Emollients petrolatum

Emollients or lubricants applied to the area after bathing (mineral oil or petrolatum)... 

Emollients are often added to cream formulations to modify either the characteristics of the pharmaceutical vehicle or the condition of the skin itself to promote penetration of the active ingredient to act either locally or systemically. The stratum corneum, being keratinized tissue, behaves as a semipermeable artificial membrane, and drug molecules can penetrate by passive diffusion. The rate of drug movement depends on the drug concentration in the vehicle, its aqueous solubility, and the oil/ water partition coefficient between the stratum corneum and the product s vehicle. Commonly used emollients include glycerin, mineral oil, petrolatum, isopropyl pal-mitate, and isopropyl myristate. 

Emollient cathartics Liquid petrolatum Vegetable oils... 

Another very practical and useful method for evaluating skin moisturizers is by the direct measurement of TEWL on human skin.23 Not surprisingly, several studies that incorporate this test method have proven that petrolatum is an excellent moisturizer.24"26 It should be noted that in many studies on TEWL, petrolatum is used as a positive standard when evaluating other cosmetic emollients, since petrolatum is nearly always the most occlusive TEWL barrier material tested. It is often the standard by which other ingredients and formulations are judged. 

The benefits of petrolatum has been claimed as an ingredient in skin care products designed to reduce wrinkles,42,43 in products for emolliency, protection, moisturization, and skin conditioning,44-52 and as a base for dispersing other skin care ingredients.53,54 Interestingly, it also has been incorporated into cosmetic powders, such as talcum powders, where it acts to condition/moisturize the skin.55... 

During the past several years, the market has seen new and improved facial tissue products that are softer than the standard facial tissue or contain lotion to soothe sore noses and the surrounding skin. Constant wiping with a facial tissue can irritate the skin, so a product containing emollients is likely to reduce irritation. Petrolatum can be used as an inexpensive yet effective emollient in various types of tissue paper products.100 In another example, petrolatum was employed as a skin conditioning agent in an antiviral and antibacterial lotion that can be applied to either facial tissue101 102 or toilet tissue.101... 

Diapers are related products that also benefit similarly from the addition of emollients such as petrolatum. Petrolatum can not only reduce the adherence of bodily waste to the skin but also provide emolliency.103-107 When applied to the cuffs of diapers, petrolatum also imparts lubricity and minimizes abrasion on the skin.108 Finally, petrolatum has been formulated into an emulsion that is applied to various cleansing wipes (e.g., baby wipes).109... 

Petrolatum is widely used as a classic skin moisturizer.110 Its uses range from cosmetic skin care products to dermatological treatments to patch test substrates to tissue paper emollients. As long as people require soft, supple, moisturized skin, petrolatum will be a key ingredient in meeting that requirement. 

Kucharekova, M., Van De Kerkhof, P.C.M., and Van Der Valk, P.G.M., A randomized comparison of an emollient containing skin-related hpids with a petrolatum-based emolhent as adjunct in the treatment of chronic hand dermatitis, Contact Dermatitis, 48, 293, 2003. 

Kligman, L.H. and Kligman, A.M., Petrolatum and other hydrophobic emollients reduce UVB-induced damage, J. Dermatol. Treat., 3, 3, 1992. 

Hydrocarbon bases are made of oleaginous materials. They provide emollient and protective properties and remain in the skin for prolonged periods. It is difficult to incorporate aqueous phases into hydrocarbon bases. However, powders can be incorporated into these bases with the aid of liquid petrolatum. Removal of hydrocarbon bases from the skin is difficult due to their oily nature. Petrolatum USP, white petrolatum USP, yellow ointment USP, and white ointment USP are examples of hydrocarbon bases. 

Absorption bases contain small amounts of water. They provide relatively less emollient properties than hydrocarbon bases. Similar to hydrocarbon bases, absorption bases are also difficult to remove from the skin due to their hydrophobic nature. Hydrophilic petrolatum USP and lanolin USP are examples of absorption bases. 

A 70-year-old man had multiple coin-sized exudative eczematous plaques on his legs and trunk for several months (20). Various kinds of corticosteroid ointments and white petrolatum as an emollient gave him little relief. Patch tests showed that he reacted to 1 % ammoniated mercuric chloride in petrolatum and 0.05% mercuric chloride in water. He had all his dental amalgam removed, and 1 month later his eruption had subsided, leaving pigmentation. 

White soft paraffin and yellow soft paraffin are mixtures of semi-solid hydrocarbons. They are used as bases for ointments, as emollients in skin diseases, and as lubricants in treating dry eyes. Soft paraffin is also known as petroleum jelly, petrolatum, and Vaseline. 

Lanolin alcohols is used in topical pharmaceutical formulations and cosmetics as a hydrophobic vehicle with emollient properties, e.g., in preparations for dry skin and dry eyes. It is also used in the preparation of water-in-oil creams and ointments at concentrations as low as 2% w/w. The proportion of water that can be incorporated into petrolatum is increased threefold hy the addition of 5% lanolin alcohols. Such emulsions do not crack upon the addition of citric, lactic, or tartaric acids. 

Petrolatum is mainly used in topical pharmaceutical formulations as an emollient-ointment base it is poorly absorbed by the skin. Petrolatum is also used in creams and transdermal formulations and as an ingredient in lubricant formulations for medicated confectionery together with mineral oil. 

Stearyl alcohol is used in cosmetics and topical pharmaceutical creams and ointments as a stiffening agent. By increasing the viscosity of an emulsion, stearyl alcohol increases its stability. Stearyl alcohol also has some emollient and weak emulsifying properties and is used to increase the water-holding capacity of ointments, e.g. petrolatum. In addition, stearyl alcohol has been used in controlled-release tablets, " suppositories, and microspheres. It has also been investigated for use as a transdermal penetration enhancer. ... 

In its strictest definitive form, an ointment is classified as any semi-solid containing fatty material and intended for external application (U.S. Pharmocopeia, USP). In this discussion, ointments will be defined as semisolid anhydrous external preparations. In the nineteenth century, ointments were based on lard, a compounding material, the usefulness of which was severely limited by its tendency to turn rancid. Early in the twentieth century, lard was replaced by petrolatum (white or yellow soft paraffin or petroleum jelly). In present practice, nonmedicated ointments (ointment bases) are used alone, for emollient or lubricating purposes, or in combination with a drug for therapeutic purposes. 

Desoximetasone emollient cream 0.25%, desoximetasone gel 0.05%, desoximetasone ointment 0.25%, and desoximetasone emollient cream 0.05% contain the active synthetic corticosteroid desoximetasone. The topical corticosteroids constitute a class of primarily synthetic steroids used as anti-inflammatory and antipruritic agents. Each gram of emollient cream 0.25% contains 2.5 mg desoximetasone in an emollient cream consisting of white petrolatum USP, purified water USP, isopropyl myristate NF, lanolin alcohols NF, mineral oil USP, cetostearyl alcohol NF, aluminum stearate, and magnesium stearate. Each gram of gel 0.05% contains 0.5 mg desoximetasone in a gel consisting of purified water USP, SD alcohol 40 (20%... 

The ointment contains fluocinonide 0.5 mg/g in a specially formulated ointment base consisting of glyceryl monostearate, white petrolatum, propylene carbonate, propylene glycol, and white wax. It provides the occlusive and emollient effects desirable in an ointment. In this formulation, the active ingredient is totally in solution. In another formulation, the ointment contains fluocinolone acetonide 0.25 mg/g in a white petroleum USP vehicle. 

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