Vaseline Review (petroleum jelly product)

Hey there beautiful people,

It has been a while since I have written a post.  I have been a bit here and there in my life, moving countries and what not. Sadly the last thing that I was able to keep up with was my blog. However, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been thinking of stuff that I need to write about.

I have recently moved from a tropical, humid country back to England…a cold, dry country. Whilst it has been a struggle to adjust, the hardest and most stressful part has been trying to deal with my psoriasis flare up.

What have I been doing you ask?

Well, I have been spending a lot of time inside (not specifically because of my psoriasis – just because I am home for the holidays) without makeup on and constantly treating my psoriasis. I like to not wear makeup as much as possible as I am pretty sure the makeup I use doesn’t help my psoriasis what so ever (I am not very makeup knowledgeable soooooo have used the same stuff since I was about 15!)  but this is something that I will addressing in the new year.

Which brings me onto...

The story of the Vaseline…

Before I tell the story – the fact that I used Vaseline is irrelevant (I think); you can probably just use any petroleum jelly product.

One thing that really stressed me out being back home was that my lips were/are constantly dry and cracked. Not exactly something that I enjoy. I started to put Vaseline on my lips. Then one night when my psoriasis was really bad I just put it over my face. I thought that if it will keep my lips moist and stop them drying out then why wouldn’t it work on my pso!! It was a moment when I had to try something new or I was going to resort to steroid creams, which I hate, because I was just getting to down about how bad my skin was. I didn’t apply it all over my face though, because it is so greasy and I really didn’t want to end up covered in spots as well.

I put the Vaseline on overnight and checked how it looked in the morning. I noticed straight away that the Vaseline tended to get rid of the white flecks on top of the skin and made the patches feel less rough overall.

I have started to use Vaseline more over my body, it doesn’t immediately get rid of the patches but it does seriously help the overall look of them and makes the patches less red and aggressive looking. One thing I have noticed is that without the Vaseline (a few nights I have missed doing it) my skin is worse in the morning – so whilst I think that it isn’t doing anything because the patches aren’t completely going away, it is clear what it is doing when I see what happens when I don’t use it.  

Where have I been using Vaseline?

Currently I am only applying it to my face, scalp line and torso. It is really greasy stuff so getting it out of my hair is an actual nightmare and takes a few rounds of shampoo in the morning to do so. Currently time isn’t an issue for my routine, but when I need to be somewhere in the morning I would probably avoid putting it on my scalp line and on patches actually on my scalp just because it doesn’t look nice if it isn’t washed out properly.

I have a lot of patches on my face and only put the Vaseline, liberally, on those spots (as in, I don’t apply it like a moisturiser and just rub it in everywhere). I also put it around my ears and down my neck where I have some patches.

The visible patches are the ones that I tend to focus on more, everything that I can cover wearing clothes or whatever tends to get left out of the OTT application of creams/ointments/lotions and potions.  However, I have been applying to my torso to see the effect on those areas.

Do note that, if you are going to try using Vaseline – it is extremely greasy and will stain your clothes/bed sheets. Just wear PJ’s you don’t really care about and if you are worried about the bed sheets you can put a towel down. Everything is washable – that is my outlook anyway.

Review

I didn’t intentionally decide to use Vaseline as a psoriasis product, but, I did it in impulse and I am really happy with the results.

Price: 10/10 – It is literally so cheap and you can buy it anywhere!! I think the one I bought was less than £2 for a decent (carry-able) sized tub.

Smell: N/A – There isn’t a smell to be honest.

Texture: 8/10 – I go through phases of liking the texture of Vaseline. It is a really gluey/sticky products but it goes onto the skin so smoothly. I think I don’t like the way that it is a nightmare to get off (i.e. off your hands after you have applied it and don’t want to get grease onto things that you touch) also it is impervious to a quick water removal.

Packaging: 10/10 – I love the Vaseline tub. It looks like and literally everyone at some point in their life has owned or used it….no questions asked.

Time consumption: 6/10 – Whilst it goes on so easily, it is an actual nightmare to get off (for me because of the way that I apply it to my scalp line and to my ears and whatnot), however, you could probably get it off with a warm towel and gently scrubbing if you didn’t apply it to your scalp. Once I have devised a routine to getting it off in the morning, it is a lot less frustrating. It is still annoying though but one of those instances where…the annoyance is worth the results? (If that makes sense at all)

Overall result: 9/10 – I love Vaseline; I used it all the time for my lips so would never not use it. Especially in England where my skin is so dry. My skin feels smoother and the patches of pso are noticeably different. It is enough to use – I can deal with how my pso looks whilst using Vaseline however if you are still striving for it to be completely gone…Vaseline might not be the product to do that. BUT, it is a fabulous product to use whilst looking J

Get a tub and give it a go! You probably have it somewhere in your house already.