If you enjoy viral homemade skincare recipes, this video shows a heated Vaseline + whole clove + fresh lemon treatment promoted with the hook “No Botox.”

Unlike the previous Vaseline recipes, the key technique here is heating the petroleum jelly first. The video shows Vaseline being melted in a small saucepan, whole cloves added to the melted base, and then fresh lemon juice squeezed directly into the warm mixture.

The basic preparation shown is:

Vaseline → Melt Gently → Add Whole Cloves → Add Fresh Lemon → Mix → Cool

The video claims that a “57-year-old mom” mixes these three ingredients and applies them every night. Realistically, the main skincare benefit comes from petroleum jelly helping reduce moisture loss, while cloves and especially fresh lemon require more caution.

🌿 Ingredients

Based on what is clearly shown in the video, the three main ingredients are:

• Petroleum jelly (Vaseline)
• Whole cloves
• Fresh lemon

For a small homemade batch, you could use approximately:

• 2 tablespoons Vaseline
• 5–8 whole cloves
• A few drops of fresh lemon juice

You will also need a small heat-safe container or saucepan, spoon, fine strainer, and clean cosmetic jar.

The quantities aren’t displayed in the video, so these are practical small-batch proportions rather than exact measurements from the clip.

🥣 How to Make It

Step 1 – Melt the Vaseline

The video begins by heating Vaseline.

Place approximately 2 tablespoons of petroleum jelly into a small heat-safe container and warm it very gently until it liquefies.

You don’t need to boil or aggressively heat petroleum jelly. The goal is simply to soften and melt it enough to combine the ingredients.

For home preparation, a double boiler or warm-water bath gives you more control than placing a small amount directly over a strong flame.

🌿 Step 2 – Add Whole Cloves

Once the Vaseline has melted, add approximately 5–8 whole cloves.

The video clearly shows whole cloves floating throughout the warm liquid.

Keep the cloves whole rather than grinding them.

Allow them to sit briefly in the warm petroleum jelly.

🍋 Step 3 – Prepare the Lemon

Cut a fresh lemon in half.

The video uses freshly squeezed lemon rather than bottled lemon juice.

💧 Step 4 – Squeeze Lemon Into the Warm Mixture

As demonstrated prominently in the video, squeeze the lemon directly over the saucepan.

For a small batch, a few drops are enough.

The liquid immediately enters the melted Vaseline around the floating cloves.

🥄 Step 5 – Mix Gently

Stir the preparation so the ingredients are distributed throughout the melted petroleum jelly.

At this stage, you’ll have:

Melted Vaseline + Whole Cloves + Lemon Juice

Keep in mind that lemon juice contains water, so it doesn’t naturally dissolve into petroleum jelly. The mixture can separate again as it sits.

🧺 Step 6 – Strain the Cloves

Before using the preparation on your skin, I recommend removing the whole cloves.

Pour the warm mixture through a fine strainer while it is still liquid enough to pass through easily.

Don’t use the cloves themselves as a facial scrub.

🫙 Step 7 – Allow the Balm to Cool

Transfer the strained mixture into a small clean container.

Allow it to cool completely.

As the petroleum jelly returns to room temperature, the preparation should gradually change from a liquid into a:

Soft → Thick → Glossy → Balm-Like Texture

🧴 Why Vaseline Is the Important Ingredient

Petroleum jelly provides the most predictable benefit in this recipe.

It’s a powerful occlusive, meaning it forms a barrier over the skin that helps reduce water evaporation.

This is particularly useful for skin that feels:

Dry • Rough • Tight • Flaky • Dehydrated

When used over moisturizer, petroleum jelly can help maintain hydration for longer.

🌿 What Do Cloves Add?

Cloves naturally contain aromatic plant compounds, particularly eugenol.

Eugenol contributes to cloves’ distinctive smell and has antioxidant activity.

However, cloves can also irritate sensitive skin.

Heating them doesn’t automatically make them safer or more effective, so there’s no reason to use a very high concentration.

🍋 What Does Lemon Add?

Fresh lemon naturally contains citric acid and vitamin C.

But there’s an important distinction:

Fresh lemon juice ≠ formulated vitamin C skincare serum.

Commercial vitamin C products are formulated with controlled concentrations, pH, stability and delivery systems.

Fresh lemon juice is highly acidic and can cause significant irritation when applied directly to facial skin.

✨ Potential Benefits

💧 1. Helps Lock Moisture Into Dry Skin

This is the clearest benefit of the recipe and comes primarily from Vaseline.

Applied over moisturized skin, petroleum jelly helps slow water loss.

✨ 2. Helps Rough Skin Feel Softer

Very dry skin often feels rough because the outer layer lacks sufficient moisture.

Petroleum jelly can help the surface feel:

Softer → Smoother → More Supple

🌟 3. Can Make Dehydration Lines Look Less Noticeable

Dryness can make fine surface lines appear deeper.

Once skin becomes well moisturized, it may temporarily look:

Plumper + Smoother + Fresher

That’s a moisturizing effect rather than permanent wrinkle removal.

🌿 4. Adds a Botanical Clove Component

The cloves give the recipe its botanical element and distinctive aroma.

They aren’t necessary for Vaseline’s moisture-sealing effect, however.

🤲 5. Better Suited to Dry Body Areas

Because the recipe contains fresh lemon and cloves, I would be cautious about treating it as an everyday facial cream.

If someone chooses to test the preparation, thicker body areas such as:

Elbows • Knees • Hands • Heels

are more reasonable places to start than the entire face.

🌙 How to Use It

The video suggests applying the preparation every night, but I wouldn’t immediately follow that frequency.

First perform a patch test.

If tolerated, use only a tiny amount on a limited area.

A cautious routine would be:

Clean Skin → Moisturizer → Very Thin Layer of Balm

You don’t need a thick coating.

☀️ Important: Lemon + Sun Exposure

This is particularly important with DIY citrus skincare.

Citrus can contain compounds capable of producing phototoxic reactions when combined with UV exposure.

For that reason, avoid applying fresh-lemon preparations before going outdoors in the sun.

If the mixture has been used on exposed body skin, thoroughly wash the area before subsequent significant UV exposure.

For a routine nighttime moisturizer, simply leaving the fresh lemon out removes this particular concern.

🔥 Important Note About Heating Vaseline

The video uses direct heat underneath the saucepan.

At home, there’s no skincare advantage to getting petroleum jelly extremely hot.

You only need enough warmth to liquefy it.

A better method is:

Heat-Safe Bowl + Warm Water Bath → Slowly Melt Vaseline

Keep the mixture away from open flames and don’t apply it while hot.

Always allow it to cool completely before it touches your skin.

🫙 Storage

The addition of fresh lemon juice changes this recipe significantly.

Plain petroleum jelly is water-free, but lemon juice introduces water and fresh organic material.

That means you shouldn’t assume the finished homemade mixture has the same shelf life as the original Vaseline.

For this reason:

• Prepare only a tiny batch
• Use clean utensils
• Use a clean container
• Don’t repeatedly introduce wet fingers
• Don’t keep topping up an older batch
• Discard it if the smell, appearance, or texture changes

From a formulation standpoint, Vaseline + cloves without fresh lemon juice would be much simpler to handle.

⚠️ Patch Test First

Both cloves and lemon can irritate skin.

Apply a tiny amount to a limited area first and discontinue use if you experience:

• Burning
• Persistent stinging
• Redness
• Itching
• Swelling
• Rash
• Blistering

Avoid applying the mixture around the eyes, on broken or irritated skin, or immediately after shaving.

🌿 Recipe at a Glance

INGREDIENTS SHOWN IN THE VIDEO

🧴 Approximately 2 tbsp Vaseline
🌿 5–8 whole cloves
🍋 A few drops fresh lemon juice

HOW TO MAKE

Gently melt Vaseline → Add whole cloves → Allow a brief warm infusion → Squeeze in a small amount of fresh lemon → Mix → Strain cloves → Transfer to clean jar → Allow to cool completely.

HOW TO USE

Patch test first → Apply a very small amount to dry skin → Prefer nighttime use → Avoid eye area → Avoid UV exposure after citrus application.

MAIN REALISTIC BENEFITS

💧 Vaseline helps reduce moisture loss
✨ Helps dry skin feel softer
🌟 Moisturized skin may temporarily look smoother and more supple
🌿 Cloves add naturally occurring aromatic compounds
🤲 Better suited to targeted dry body areas than as an everyday facial treatment

✨ Final Thoughts

The recipe demonstrated in the video is essentially:

Melted Vaseline + Whole Cloves + Fresh Lemon → Infuse → Cool Into a Balm

Despite the video’s “No Botox” hook, these three ingredients don’t reproduce the effects of Botox or reverse decades of skin aging. The most reliable benefit comes from Vaseline creating a moisture-sealing layer that can make dry skin feel softer and temporarily look smoother.

The fresh lemon is also the least necessary and most potentially irritating part of the recipe. If the goal is simply a rich moisturizing treatment, plain Vaseline—or a carefully patch-tested Vaseline + clove preparation without lemon—is the simpler version.

Save this recipe and comment “CLOVE” if you want more simple homemade beauty recipes! 🌿🍋✨