Skin Care

What Exactly Is Mineral Oil and Why Is It So Controversial?

Good, bad or somewhere in between?

by Heather Cichowski | COMMENT

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When it comes down to it, beauty products are about their ingredients. Sure, the chic packaging, intoxicating smells and Insta-appeal are nice, but it's the ingredients that can make or break a product. The right ingredients can transform our skin and have us shouting our love from the rooftops — or with five-star reviews in the digital age. Conversely, the wrong ingredients can do more harm than good and have us checking a store's refund policy for unsatisfied customers.

Some ingredients, like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, have garnered reputations for being favorites among skin care devotees. Others blow up faster than a viral brow trend and are quickly forgotten in favor of the next trendy thing (like crystals, perhaps?). Then there are those ingredients that have garnered controversial reps, like mineral oil.

You have probably heard the warnings about using mineral oil and seen labels touting "no mineral oil," but do you know why the ingredient is so controversial — and is it all bad? Read on as we get to the bottom it.

Image via Imaxtree

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