (hence its name, as ''Squalus'' is a genus of sharks). A ...

carotenoids Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, ...

vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vitami ...

polyphenols Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...

and triterpene

alcohols In chemistry, an alcohol is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl () functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term ''alcohol'' originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is ...

. To avoid rancidity, preservatives or antioxidants are added to baby oils based on vegetable oils. On cosmetic products, these oils are listed according to the

International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, abbreviated INCI, are the unique identifiers for cosmetic ingredients such as waxes, oils, pigments, and other chemicals that are assigned in accordance with rules established by the Personal ...

(INCI), e.g.:Personal Care Products Council - International Buyers' Guide
/ref> * Cocos Nucifera Oil (coconut oil) * Elaeis Guineensis Oil (palm oil) * Glycine Soja Oil (

soy oil Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed s ...

) * Olea Europaea Oil (

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

) * Persea Gratissima Oil (

avocado oil Avocado oil is an Vegetable oil, edible oil extracted from the pulp of avocados, the fruit of ''Persea americana''. It is used as an edible oil both raw and for cooking, where it is noted for its high smoke point. It is also used for lubrication a ...

) * Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (

almond oil The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

) * Shea Butter Glycerides (

shea butter Shea butter (, , or ; ) is a fat extracted from yellow the nut of the African shea tree (''Vitellaria paradoxa''). It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or palm oil. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moi ...

) * Simmondsia chinensis Oil (

jojoba oil Jojoba oil is the liquid produced in the seed of the ''Simmondsia chinensis'' ( jojoba) plant, a shrub, which is native to southern Arizona, southern California, and northwestern Mexico. The oil makes up approximately 50% of the jojoba seed by w ...

) * Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (

sunflower oil Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil is primarily composed ...

) Vegetable oils are not to be confused with

essential oils An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

, both being sourced from plants.

Usage

Baby oils are largely used as skin care products and their principle use remains as skin moisturizers. In particular, baby oils find application in the treatment of various skin diseases like

atopic dermatitis Atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as atopic eczema, is a long-term type of inflammation of the skin (dermatitis). It results in puritis, itchy, red, swollen, and cracked skin. Clear fluid may come from the affected areas, which often thickens o ...

xerosis Xeroderma, xerosis or xerosis cutis, or simply dry skin, is a skin condition characterized by excessively dry skin. The medical term ''xeroderma'', meaning "dry skin", derives from modern Latin, ''xero-'' 'dry' + Greek ''derma'' 'skin'. In most ...

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

and other eczematous conditions. Another area of use is the oil massage of the newborn which has been a tradition in India and other Asian countries since time immemorial.

References

{{Reflist Skin care Babycare