For your skin
The gold-standard occlusive moisturiser. Locks water into damaged or compromised skin better than anything else, accelerates barrier repair, and (in newer research) actively boosts your skin's own antimicrobial defences. Cheap, non-allergenic, widely recommended by dermatologists for very dry, compromised, or post-procedure skin and for slugging.
Want the science? Keep reading ↓Mechanism of action
Semi-solid hydrocarbon mixture that penetrates the intercellular spaces of the stratum corneum (not just the surface), reducing transepidermal water loss by ~99% while permitting normal barrier recovery. Also upregulates antimicrobial peptide and barrier-protein gene expression in keratinocytes.
Why we tier this strong
7 cited papers across 3 countries. Multiple positive efficacy results plus regulatory backing. Our catalog highlights 7 cited papers as direct references, a curated sample from the broader body of published research that earns Petrolatum its Strong tier (15+ studies including multiple RCTs or a large longitudinal cohort). See our methodology for how we evaluate evidence.
Cited research
van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Christensen R, Lavrijsen APM, Arents BWM. Emollients and moisturisers for eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;2:CD012119. — Cochrane review of 77 studies (n=6,603) found most moisturisers prolonged time to flare, reduced flares, and reduced topical corticosteroid use; moisturisers combined with active treatment outperformed active treatment alone.
Czarnowicki T, Malajian D, Khattri S, et al. Petrolatum: Barrier repair and antimicrobial responses underlying this 'inert' moisturizer. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016;137(4):1091-1102.e7.
Genuino GAS, Baluyut-Angeles KV, Espiritu APT, Lapitan MCM, Buckley BS. Topical petrolatum gel alone versus topical silver sulfadiazine with standard gauze dressings for the treatment of superficial partial thickness burns in adults: a randomized controlled trial. Burns. 2014;40(7):1267-1273. — RCT: petrolatum gel at least as effective as silver sulfadiazine for re-epithelialization (mean 6.2 vs 7.8 days) with similar infection/allergy rates.
Pinnix C, Perkins GH, Strom EA, et al. Topical hyaluronic acid vs. standard of care for the prevention of radiation dermatitis after adjuvant radiotherapy for breast cancer: single-blind randomized phase III clinical trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2012;83(4):1089-1094. — randomized phase III: petrolatum gel (control) yielded significantly less >=Grade 2 dermatitis than hyaluronic acid (47.7% vs 61.5%, p=0.027).
FDA OTC Final Monograph, 21 CFR Part 347 — Skin Protectant Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Human Use; petrolatum listed at section 347.10 as a Category I active ingredient at 30-100%.
Smack DP, Harrington AC, Dunn C, et al. Infection and allergy incidence in ambulatory surgery patients using white petrolatum vs bacitracin ointment. A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 1996;276(12):972-977. — double-blind RCT (n=922, 1249 wounds): white petrolatum gave equivalent infection rates with zero allergic contact dermatitis vs 4 cases with bacitracin; concluded white petrolatum is a safe, effective wound care ointment.
Ghadially R, Halkier-Sorensen L, Elias PM. Effects of petrolatum on stratum corneum structure and function. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1992;26(3 Pt 2):387-396.
Sources: 10 clinical journals and regulatory databases across the US, EU, Korea, Japan, and China. Every entry points to a specific document. See methodology for the full list and what each outcome label means.