What is baby oil??
What is this stuff? The label lists mineral oil as the only ingredient. Mineral oil? Let's see, olive oil comes from squeezing olives. Mineral oil comes from squeezing minerals? Am I wrong in thinking that a mineral is a rock?
Ok fine, I'll look it up, A clear, odorless oil derived from petroleum ...
Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about rubbing this on my baby's dry head. Sounds weird, no?
16 Comments:
I never knew what baby oil or powder were for. Not really. I hope it's nothing to important.
:)
Yes, it does sound rather weird...Does Ethan have that scalpy thing babies get?
ps-I love Burt's Bees baby products.
ooo-I hadn't thought of Burt's Bees. And yes, he has cradle cap. It just looks like dry skin, basically. Aside from this, I have no idea what baby oil / baby powder are for either. Very mysterious.
I've always thought that was weird too. Burts Bees is awesome! I also like to use Almond oil in place of baby oil. It works and smells great....and you know it comes from Almonds, as opposed to petroleum (isn't that gasoline??).
Oh, and use cornstarch instead of baby powder (talc...what is that exactly?) I think it's for keeping skin from getting chaffed in the hot, humid diaper. That's what I've used it for anyway (on my baby!!). Not that I know what it feels like to be wearing a hot, humid diaper. ;)
I knew it had a name! I just couldn't think of it. Cradle cap. Okay. Natalie, your response made me laugh out loud. Where do you buy almond oil? Can you get it at the grocery store?
Yeah-where do you get almond oil? Is it for cooking? I was using olive oil before, but Ethan always smelled like dinner. Too foody. But I'd imagine almond oil would smell nice.
I bought it at the Co-op in Davis (or food co-op whatever you call it). They had bottles of all kinds of oil (in the health/beauty section) as I remember...not too expensive either.
Do you guys have a Whole Foods in TN? They might have it there.
We do actually. Its very nice, too, just a little pricey for day to day shopping given our current situation.... Thanks for the tip.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ahem
It's true that "baby oil" is produced in large quantities as a by product when the make gasoline, but chemically it is nearly equivalent to many other types of oil (like almond or olive or cotton seed...). This is because petroleum deposits come from very old plants. The diffence is really cosmetic; these other oils are preferable not because they are more healthy, or do something different, but mostly because of the smells and the subtle changes in consistancy. You could also make gasoline out of almonds if you had enough of them and they were really old. Now I'm not saying that y'all are tree-huggers and I aint--I actually like Burt's Bees brand better than generic stuff--but it's all psychological. Lipids are lipids.
/ahem
Good point, Duke. Thanks for the perspective.
Mr. Scientific, setting the record straight. You know, anytime anyone in either of our families has a question about anything we get a phone call that starts out with, "Alright, Austin," followed by their query. It's kind of funny.
Thanks Duke! I figured as much, but didn't know the science behind it. You've cleared it up!
i've always read that you should stay away from products that contain mineral oil, not because they are anti-environment, but because they are harsher on the skin. true? or not? i have no clue.
estie had AWFUL cradle cap. it finally went away when i scrubbed it all the time and used a fine tooth comb in the bath and scratched it all off. this was after several failed attempts that were less invasive.
The oil and rubbing/scratching seem to work, but its an ongoing process that has to be repeated every few days.
Post a Comment
<< Home