Is There Money In The Petroleum Jelly Business?

The petroleum jelly market is growing globally. The biggest growth market is in the Asia-Pacific region where the people are getting more and more concerned with the health and look of their skin. But there is more good news.

In the African continent, petroleum jelly use has been passed down from generation to generation by parents to their children. In fact, the biggest selling skincare product in Africa is petroleum jelly.

There are articles of African origin that attest to the popularity of petroleum jelly among Africans. For example, you could read an article from How we made it in Africa titled:

Article: Profit-making idea: A natural, sustainable alternative to petroleum jelly.

This article briefly discusses the popularity of petroleum jelly in Africa. It also discusses the growing positive attitude of people in Africa towards a more plant based petroleum jelly.

What is Petroleum Jelly?

Petroleum jelly is composed of natural waxes and mineral oils. It was discovered in 1859 by Robert Augustus Chesebrough who noticed oil workers using a gooey jelly to heal their wounds and burns.

This is the short history of petroleum jelly. But the most important thing about it is that it has not changed much since its discovery. The ingredients could be bought without much difficulty and it is easy to create.

Vaseline

Perhaps the best known brand of petroleum jelly is Vaseline. It has become so synonymous with petroleum jelly that when people ask for petroleum jelly they usually say: “Do you have Vaseline?”

This is why if you want to get into the petroleum jelly business, you should study the Vaseline business model. Find out as much as you can about Vaseline. Vaseline has been in the petroleum business so long that they have nearly mastered the business.

For example, the Vaseline containers are easy to access as compared to the containers of the other brands. Vaseline also has a consistency that is pleasing to the eye unlike many of its competitor’s products that look oily.

How To Create Petroleum Jelly

As previously mentioned, the ingredients of petroleum jelly has not changed much since it was discovered. It is still made from natural waxes and mineral oil. However, besides the traditional way of making it, people have created their own using their own ingredients.

Normal Petroleum Jelly

Here is a good YouTube video on how to make petroleum jelly using the original ingredients:

YouTube Video: How to make petroleum jelly (Vaseline)

The video is from VIOSKITCHENS, which I believe is a cake company. They are based in Nigeria. Again, we can see an African relation with petroleum jelly.

The video is pretty straightforward and although her English has an African accent, the petroleum cooking instructions are pretty clear. Her ingredients list is clear too. Petroleum Jelly (600 grams), “Wax” (50 grams), Paraffin Oil (300 ml) and Perfume which is optional (15 ml). If you are wondering what “Wax” is, it stands for paraffin wax.

As can be seen by her petroleum jelly end product, it has a similar consistency to vaseline. She even demonstrated a way to perfect your mixture by using cold water to cool down your petroleum jelly mixture.

This is how easy it is to make your own petroleum jelly either for personal use or for commercial manufacturing. One thing to note though is that petroleum jelly ingredients are toxic when ingested.

If you are creating petroleum jelly from your home, it is best that you do not use the cooking utensils you use for home cooking to make your petroleum jelly. Also, you should create petroleum jelly in a well ventilated place.

”Alternative” PetroleumJelly

Besides making petroleum jelly using normal ingredients, other people have created their own. Some even use just fewer ingredients. One YouTube video I found about making petroleum jelly that uses alternative ingredients is this:

Video: DIY: 2 Ingredient Petroleum Jelly Alternative (Vegan, All Natural, Organic)

As the title informed, the video is about making “petroleum jelly” using just two ingredients. The two ingredients the host of the video used are Organic Cocoa Butter Wafer and Organic Sunflower Oil.

She just crushed the cocoa butter wafer and mixed them with the sunflower oil. Then she heated up the mixture until the mixture melted. Then she just waited for the mixture to cool down. This is as easy as it gets.

One thing good about her mixture is that as she has described, she can market her petroleum jelly as a niche brand catering to customers who are uneasy about using regular petroleum jelly because of its perceived artificial content.

One thing you must not underestimate is the need for convenience of most people. Anyone can make petroleum jelly either using old ingredients or alternative ones. But customers do not want to create their own petroleum jelly due to a lot of reasons.

They could be very busy or find it hard to source out the ingredients for their own petroleum jelly mixture. This is why there is money in convenience. In this case, the convenience to just be able to buy petroleum jelly without having to do it yourself.

Uses Of Petroleum Jelly As A Personal Care Product

The most common use of petroleum jelly is as a skincare product. It acts as a coating agent for the skin protecting it from damage or contamination. But besides the skin, it also is used for other parts of the body as well as for other purposes.

Skin

Bronzer: When petroleum jelly is applied to the skin in proper amounts, it can act as a bronzer giving you the appearance of a seemingly glossy looking tan.

Body Scrub: When mixed with gentle scrubbing powders, it can be used to remove dirt from the skin as well as dead skin.

Makeup Aid: Before applying makeup, gently rub a small amount of petroleum jelly to your skin. Petroleum jelly would help the makeup stick longer to your skin. This means that you can last the night much longer without having to reapply makeup again.

You can also use petroleum jelly as a makeup remover. Instead of using a plain or wet cotton or cloth, apply petroleum jelly to cotton or cloth and use it to remove makeup. Petroleum jelly is less abrasive to the skin than just using water alone.

Diaper Rash Reducer: It can be used to prevent diaper rash in adults and children especially babies. Petroleum jelly is a good lubricant. It can be rubbed daily in the areas of the body were the skin rub together like in the groin area and armpits.

As a seller of petroleum jelly, you can market these uses of petroleum jelly to make people aware of their daily need to use it. This is especially true for women because they are users of makeup and even today are the primary carers of their children.

Human Hair

It can be used to style the hair in one’s head and body. It can be used as some sort of pomade to style the head hair. It could be used to style the eyebrows, beard and mustache. It helps cover split ends.

One disadvantage of it though is that it could be sticky and greasy to the hair just like a pomade. Overuse of petroleum jelly in the hair could cause dirt and dust to stick to your hair, giving a dirty look to you.

One of the best developments in men’s grooming that is good news for petroleum jelly sellers is that the beard and the mustache have become stylish. Many men are now spending good money to style their facial hair.

Lips

Small amounts of petroleum jelly can be rubbed in your lips to prevent them from drying up and cracking. This is especially true in dry weather and during winter where your skin becomes exposed to dry air.

If you are wondering if petroleum jelly is safe for the lips then the answer is yes. As long as you do not ingest a large amount of petroleum jelly, you should not become poisoned because of it.

Cuticle

Petroleum jelly prevents chapped nail cuticles. Since petroleum jelly keeps the skin lubricated, it prevents the skin from drying which includes the prevention of nail cuticles chapping. Chapped cuticles can be very painful. It also serves as a gateway for dirt and bacteria to enter the body via dirty hands.

It also has uses in manicuring nails. Applying petroleum jelly in the edges of the nail right in the cuticle prevents manicure polish from spilling into the skin. This results in a more even manicure finish to the nails while also protecting the skin.

The use of petroleum jelly for this purpose is not widely adapted yet. If however, you can persuade manicurist to add this to their job routine, you would have plenty of repeat sales not only from manicurists but from people who manicure themselves as well.

Uses of Petroleum Jelly As Skin Medicine

As previously mentioned, petroleum jelly acts as a lubricant for the skin. Besides preventing skin rashes, it also covers up the wounds in the skin preventing infection. It is also used for sunburns and even burns.

This is its original use. To help oil workers in treating wounds and burns. This is why as a seller you should promote petroleum jelly as a standard part of all first aid kits in many workplaces where injuries often take place.

Imagine if you can get construction workers to carry petroleum jelly in their pocket as a part of their emergency first aid kit. Not only will you be making more profit, but you also help ensure that people who work in accident prone jobs more safe.

Petroleum Jelly For Dry Skin

Perhaps the greatest use of petroleum for the health of the skin is its use as a lubricant. Dry skin not only makes your skin look bad, but it can also make your skin very itchy. This is the reason why many people use it.

It especially blends well with dark skin, making dry dark skin look smooth and glossy. This might be the reason why many people with dark skin use it to improve their skin. This includes dark skinned people from countries with cold climates.

Petroleum Jelly As A Fire Retardant

Many people make the mistake that petroleum jelly is flammable because of its name. However, you can actually use petroleum jelly as a fire retardant. When exposed to fire, it melts rather than burn.

You can use it to control the spread of fire. For example, like candle wax, you can spread it to an area where you do not want a burning fire to spread. For example, you can start a small fire by burning a piece of paper with petroleum jelly. The part of the paper with petroleum jelly won’t burn.

This could be ideal in camping situations where people usually start small fires even inside their tents. Applying petroleum jelly to a piece of burning object would help avoid the fire from spreading inside the tent.

Petroleum Jelly For Leather and Wood Products

Just like human skins, it makes leather products look more beautiful by giving it a shiny and glossy veneer once it is applied. It makes old leather bags look newer for example by removing the faded look of a leather bag and other leather products.

It could also protect leather products from moisture, making leather products avoid getting wet. You can test this when you apply petroleum jelly to a leather product and let a bit of water run into it. You would notice that the water drops would slide right off the leather product.

You could market petroleum jelly to leather product producers to make their products look better. You can even mention as a marketing campaign that since petroleum jelly is used by humans in their skin, it is therefore also safe for leather products.

Petroleum jelly also has a similar effect with wood products. It also makes wood more glossy. It also makes wood resistant to water. However, since there are already many products besides petroleum jelly that does the same, you might find marketing it for this purpose a bit harder.

Petroleum Jelly Against Aphids And Other Insects

It could also be used to prevent aphids and other insects from attacking or eating your plants. It is said that aphids are attracted to the color yellow. You could mix a yellow colored substance with petroleum jelly in your plant to attract and trap aphids.

Applying petroleum jelly at the base of your plants can also prevent insects from crawling or climbing in your plants. Since petroleum jelly is safe and are not toxic to plants, you can use this information to sell petroleum jelly to plant lovers who are willing to spend good money on their plants.

Conclusion

Petroleum jelly is a product that has not changed much since it was discovered. Although alternative mixtures have appeared, the same basic formula is still popular. Its use as a skin personal care and medicine has also remained popular.

There are many uses petroleum jelly besides being used for the skin. It can be used as a fire retardant. It can be used for leather products and wood even as well as plants. It is important to note however, that it is a product with a high probability for repeat sales. This means more profit for those who sell it.

You might also like to read the article: Coconut Oil Business.