What do you use Vaseline for?

YES. Tiny cuts.

You know when you get a paper cut or similar, (not a scratch, a clean cut) and it stings and is really irritating, but it's not deep enough to bleed much if at all?

Whack some vaseline on it. You block the air from your nerves and get instant relief.

Also use it sometimes to prevent chafing, like before a long bike ride.

That's exactly what it was originally meant for.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_jelly

Native Americans discovered the use of petroleum jelly for protecting and healing skin.[4] Sophisticated oil pits had been built as early as 1415–1450 in Western Pennsylvania.[5] In 1859, workers operating the United States's first oil rigs noticed a paraffin-like material forming on rigs in the course of investigating malfunctions. Believing the substance hastened healing, the workers used the jelly on cuts and burns.
- Oh wow, I never knew!
I'm pretty sure that most of what Neosporin is is Vaseline... And it makes sense. It's basically Vaseline with a mild antibiotic.

Vaseline is awesome for preventing scars too: when the wound is still open, use Neosporin, but after it closes up a bit and is just healing, switch to Vaseline and just keep it in Vaseline until it's totally gone.
- This.
  
  Wounds heal best when they're kept moist and have a barrier.
- Carmex lip balm as well.
- No need for the Neosporin at all, just use the vaseline

Mixing Vaseline with cotton and rolling it into small balls makes for surprisingly effective firestarter. Catches fire from almost everything (even flint and steel) and the burns with strong flame for like 2 minutes.

I used these a bunch in some jungle training. Any petroleum based jellies worked great, so we used bacitracin packets as our additive.

Fun fact: dead bamboo will always be dry in the middle between two joints. You can split it up into a couple thin pieces and it makes great kindling.

Live bamboo will create a small pressure bomb.
- Another fun fact for if you're in a deciduous forest, beach tree bark will always light, even when wet. It contains a flammable oil.
Dryer lint is great for that combo.
We put a cotton ball in the dogs' ears when giving them a bath to prevent water going in their ears, and we apply Vaseline to the exposed part of the cotton ball - makes the cotton ball waterproof. I thought you were describing that when I started reading your comment.

I use it around my hairline before I color my hair so as not to stain my skin.

Yes. And I'll take no further questions on the subject.

I know a girl who thinks of ghosts. She'll make you breakfast; she'll make you toast. But she don't use butter. And she don't use cheese. She don't use jelly, or any of these.

She uses Vaseline.

Vaseline.

Is it you? Is it me? Search for things that you can’t see.
A new Lemmy version of a_poem_for_your_sprog spotted

I use it in my nose after a nosebleed and put it on popsicle sticks to put in houseplants to be a sticky trap for flying pests

You should consider Aquaphor for inside your nose instead.
If you are getting nosebleeds often you might want to try getting the inside of your nose cauterized. It stopped my constant nosebleeds for years. I'm starting to have them occasionally in one nostril I had it done about 18 years ago so that is pretty good.

When I get a cut on my hands and they are very dry my skin heals over the wound, but the wound still stays there. Callouses just kind of grow over it and it gets painful and shitty. I put a glob of Vaseline on it and cover it with a bandaid or something and I a few days it's back to normal.

That's a lot of the reason why Neosporin or any other antibiotic ointments help you heal faster. There's petrolatum in all those products.
Now I wonder if it would work on those tiny painful as fuck cuts that you get around your fingernails during winter when your skin is dry. I've been using those expensive Compeed bandaids which do provide instant relief but if it's just about blocking the air then maybe Vaseline could be just as good.
- Absolutely it does. I work with chalk and know exactly what you're talking about. The super treatment is to lube up and wear cotton gloves. Really works quick.

Oh.... You know. Hehehe

Vaseline is just a petrolatum jelly and a lot of creams and moisturisers have this as a component. The problem with Vaseline is that it’s basically pure petrolatum and so blocks the skin completely.

You rarely want to block the skin completely. The uses some other people noted, like stopping bleeding, is one of those uses.

The truth is that I rarely recommend Vaseline because of how limited it is on skin use.

I recommend people look into Aquaphor by Eucerin, which is only about 40% petrolatum and moisturises a bit better. I always travel with a very small container (just a tiny bit) of the stuff. It’s useful if you have any skin conditions (flaked skin, rashes, etc) that you might want to deal with pronto.

Aveeno (a very good brand for skincare) also make very similar heavy creams.

Long story short, no, Vaseline is pretty bad choice for skincare because it just blocks all air exchange. There are better choices. You often do want petrolatum…just not 100%.

Source: lifelong eczema issues

This might sound like an ad, but I always keep Aquaphor in my bag. I go rock climbing which gives me really dry hands and Aquaphor helps with that so much
- I have a bizarre sensitivity to shea butter and beeswax, so am heavily limited in the chapstick department. Aquaphor is absolutely the best!
That Eucerin makes really good stuff. They have a thick healing cream that's amazing, like supercharged moisturizer. I use it on my feet once in a while to avoid skin problems.
I feel like sometimes you want a complete block to lock in moisture. I put vaseline on over my moisturiser every night and wash off the remainder in the morning.

Also to answer OP’s question I also use it to take my makeup off.

It's good for knuckles that crack and bleed in the winter. Lotion isn't really good enough unless you're applying it multiple times a day.

Same, and also for the tip of my nose. Windy weather with low humidity makes the tip of my nose itch like crazy. Normal moisturiser helps remove the itch but it absorbs too quickly to work as a protective measure, so an extra coat of Vaseline stops the area drying out again as quickly.

I know what your great great grandma used it for

I use medical petroleum jelly on my carbon steel stuffs to prevent them from rust. I think it works better than WD40, and I don't have to protect my hands while applying it.

And sometimes I mix it with bee wax as wood oil. I think it works.

I use it when casting my patients who have a partial hand amputation. It works great as a separator for casting agents and allows me to easily easily slip a cast off of them. It also helps prevent ripping out too too many hairs during the process.

I slather it on my face before bed as a mask. Works great to fight acne imo

This is surprising advice. I would have assumed it would make people break out.

Vaseline is a poor choice of moisturiser because it does not moisturise. It blocks air from entering your pores and I would have assumed this leads to clogged pores and hence acne.
- It also forms a protective barrier for your skin, so nothing can contaminate it or grow on it and you don't lose moisture to evaporation.
  
  Also, pores don't actually clog from stuff getting into them. That's a common misconception that mostly comes from advertisements. What actually happens is your skin becomes inflamed (due to contaminants or bacterial growth or diet or hormones) and squeezes the pores shut. Blackheads aren't dirt but are actually oxidized sebum, which is the oil your skin secretes.
  
  EDIT Oh! Speaking of protective barriers, I also put it on my hands and forearms before work because I handle a lot of machine oil and that irritates my skin, causing rashes and itchiness.
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/04/01/slugging-skincare-petroleum-jelly-vaseline/
It is also great to take makeup off or products that build up (like sunscreen).
- Oh yeah! I use it to touch up eyeliner - a teeny amount on a q-tip and I can pretend I don't keep over applying makeup lol

When my siblings and I were young we would occasionally get eczema flair ups on our hands. Whenever this happened my mom would fill a sock with Vaseline and have us wear it on our hands to bed. Kinda funny.

Did it work though?

Eczema runs hard in my family and my kids get it terribly. We've tried a lot of things but never thought of Vaseline.
- We had pretty mild cases, but yeah I remember it working quite well! I wouldn’t recommend it without speaking to a professional first since your kids’ cases are quite severe, but I’ve had good experiences with it.

Yeah, I use it to wipe on my nose when I'm sick or my allergies are bad. It helps prevent it from getting all dried out from the tissues! I also rib a little on my hands sometime#, it goes a long way as a moisturizer. In summer I rub some between my toes if they get dried out.

Heat vaseline in a small container or on a spoon
Suck up into syringe
Inject liberally into ~~veins~~ switches, connectors, and other electronic moving parts that I'd like to be waterproof. (0. Cover PCB in nail polish or specially-made products)

If those parts happen to be plastic, don't do this. It will slowly dissolve some types of plastic.
I used to use it with my hobo chiller of doom when extreme overclocking. I only use it to insulate the socket now, the board is covered in liquid electrical tape.

The hobo chiller of doom got upgraded to a water block glued to a peltier, and it's still hobo as crap.
- pictures, please

I use it kind of like WD-40 in a farm setting. It's messy, but not as messy as grease. It's effective to coat things that constantly wear and have started to rust. I also rub it on my leather boots to waterproof it for cheap.

I’ve seen it used on Cinema Camera filters to make funky reflections in the lens.

We were filming a dream sequence and to make the edges of the image soft and blurry, we used an optical flat (a clear filters basically a piece of clear glass that slides in front of the camera’s lens) and the DP (director of Photography, aka the Cinematographer) smeared some Vaseline over the edges of the flat, painting the blurry edges with his finger. It worked really nicely, unfortunately I can’t find the final video online to show the result.

I've seen hairspray used on a clear filter to create a similar bloom effect!
Saving this for future filming thank you!
- Back in the olden days of television, a very thin film of Vaseline on the lens softened the wrinkles of anyone on air.

I use it on my baby's chin to prevent dribble rash.

Wtf I'm 4 kids deep and (thankfully) never come across dripple rash
- Wait until you hear about triple rash!
- Lucky duck. Maybe your kids just didn't drool that much lol.

Nipple fissures
Dry nipples
Runner's rash

I'm beginning to think I have fragile nipples...

Drax?
- My nipples too, are extraordinarily humble

If you are wounded it's great to apply on your skin

I use it to lubricate machine parts at times. Also good coating for rust protection like the sockets of outdoor bulbs or tools in storage. There's better products for skin protection. Years ago it was commonly used for infant diaper rash, but again there's better products for that now. I don't think I've ever used it on my body, it's made from petroleum so it's really just highly refined axle grease.

Yeah it's actually a decent dialectic grease.

Edit: In fact after a quick research, I can't really find the difference between a 14$ tiny tube of dialectic and a cheapo massive vat of Vaseline. Guess I should get some for the shop.
- It works great for that. It's also good in automotive for bulb sockets, I've used it for that as well. It's amazing actually, slop some in a socket and next time you pull a bulb it will still look brand new, even if not well protected as the case with antique cars. You would think it might interfere with electrical contact an Vaseline is completely non-conductive, it doesn't seem to at all. You can also use it on car battery terminals and it will completely stop any corrosion, however I actually use 90W gear oil on those since it attracts less dirt and works as well.
- It's dielectric (non-conductive) not dialectic (talking).

I haven't used it since I was a teenager 😂

I get super dry skin in winter, especially on my hands where my skin can even start to crack and bleed. Vaseline works wonders.

I have the same issue. Cocoa butter is my preference now, but Vaseline is quick and easy and available pretty much everywhere. Vaseline I feel helps protect my skin well, but cocoa butter actually absorbs into my skin better.
Same here, my foreskin also gets really dry during the winter months... ^_

Lubricating the O ring that sits inside the watch case of vintage divers watches to keep them waterproof.

Masturbate

Does that not hurt? Vaseline seems like it would be way too gummy and thick?
- Feels better than bare skin
Try Astroglide
ow?

I use it on the threads of plastic filter housings in my engine room. It's keeps the salt water from seizing them.

I like putting vaseline on my lips overnight (it's best to apply it on damp lips)

The damp part is key. It can lock in moisture, but can't add any on its own.

I was going to use it to lubricate keyboard switches but it turns out that it's bad for plastics.

I use it to search for things that you can't see.

I keep getting stuck here all the time.
- Sometimes it blows my mind.
Like ghosts?

I used some around my nose when I caught a nasty cold and I couldn't stop blowing my nose. It helped with the pain.

Creating silicone dice molds for resin casting. The vaseline acts as a mold release

IiRC that's what it was originally invented for.

Not dice specifically but casting release.

I use it as anti-seize for RF connectors. It allows cables to connect to antennas without getting stuck, even if left like that for years in maritime environments.

EDIT: Just make sure the vasseline is neutral and not (even slightly) acidic. Otherwise it'll cause corrosion.

cracked skin on my soles

The ointment for my overnight dry eyes is half petroleum jelly half mineral oil. I can and have used Vaseline (which is almost entirely petroleum jelly) in a pinch.

I had an old Japanese truck, and when I replaced the oil pump you were supposed to pack the spaces around the gears of the new pump so it would pump oil. It was how you "primed" the oil pump.

For evaluation talks with my employees ofcourse...

I use it to coat my car battery terminals.

I use it on my hearing aid moulds, it stops them irritating and creates a better seal.

I use it after cleaning the impeller on my aquarium filters. They naturally collect goop around the magnet bit of the impeller which makes them quiet, but eventually there will be too much goop and they stop spinning or make a horrible racket. If you clean it off all the way it will buzz and rattle for a while. A big blob of vaseline will quiet it down until the goop builds back up.

Any chance the goop builds up faster because it is sticking to the Vaseline?
- I haven't noticed that yet. A lot of the goop is from decayed duckweed and poo debris getting jammed near the impeller. Might take 3-6 months for the impeller to get stopped by the goop. Vaseline isn't a very good long term lubricant for aquarium impellers because you'll open it up a week or two after being applied and sometimes it will be gone (probably sucked out and globbed somewhere else inside the filter). Really good temporary solution though.

I use it on my instruments. Greasing the cork connectors on my clarinet and lubricating the tuning slide on my trumpet.

Eczema, where your typical lotion just won't cut it.

It's great for keeping rust off tools. Just the slightest whiff of vaseline will keep rust away for years. I tend to use a spray can of vaseline for that though, not a tub.

Chafe Hotspot while running.

We used it to lubricate seals on a pool pump.

Wait does that improve the seal? I have that exact issue right now
- I believe it was to prevent tears as the gasket was sandwiched between the 2 halves of the pump.

exzema and "slugging", ie cover feet in foot cream (or any other body part/cream type), cover that in vaseline and wear socks for a couple hours or overnight.

Why on earth would you do that?
- Eczema
- Covering in Vaseline is a way to effectively seal the lotion in.

Giggity

O-rings. Lube them up so they don't leak in use/dry out in storage for my cheap-o pool, works great.

When I have a squeaky hinge I put some petroleum jelly on the pin and the problem is cured.

I use it to prevent chafing when swimming.

To fill sometimes that empty inside your heart

Technically still for my lips but it's super

I play chess with it

C*m

When you're stuck like glue

When you need some goo

When you're black and blue

If you'd like to woo

bricks

TBH, it's not that great for lips. Try Carmex.

Carmex burns like fire
Back in my marching band days, we swore by blistex DCT as our lip balm of choice.

Take it from the people who spend all summer out in the sun preparing to press pieces of metal up to our lips in sometimes freezing weather.