11 Unusual Uses for Baby Oil

Have you heard that joke about baby oil? The one that goes something like:

If corn oil is made with corn and peanut oil is made with peanuts, then what is baby oil made with?

The answer: Baby oil is made with mineral oil and fragrance by industrial professionals; babies don't have the fine motor skills or chemistry knowledge to create baby oil, duh.

Baby oil is useful for a lot of things beyond baby bottoms. It'll smooth, soften, lubricate, refinish, clean, and so much more. It also has some usual uses for which it really oughtn't be used. Read on for some tips and tricks that'll help you step your baby oil game up.

Step 1 First, some don'ts

Don't use baby oil as a "personal" lubricant, particularly if you are using a latex condom. (Just look at the next step to see who wins in the latex vs. baby oil battle royale.)

Don't use baby oil to tan. Melanoma looks bad enough without being shiny.

Don't eat baby oil. It has laxative properties and likely doesn't taste delicious. (Mineral oil is safe for human consumption, but only up to around 100 mg. Many of those milligrams come from food-grade mineral oil that's used in baking and other industrial food processing places because it's odorless and tasteless. My guess is that baby oil mineral oil isn't food-grade. Stay safe: don't guzzle a bottle of it.)

Don't use it in your 2-stroke engine.

Don't aim baby oil at helicopter pilots. Wait... that's for lasers. But you should still be careful around helicopter pilots with baby oil. It can be a slip-fall hazard, and pilots prefer the scent of aviation fuel.

Comments

[muldoon man]

I've read that mineral oil is a non-conductive liquid. Because of this unique property I've seen people who have literally dropped a computer into a fish tank filled with mineral oil. Allegedly they work great, it's like poor man's liquid cooling.

[rams666]

it provides better cooling than fans and its noiseless and it has the possibility to be further cooled thus allowing you to overclock your system well above the norm

[STCVKR]

Another use: Remove temporary tattoos from skin.

[backscan]

A little less common use for baby oil is it's perfect for storing sodium or potassium as long as you make sure it's pure mineral oil (no perfumes)

[evilution]

Baby oil is also very good for cleaning silicone "toys" and silicone hoses on your car.

[wilgubeast]

Nice! I hadn't considered that. Bonus points for showing us a picture of the automotive cleaning use. (And by bonus points, I mean a 3 month pro membership.)

[evilution]

Hopefully this will have worked, it was just a quick wipe with baby oil and a dirty paper roll. Takes the dirt off and gives it the shine back.

Also, to add to the list again (and as unlikely as this sounds it's a good one)...

If you eat something really spicy and your mouth is burning and you can't stand it, if you swill some baby oil in your mouth and spit it out it will take the burning away.

This is because the capsicum is usually an oil so it's hydrophobic. Water has no reaction, doesn't suspend it so doesn't lessen the burning. Swilling baby oil suspends the capsicum, "waters it down" and allows you to spit it out.

[thinkiam]

My mom used to put warm honey in my ear when I had swimmers ear. The honey, which was denser than the water, would "push" the water out. I have no memory of how she got the warm honey out of my ear!?!

[bryan3141]

old diver's remedy for swimmer's ear: grab a bottle of rum, a shot glass and a thimble. Pour rum into the shot glass and the thimble. pour the shot down your throat, the thimble full in your ear. Repeat till no pain is felt.

[wilgubeast]

That sounds like it would absolutely work over the short term. Until the rum's gone. Or until it gets too difficult to pour rum into a thimble.

[MissCindel]

That's pretty cool = I have a version of Swimmer's Ear that water = a worse mess. And so far I see to be allergic to the commercial ear cleaner on the market. I use to go to the doctor's to be "flushed, and vacuumed" but that is really spendy. I switched to ear candling but that takes at least two people and makes a smokey mess.
All that to say: if you find out what cleaned out the honey = I'd sure like to know! :*)

[Javin007]

I would strongly, strongly, strongly recommend against ear candling. Ear candling is a farce. The physics alone make the concept that it "draws" ANYTHING out of your head completely and physically impossible. The wax found inside the cones after they've burnt is the wax from the candle itself, not from your head. Normally, I'd say, "If you wanna blow your money on a pointless, useless, hoax 'remedy' then no harm, no foul" except that many, many people have been permanently damaged by ear candling, have gotten severe burns INSIDE their ear canals, and have even ruptured ear drums when scalding wax manages to hit them directly. Ear candling has not only been completely proven that does not work, but it's even dangerous. For this reason, you can't even purchase ear candles (legally) in Canada.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/med/ear-oreille-eng.php

[MissCindel]

Thank you for your strong warning.
I have personal experience with ear candles and can say honestly that the draft created does remove wax from my ears. Once, out of curiosity, I purchased some just to unwind them and see if all the junk that I was seeing at the end of a session had already been snuck into the ear candle. None of the wax that appeared to have been removed from my ears was pre-existing in any of the four I disemboweled.
Do I think they are dangerous? I think anything involving fire has the potential to do great harm. The candles I've used do not contain excess wax, I know this because there have never been wax droplets after/during their burning. When I run the tip of my finger on the inside of the wide end of an ear candle I feel the material only because the wax coating is on the outside.

[cjmills]

I've also used peroxide to "boil" my ears out when faced with swimmers ear/severe sinus infection that settles in my ears. It seems to have worked well with no ill effects thus far.

[thinkiam]

Mix one third H2O2 (peroxide) one third 70% rubbing alcohol and one third vinegar. I use a dropper to put in my ears after every swim. I did get this recipe frop my doctor. Still doesn't feel as nice as the honey!

[thinkiam]

Honestly, I think since the honey was warm, it flowed well, so she just had us lay (honey + ear) down on a warm damp washcloth. I remember it felt really really soothing. The most important part is to make sure the honey isn't too hot, that happened once, ouch! I'm also thinking a drop of tea tree oil afterwards would be really helpful. Ears. Ya don't really think about 'em till they hurt, then ya can't think about much else!

[wilgubeast]

After having a significant cebum compaction due to extra waxiness and some in-ear headphones, I highly recommend all the hydrogen peroxide recommendations here.

Best method? Hydrogen peroxide + needle-less syringe. The hp will break up the wax, and water from the syringe flushes it out. (You don't need a lot of water pressure. Nor do you want it. Unless you want to see if you can brainwash yourself via your auditory canal.)

[SIRJAMES09]

needle-less syringe = catheter tipped syringe.

This is another type of syringe without a needle in it...in fact, the way this syringe is made, there is no way a needle can be attached normally. I'm not for sure, but I think you can buy Catheter tipped syringes at your local drug store...check with the Pharmacist for sure.

I know this because I use these every day.

BUT, any syringe that does not have a needle will do just fine.

[Annaaziza]

I use baby oil right before the show ring. We smear it around my Arab Quarter Geldings eyes and muzzel to make him stand out. Their is the option of buying Face Goo, but baby oil works just as well. (Although, Blaze dosent really appreciate it...... :/ ) The one bad thing about it is, if your horse is white, or has white markings on his/her face, (Like my horse, who has ALOT of white) they can get sunburned. So on those hot horse show days, wipe it off with a baby wipe (HA! A theme!) to reduce the chance of their tender muzzes getting crispy fried.

[hosborne1]

Try using plain mineral oil instead of baby oil on Blaze! I used to fight my Egyptian Arab Godiva constantly until I realized she just didn't like the scent. if your horse is not head-shy usually but acts up when you approach him with the oil that may be it. You could also try purchasing a different type of baby oil; I've used Johnson's baby oil with shea and cocoa butter and that seems to be preferable for Godiva as well. Plus, it smells really nice and you can put it on your hands after bathing your horse to ward off dry skin!!!

[mrsthursday]

you can use baby oil to clean a stainless steele fridge, it gets rid of the finger prints and a little goes a long way- so just use a dimes worth- put on with a soft cloth and buff up with another soft clean cloth.

[evacooper]

i tried this, and it totally didnt work. i have bad stretchmarks, and my mom doesnt have and neither did my grandmother apparently, and i also didnt gain weight too quickly (the only way to avoid stretchmarks, except it isnt)

[ameece]

On behalf of northern Russia, all of you can shut up and suck on a binkie :p
you bunch of babies. Hah!

[Bosun Rick]

Yeah, but who wants to go through life with rough, crackley eyelids? I hate it when that happens!!

[ameece]

Hey, there ARE people out there that go through life with "rough, crackley eyelids" lol- I'm one of them, and the red, irritated, rough patches around the eyes are caused by eczema, come on now :(
I can take a joke, but baby oil and Vaseline work wonders for us who have messed up, sensitive skin :)

[ginny2221956]

My mom always used sweet oil for ear aches.

[miles-fisher]

Baby oil is also useful for stopping creaking floor boards. Just trickle a small amount on the joint and hey presto.

[eight]

Talc is far better !

[dejure]

While you are generally right, insofar as noise is concerned, it depends on the situation and effects you are seeking.

Creaking is the result of shrinking of the wood caused by loss of moisture. If appropriate, oil can swell the wood and reduce noise. On the West Coast, decks often look horrible in the summer, after they've dried and shrunk back down, revealing cracks and splits. Oil, when it soaks into the wood, has the same swelling effect as water, but without rot problems and it doesn't evaporate at the rate water does.

Similar to with decks, mineral oil is good for butcher blocks. I have restored them by merely slathering on mineral oil (not adulterated mineral oil, like baby oil). After soaking for a few days, all the separations between pieces and cracks from drying disappeared.

[Bosun Rick]

If it's 'Baby Oil', how can it be 'adulterated', wouldn't it become Matured Oil?
I need to go to bed, this is getting to me!!

[KittyF]

baby oil has added scent, which wouldn't be a good thing for a Butcher block or cutting board where food is going to be prepared. using plain mineral oil is a better option in that case.

[gloriaflower]

using any petroleum based product near food is a bad idea.....walnut oil, etc. better for wood surfaces that are used for food.

[KittyF]

well, that's very true and I'd never thought of walnut oil. I was only commenting on the inadvisability of adding baby oil scent to food. LOL next time I have trouble with a cutting board I'll find some walnut oil rather than tossing it.

[static]

Vegetable oils can turn rancid (and generally does in time), that's why mineral oil is recommended for wood surfaces that come in contact with food. Mineral safe for human use can be found at the pharmacy.

[gloriaflower]

good idea, I sometimes refinish wooden bowls, and walnut oil while somewhat expensive is really worth it, you really don't need much, just let it dry and buff it with a soft cloth

[dejure]

Just for reference, be aware walnut cooking oil is a hardening oil, whereas mineral oil is a non hardening oil.

Hardening oils include oils like tung oil and boiled linseed oil. While both would be poisonous to ingest. "Boiled" linseed oil is flax seed oil with heavy metals added to speed hardening (polymerization). It tends to darken wood. Tung oil often has heavy metals added too, but would be toxic without them. It and walnut oil do not darken wood like boiled linseed oil.

Hardening oils take time to harden. If they are pre-polymerized and have hardeners added, they will dry quicker. In any event, all excess hardening oil should be wiped off, or it will orange peel, and will take longer to dry.

Many people use olive oil to treat wood food preparation surfaces. However, olive oil goes rancid (lots of free radicals) from exposure to air. You can usually smell a breadboard treated with olive oil.

When any standard finish (e.g., shellac, polyurethane, lacquer, hardening oil) hardens, it is considered safe for food grade finishes.

While I agree mineral oil probably isn't something we should be drinking, the amount you would get on your food, after treating a butcher block or bread board would not be significant. Too, after treating with mineral oil, you can put a hardening oil or other oil compatible finish on to seal in the oil.

[flamesami]

linseed oil does not have to be "boiled" to harden, it will just take longer (a few weeks instead of a few days) and therefore penetrate further. An example of a vegetable oil that stays liquid is sweet almond oil...almond and walnut oil can be toxic if not pressed a certain way though

[d_j_h]

I second that talc is better. So is graphite.
While oil works perfectly well enough, in a floor it also attracts dirt and eventually becomes sludge whereas the dry lubricants do not.
The same goes for lubricating door lock keyholes.

[nutsandbolts_64]

YES!!! STEP 4 TO THE RESCUE!!! At least now I don't have to pay a lot of money just to remove a clog down my ear. Thank you!

[janettetsmith]

Actually, you're never supposed to put mineral oil on your face, especially the eye area.  Only noncomedogenic products for the face.  :)