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The first thing to note is mineral oil and baby oil are essentially one and the same. The only difference is that baby oil has added perfumes to make it smell "fresh".
It's a common misconception that baby oil is good for a baby's skin. Here's what Vimala McClure, the "mother of baby massage" and founder of the first international association for infant massage, has to say about oils and infant massage:
"For a number of reasons, I prefer cold-pressed fruit and/or vegetable oils to mass-produced, commercially advertised "baby oils." What we put on our skin is absorbed into the body and circulates throughout, carried by lymph, a liquid like blood that cleanses the body of toxins and carries away waste. If we are going to use a topical application on our little ones, we quite naturally want to use a product that will nourish them rather than one that may actually rob them of vital nutrients, being nonorganic and petroleum based. Most "baby oils" are primarily made of mineral oil. To make mineral oil, gasoline and kerosene are removed from crude petroleum by heating, in a method call functional distillation. By using sulfuric acid, applying absorbents, and washing with solvents and alkalis, hydrocarbons and other chemicals are then removed.
Not only is there no food value in this type of oil, but some nutritional authorities believe that mineral oil, when ingested, produces deficiencies of various vitamins, and they recommend against its use as a regular massage oil. When you are in the middle of the massage and your baby puts his hand in or near his mouth, you don't want to worry that a nonfood substance is passing into his delicate digestive system. Infants, whose brains and nervous systems are not fully developed, are particularly vulnerable to substances absorbed by the skin. Commercially produced mineral oils also dry the skin and clog its pores. Most modern pediatricians discourage their use for this reason alone. Theses oils were not made for regular massage, which encourages the absorption of whatever substance you are using. That substance, in my view, should be a food product that nourishes the skin."
Vimala McClure, Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents. Bantam Books, 2000. Pgs. 64-65.
Oprah devoted a show to child and family safety, and included a segment on keeping your baby safe from baby oil.
Among other fruit and vegetable oils, grapeseed and safflower oils have been found to be readily available in local markets and are natural and safe lubricants for infant massage.
More information: The molecules of baby oil (mineral oil) are too large to be absorbed into the skin. The result is a coating on the skin that impairs our skin, our largest organ, to carry out the jobs it was designed to do. Our skin breathes, filters, absorbs and excretes. With a layer of baby oil over the skin, the skin just can't carry out these vital tasks for us.
From: Cleaning Yourself To Death: How Safe Is Your Home? by Pat Thomas . Newleaf, 2001. Pgs. 130-131.
"Most body oils are based on mineral oil. Some, like baby oil, are 100 percent mineral oil, with added perfume.
Mineral oil is manufactured from crude oil. Because it comes from petrochemical origins it can cause sensitivity reactions. Sensitivity to petrochemicals can show itself over time as headaches but also, according ot allergists, more serious disorders such as arthritis and diabetes. Petrolatum, paraffin or parrafin oil and propylene glycol are all forms of mineral oil.
While it is used for its lubricant qualities which in the short-term appear to make the skin softer, used of the long-term mineral oil can make the skin dry out. This is because mineral oil dissolves the skin's natural oils, therby increasing water loss (dehydration) from the skin. Mineral oils may also increase the skin's sensitivity to sunlight and have been linked to an increased risk of skin cancer.
...Vegetable oils are better absorbed by the skin, and they soften and moisturise without any of the rists associated with petroleum by-products."
In addition, because tiny fingers and toes end up baby's mouth, our babie's are eating whatever happens to be on their hands and feet. In the case of mineral oil or baby oil, the body "thinks" that a fat is being consumed. The body recognizes mineral oil the same as it recognizes a fruit, vegetable or animal oil (fat). Vitamins A, D, E & K are fat-soluble vitamins - which means the body carries and metabolizes these vitamins through the natural fats that are put to use in the body. Our body can't metabolize mineral oil, but the fat-soluble vitmains don't know this, so these vitamins get "fooled" and instead of being absorbed as viable nutrients, they get carried away and are eventually excreted by the body; hence, they never get used.
So, we ask parents and caregivers to consider that what we put on our baby's body is something that we need to be comfortablt being inside our baby's body - and isn't it nice if whatever that is, it's something that is actually good for our baby's health?
Look for all natural, edible, unscented, unflavored fruit or vegetable oils that you'd cook or bake with. There are also a lot of massage oils now on the market that work very well. Here are some examples:
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