What's in your skin care? Pond's Cold Cream - The Cool Classic

As I was wandering through the Wal-Mart beauty aisle looking for a cleanser to write about I saw the Pond's Cold Cream sitting there on the shelf.  It brought back memories of my Grandmother, I can still see the Pond's Cold Cream sitting on a shelf next to the sink.  It also brought back memories of my Mom using the cold cream to remove the Halloween make-up off of my face when I was a small child.  I felt a little nostalgic so I picked up a small jar.

 

Pond's Cold Cream - the cool classic

Net Wt. 6.1oz

$4.67 at Wal-Mart

Product Description:  Thoroughly deep cleans without drying your skin, leaving it looking and feeling touchably soft and radiantly clean.  Removes hidden dirt and make-up, even stubborn waterproof mascara.  Softens as it cleans, so your skin feels smooth, never tight or dry.  Hypoallergenic.  Suitable for sensitive skin.  Won't clog pores.  Dermatologist tested.

Product Directions:  Smooth over face and throat, massaging gently to loosen dirt and make-up.  Tissue off or remove with a warm washcloth.

Ingredients:

Mineral Oil - Liquid mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum.  Emollient cleanser and demulsifier of dirt trapped in pores.  May be comedogenic. 

Ceresin - Thickener and binder.  Used in protective creams as a beeswax and paraffin substitute.  A waxy material that may cause allergic reactions.  May be non-comedogenic. 

Beeswax - Oldest raw ingredient used in cosmetic preparations.  An emulsifier for water-in-oil emulsions.  Credited with anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-oxidant, antibacterial, germicidal, and skin softening properties, but there is no scientific proof to back this up.  Depending on the source may be non-comedogenic.  Rarely causes sensitivity and allergic reactions.

Triethanolamine - Used in surfactants and a dispersing agent and detergent.  Emulsifier.  pH adjuster.  (Good stuff!!) 

Ceteth-20 - Emulsifier for oil-in-water creams and lotions.  Polyethylene glycol ether of cetyl alcohol.  May contain harmful impurities but is safe in cosmetics.
 

Fragrance - Natural and synthetic compounds added to a formulation to give an aroma and mask chemical odors.  May be used without describing what is actually in the compound.  Can cause allergic reactions.  (throw your hands up in the air an run away from this ingredient screaming if it is not listed towards the bottom!)  

Behenic Acid - Water soluble constituent of seed fats, animal fats and marine animal olis.  Thickening agent and surfactant.  Considered a non-comedogenic raw material. 

Montan Wax - Hard earth wax derived of extractions of lignite (coal made from wood).  Substitute for carnauba and beeswax.  Binder and thickener. 

Cetyl Alcohol – Emollient. Emulsifier. Thickener. Binder. Foam booster. Stabilizer.  Derived from coconut or palm oil.  May be non-comedogenic.  Unlike “alcohol” cetyl alcohol softens and conditions the skin.  (Good stuff!!)

Carbomer - Reacts with fat particles to form thick, stable emulsions of oil in water.  (Good stuff!!)  

DMDM Hydantoin - Preservative.  May release formaldehyde.  Can be a skin irritant.  Similar to imidazolidinyl urea.  DMDM is an acronym for dimethylimidazolidine. (a controversial ingredient)

Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate -  Preservative.  Can be an irritant.  Iodine based alternative to paraben preservatives.  (a controversial ingredient)

For the most part this cleanser has pretty good ingredients, except for the controversial preservative and the fragrance right smack dab in the middle.  If you wear heavy, hard to remove make-up or oil based make-up (camouflage or theatrical make-up) this cold cream would be great to quickly remove the make-up.  For people with extremely dry skin this would also be a good product to clean with and leave a light layer on your face before going to bed for moisture.  For everyone else, I would not recommend this product for use on a daily basis.

If you don’t see your ingredients listed here or in the Skin Care Ingredients page, they might be compiled in another future article, so keep checking back.  Feel free to send me an email listing the ingredients in your skin care products!  Also, look for the Ingredients page above for all of the ingredients I have posted so far.