Vaseline
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| Product type | Petroleum jelly body lotion |
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| Owner | Unilever |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1872 |
| Markets | Worldwide |
| Tagline | The Healing Power of Vaseline |
| Website | http://www.vaseline.us/ |
In many languages, the word "Vaseline" is used as generic for petroleum jelly; in Portuguese and some Spanish-speaking countries, the Unilever products are called Vasenol.
Contents
History
An image from Vaseline company archives
The name "vaseline" is said by the manufacturer to be derived from German Wasser "water" + Greek έλαιον (elaion) "olive oil".[3]
In 1859, 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 the medicinal product he called Vaseline.[4]
Vaseline was made by the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company until the company was purchased by Unilever in 1987.
Uses
Vaseline in its container
Vaseline has been reported to be highly-refined, triple-purified and regarded as non-carcinogenic.[5]. The Environmental Working Group regards it as having low overall health hazard, but high concerns about non-reproductive organ system toxicity associated with the product.[6].
References
Notes
- Also pronounced with the main stress on the last syllable /ˌvæsəˈliːn/.
Citations
- "Vaseline Petroleum Jelly -- Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database - EWG". www.ewg.org. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
External links
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
Media related to Vaseline at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
