Since I have started this hair and skin care mission, I have heard nothing but negative things about this oil. It is said to be bad for health, clog pores, cause hair and skin dryness. And so on...
Is it bad? I don't know. I'm not a scientist. All I know that as for my hair when I used leave ins with mineral oil or petroleum; my hair was in bad shape. No matter how much moisturizer I used my ends were dry and frazzled. When I began to use my beloved coconut oil, the moisture content of my ends retained and the condition of my hair improved. This has been the testimonial of other women on hair care forums. As for my skin, it may be the same. I have used lotions with mineral and petroleum and couldn't resolve the dry skin problem. Im now using Desert Essence Lotion, which does not contain mineral oil and my skin is starting to improve. This lotion is fairly new to my regimen, so we will see in a couple of months if my skin a has improved.
But...... TheBeautyBrains.com has a different spin on the matter. In short, they say that mineral has had a bad rap for skin care products. Which was proclaimed my natural companies who wanted to push their products without mineral oil. They exclaim that "mineral oil is a perfectly fine ingredient and has been used in cosmetics over 100 years." Click here to view article. And on another article, they claim that mineral oil is not the best for hair care but coconut oil would be a better option. Click here for hair article. They are the beauty brains so I just take their word for it. But as for as skin care, just because it's been used for 100 years; doesn't make it the best option for oil in skin care products. I wont' say mineral is bad but just not the best option.
There has been a study on Effect of mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage at the Research and Development Department, Nature Care Division, Marico Industries Ltd., Mumbai, India. Click here to read study results. "Among three oils, coconut oil was the only oil found to reduce the protein loss remarkably for both undamaged and damaged hair when used as a pre-wash and post-wash grooming product. Mineral oil, being a hydrocarbon, has no affinity for proteins and therefore is not able to penetrate and yield better results."
It was explained to me that mineral oil doesn't penetrate the cortex of hair. It sits on top of the hair and it clogs pores. It seals in moisture but it can also prevent moisture from getting into the hair. Which will lead to hair dryness. Not the exact words but something like that.
Does this answer any questions for you? Maybe, Some. Mineral is not bad but definitely not the best oil for my hair and skin.