Unusual Uses for Vaseline

This over the counter topical treatment has been around for ages and there's really no end to its usefulness. By having a tub of this in your home you've got the makings of a medicinal cure-all mixed with a handyman fix-all.

Follow along and we'll explore some of the most unusual used for Vaseline, some are weird but they are all practical.

Ready to get a little lubricated? Let's get slippery!

Never get lipstick on your teeth again! Smear a little Vaseline on your teeth before applying lipstick and keep your chompers pearly white. This is a technique is used by beauty contestants, or those first learning to apply lipstick.

To protect your skin from being dyed along with your hair, try creating a barrier on your forehead and around your ears with a thin layer of Vaseline. The petroleum jelly will protect your skin from absorbing the hair dye, allowing you to be a little messy when applying liberal amounts of dye to your hair.

After dye application simply wipe the Vaseline off with a cloth.

Use some Vaseline to touch up your scuffed boots or heels, making them look good as new!

Dab a clean soft cloth with a little Vaseline and gently rub into leather shoes or boots. Petroleum jelly is great for moisturizing leathers, making them shine, and giving them a little water resistance.

Vaseline can also help outside the home, like in your car. By adding Vaseline to the terminals of car battery you can help prevent corrosion. The Vaseline forms a water resistant barrier around the metal tops of the battery terminals, a place where acidic corrosion is likely to occur.

Pop the hood of your car, and carefully smear a liberal amount of Vaseline on each terminal of the battery, being careful not to touch both terminals together with anything conductive.

Vaseline is great rejuvenating skin, so why not on leather goods?

This old baseball mitt was brought back to life by rubbing Vaseline into every stitch and seam and allowing it to sit for a while to really soak in, excess Vaseline was wiped off. If needed, apply another session of Vaseline to any stubborn areas after allowing the glove to rest for a day between applications.

For the baseball enthusiasts who reject Vaseline on your glove, Harold Reynolds recommends Vaseline to help break in baseball gloves.

Vaseline is super slippery and can be used to loosen any stuck jewellery from your chubby digits.

Smear a liberal amount on both sides of your stuck ring, then twist and work the ring back and forth on your finger to spread the Vaseline underneath the ring and between the metal and your skin. Then, gently pull the ring from your finger.

Getting gum in your hair is the absolute worst. Luckily, humble Vaseline can help remove even the stickiest chewing gum.

Isolate the section of hair that has the gum stuck in it, then work a large gob of Vaseline into the gum to break up the gum elasticity. Take breaks by wiping the gum and Vaseline mix from your hair with a paper towel, then reapply Vaseline to the gum in hair again and continue working until all the gum has been broken down and removed.

To remove the amount of gum shown in the picture took about 7 minutes.

If you ever watch boxing, there's a reason why trainers apply Vaseline to the cuts on the fighters faces. Aside from being all slippery, the Vaseline also forms a barrier that can stop small cuts.

After cleaning your cut you can apply a gob of Vaseline to the area directly over the cut, this will seal the wound which should prevent further bleeding and also provide a barrier to prevent infection.

Since petroleum jelly is a lubricant it can be used to help pets with hairballs. Some animals don't mind eating Vaseline straight, but for more finicky pets you can apply the petroleum jelly directly to the paws and they'll lick it off.

Petroleum jelly is non-toxic, and in small quantities should be fine for pets. Be mindful that although moderate amount of jelly are fine, too much can prevent the intestines from absorbing vitamins and may give your pet diarrhea.

Keeping jar lids easy to open is simple with a little petroleum jelly. Smear a thin layer of Vaseline around the threaded side of a jar lid before screwing on the lid, the slippery jelly will prevent any stuck food from seizing the lid to the jar and should allow you to easily open those suborn jars.

This works great for sticky foods with high sugar content, like honey, jam, or barbecue sauce.

Take vintage photos by using the classic technique of greasing your camera lens. Apply a small dab directly to the camera lens with your fingertip and gently rub to cover the entire lens. Check through the viewfinder to see if your image looks nice and dreamy, you may need to remove or add more to achieve your effect. In my experience a little goes a long way.

You'll look so dreamy in soft focus, Clark Gable will be jealous.

To remove find a lint-free lens cloth and gently rub the lens to clean.

It's always nice to be pampered, and your pup is no exception. When relaxing with your best friend and giving out belly rubs try massaging a little Vaseline into your dogs dry paws. Use a little at first, as some dogs are adverse to the sensation of their paws being rubbed, and the added texture of the petroleum jelly can make them apprehensive - however if you have a good relationship with your dog this really shouldn't be an issue.

Do you have your own unusual use for Vaseline?I want to know!

Happy making :)