Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum, soft paraffin, or multi-hydrocarbon, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25) originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties. The Vaseline brand is a well known American brand of petroleum jelly since 1870. Petroleum jelly (also called petrolatum) is a mixture of mineral oils and waxes, which form a semisolid jelly-like substance. This product hasn’t changed much since Robert Augustus Chesebrough discovered it in 1859. Chesebrough noticed that oil workers would use a gooey jelly to heal their wounds and burns. He eventually packaged this jelly as Vaseline.