I’ve been using this Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Glow Lotion for years now, it’s featured in many of my previous favourites posts but until now I’d never given it a proper review.
As I mentioned in a previous post I’m making an effort to look further into my lifestyle involving my spending and living habits and one part of that is to look more closely into the products that I apply on my skin.
The Formula
So as I mentioned I’ve been using this product as my main body lotion for years now. A friend introduced it to me when we were traveling together and I’ve never looked back.
The formula of this lotion is very smooth and nourishing without being too thick or tacky. It’s light enough that it sinks in well but strong enough to keep my skin hydrated throughout the dry Winter months.
I used to have very dry, textured skin however with daily use of this lotion my skin regained its hydration in no time at all.
The stand out feature of this lotion compared to others I’ve tried is the truly soft and supple feeling it gives my skin. After applying this lotion my skin will look so healthy and glowing, very soft and hydrated. I’ve tried other lotions and even other variations of the same Vaseline line and none of them produced the same results as this Cocoa Glow Lotion.
I never had any bad reaction or skin issue when using this lotion however I also don’t apply this on my face, I only use this as a body lotion.
Ingredients
So, I know that the performance of the product is great but what about the ingredients. I’ve only just started looking into my skincare ingredients however it’s something that I would like to learn more about seeing as I’m applying these products directly onto my skin and often face.
(Obviously with these sorts of things my opinion is my own and my reaction to skincare ingredients could be completely opposite to yours, I’m just making myself aware of the research and information surrounding certain cosmetic ingredients)
Interestingly, the ingredients for this lotion were slightly different on the official Vaseline website to my bottle however I went of the official website list.
Water, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Palmitic Acid (And) Stearic Acid, Isopropyl Palmitate, Glycol Stearate (And) Stearamide Amp, Dimethicone, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Triethanolamine, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Carbomer, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Methyl Paraben, Dmdm Hydantoin, Disodium Edta, Perfume, Caramel, Titanium Dioxide (And) Hydrated Silica (And) Aluminum Hydroxide (And) Alginic Acid, Benzyl Benzoate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Coumarin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool.
Of those ingredients most don’t give me any cause for concern however there are a few that I’m not a fan of.
There is a little drama online surrounding petrolatum as there is a risk of contamination from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – cancer-causing chemicals however the petrolatum used in cosmetics and personal care products is a highly refined grade that must meet very strict safety standards, which includes limits on the content of PAHs. Vaseline® products in particular all come with a triple Purification seal so the quality of refinement is well above any issue of contamination.
There is also Triethanolamine which I try to avoid if possible due to a lot of contrasting information over possible harmful side effects. Most dermatologists will say that the levels used in skincare are harmless however it also comes with a few exceptions to that rule that make me want to avoid it if I can.
Lastly there are also a few fragrances added to the formula (Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool) which is also something I try to avoid if possible. Fragrance in skincare can be fine for most people to use however fragrances, perfumes and essential oils are known to cause skin sensitivity and seeing as they provide no benefit to a product aside from a pleasant smell I try to avoid them if I can.
Considering there are actually a few fragrance ingredients in this lotion that I would prefer weren’t in there, I looked up the ingredient list for the unfragranced version of lotion in this line to see if it might be a better alternative.
However like the Cocoa Glow, there were two different versions of ingredients from the official website to the label on the bottle in my local store and they varied quite a bit. So I went through both in the end and I was quite disappointed with the results.
Vaseline® Intensive Care Advanced Repair Unfragranced Body Lotion
Ingredient list from the official website
Aqua,Glycerine, Petrolatum, Carbopol, Stearic acid, Glycol stearate, Triethanolamine, Dimethicone, Ethylene undecane dicarboxylate, Isopropyl isostearate,Tapioca Starch, Cetyl Alcoho, Glyceryl Monostearate,Magnesium AluminiumSilicate, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA,Titatium dioxide.
Ingredient list from the label on the bottle
Aqua, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Isopropyl Palmitate, Glycol Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Mineral Oil, Dimethicone, Petrolatum, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, Stearamide AMP, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA.
In both versions there is once again Triethanolamine so that was disappointing however what really shocked me was that the official ingredient list contained Ethylene undecane dicarboxylate which is another name for Ethylene brassylate a synthetic substance used to achieve musk-like scents.
In other words, it’s a fragrance product in an unfragranced lotion.
I don’t understand how they are able to include it as an ingredient because to my eyes that goes against the unfragranced label on the lotion. Ethylene brassylate was evaluated by the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) and found to be a potential skin sensitizer as many fragrances are which many people know and still choose to apply however to include it in a product specifically created to be “unfragranced” seems misleading and wrong to me.
The Review
In the end, while I love the formula and have been successfully using it for years I am now a little concerned about some of the ingredients included in the Cocoa Glow Lotion.
For now I will continue to use the remainder of my bottle however I will also start looking into other body lotions to see if I can find anything else at a similar price point with ingredients that I prefer.
