Applications
Lanolin and its many derivatives are used extensively in both the personal care (e.g. in high value cosmetics, facial cosmetics, lip products, etc.) and health care sectors. It is frequently used in protective baby skin treatment and as a treatment for sore nipples in breastfeeding mothers.
Lanolin is used commercially in many industrial products ranging from rust-proof coatings to lubricants. Some sailors use lanolin to create slippery surfaces on their propellers and stern gear to which barnacles cannot adhere. The water-repellent properties make it valuable as a lubricant grease where corrosion would otherwise be a problem.
Lanolin is often used as a raw material for producing cholecalciferol (vitamin D3).
Baseball players often use it to soften and break in their baseball gloves (shaving cream with lanolin is popularly used for this).
Anhydrous lanolin is also used as a lubricant for brass instrument tuning slides.
Lanolin can also be restored to woolen garments to make them water and dirt repellent, such as for cloth diaper covers.
A flaxseed oil-based lubricant commonly known as "wool wax" used to polish wood furniture is unrelated to lanolin; its name comes from its being a paste wax applied using steel wool.
Lanolin is also used in lip balm products such as Carmex. For some people, it can irritate the lips.
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