Vaseline


Vaseline is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products owned by British-Dutch company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soaps, lotions, cleansers, and deodorants.
In many languages, the word "Vaseline" is used as generic for petroleum jelly; in Portugal the Unilever products are called Vaselina, and in Brazil and some Spanish-speaking countries, the Unilever products are called Vasenol.

History

In 1859, Robert Chesebrough went to the oil fields in Titusville, Pennsylvania, and learned of a residue called "rod wax" that had to be periodically removed from oil rig pumps. The oil workers had been using the substance to heal cuts and burns. Chesebrough took samples of the rod wax back to Brooklyn, extracted the usable petroleum jelly, and began manufacturing a medicinal product he called Vaseline.
The first known reference to the name Vaseline was by Chesebrough in his U.S. patent in 1872. "I, Robert Chesebrough, have invented a new and useful product from petroleum which I have named Vaseline..."
The name "vaseline" is said by the manufacturer to be derived from German Wasser "water" + Greek έλαιον "olive oil".
Vaseline was made by the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company until the company was purchased by Unilever in 1987.

Uses

While Vaseline can be used as a lubricant, it can also be used as a moisture insulator for local skin conditions characterized by tissue dehydration.
Vaseline has been reported to be highly-refined, triple-purified and regarded as non-carcinogenic.

Citations