Why Hint of Eden is Petrolatum-Free

PETROLATUM
A semisolid unctuous substance, neutral, and without taste or odour, derived from petroleum by distilling off the lighter portions and purifying the residue. It is a yellowish, fatlike mass, transparent in thin layers, and somewhat fluorescent. It is used as a bland protective dressing, and as a substitute for fatty materials in ointments.
Source: Websters Dictionary

Petrolatum USP is a derivative of Petroleum so refined it is actually used in food products, such as confectionary glazes. It is also for ophthalmic use in medications for the eyes. Vaseline is made 100% of White Petrolatum, also known as Petroleum Jelly. Baby Oil is made of fragrance and Mineral Oil, which is also a Petroleum derivative.

PAHs, or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are common contaminants in petrolatum. Petrolatum is found in about one of every 14 products on the market, including 15 percent of all lipstick and 40 percent of al baby lotions and oils. FDA restricts petrolatum in food, and requires petrolatum used in food packaging or drugs to meet impurity restrictions for PAHs (21 CFR 178, 21 CFR 172.880).

But the agency allows any amount of petrolatum of any purity in personal care products, many of which are applied directly to the lips and swallowed.

Among the studies linking the petrolatum impurity PAHs to breast cancer is a Columbia University study in which researchers found that the breast tissue of women with breast cancer was 2.6 times more likely to contain elevated levels of PAHs bound to DNA (called DNA adducts) than the breast tissue of women without breast cancer (Rundle et al. 2000).

Petrolatum is listed as a probable human carcinogen in the European Union's Dangerous Substances Directive (UNECE 2004), and its use in cosmetics was banned in September 2004.

Product labels do not uniformly show the “USP” certification on the petrolatum listing. Some product labels include the term “skin protectant” in parentheses after the petrolatum listing, to indicate that the petrolatum has been refined and meets FDA requirements for drug applications.

But in most cases a consumer buying a product containing petrolatum has no way to know if the ingredient is low in carcinogenic PAHs or not.

Hint of Eden soaps and products are Petrolatum Free.