Vaseline Petroleum Jelly is a mixture of mineral oils, paraffin and microcrystalline waxes that, when blended together; create something remarkable - a smooth jelly that has a melting point just above body temperature. The result - it literally melts into skin, flowing into the spaces between cells and the gaps in our lipid barrier. Once there, it re-solidifies, locking itself in place. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly serves two functions: First it helps keep the outside world out - it protects skin from the effects of weather and exposure. Second, it acts like a sealant to help keep the inside world in - it forms an occlusive barrier to the natural water loss of our skin. So skin that is dry and chapped is protected from drying elements, enabling skin-softening moisture to build up naturally from within the skin. Petroleum was first found and extracted from something called íä‰åñrod waxíä‰åŒ a waste product that had to be periodically removed from oil rig pumps. The oil rig workers had been using this íä‰åñrod waxíä‰åŒ in a similar way to how we use Vaseline now. In 1859 Robert Chesebrough went to the oil fields in Titusville, Pennsylvania and discovered this íä‰åñrod waxíä‰åŒ and saw the massive potential it had, he took a sample home and extracted the Petroleum Jelly which he called Vaseline.