What is "PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM" and what does it do?

Role: OCCLUSIVE

Family: Mineral oil

Comedogenic index: 0

PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM is a mineral oil. It is an inexpensive oil derived from crude oil refining, and is the subject of much controversy due to its origin. Chemically speaking, cosmetic-grade mineral oil is a complex mixture of highly refined saturated hydrocarbons with a carbon chain from C15 to C50.
It's a highly controversial ingredient with pros and cons, as well as many myths surrounding it.

The benefits of mineral oil
1) It's a powerful occlusive
Occlusivity is one of the basic mechanisms of moisturizers, meaning that mineral oil settles on the skin's surface and prevents transepidermal water loss, i.e. the evaporation of water from the skin.
An ideal ingredient for dry skin
An inert ingredient that's perfectly tolerated
The other strong point of mineral oil is that it is very well tolerated by the skin. The chemical composition of vegetable oils is more complex and contains many potential allergens or irritating components, whereas mineral oil is simple, pure and cases of sensitivity to it are extremely rare.
If you look at the marquess from classic French pharmacies and their moisturizers for the most sensitive, allergy-prone skin, they generally contain mineral oil...

The disadvantages of mineral oil
The fact that it does not penetrate the skin but remains mainly on the surface, and that it does not contain biologically active components such as good fatty acids and vitamins, means that mineral oil does not "nourish" the skin in the same way as vegetable oils.
Mineral oil doesn't provide any additional benefits to the skin; it's simply a non-irritating moisturizer that works mainly by occlusion.

The occlusive effect may be too strong for oily skin, and even normal skin doesn't need such an occlusive ingredient.
On the other hand, even this mineral oil is not comedogenic per se, but its occlusivity can encourage the proliferation of bacteria, which can be a problem for acne-prone skin.

Find out more about "Inci" cosmetic ingredients