What is Cold Cream

cold cream application for cleansing and moisturising your skin #idoitnaturally

Ever wondered what cold cream is?  I have.  I thought it was a cream that was cold (as in chilled in the fridge) and images of Mrs Doubtfire and a face full of yogurt (or was that cream?) spring to mind.  I also picture screen sirens, such as Elizabeth Taylor, using decadent cold creams nightly to remove makeup after a hard day’s work, and this routine attributing to beautiful skin.

Galen, a physician who lived in second century Greece, is credited with having invented cold cream.  Galen’s Cold Cream recipes tend to contain beeswax and scented water.  Cold cream is given its name due to the cold feeling it has when applied to the skin.  Its purpose is for smoothing the skin (anti-aging) and cleansing the skin at the same time.  Using an oil based cleanser in this way is not unusual.  In ancient Rome they covered their bodies with olive oil then scrapped the oil away to cleanse their skin.  This would have left their skin soft and moisturised and, I imagine, would have helped ward off the signs of aging.

Cold creams are made to be used nightly before bed.  I know of people who apply cold creams before bed and leave the cream on over night and their skin looks amazing.  All I can think about though is how they don’t smear cream all over their pillows and wonder if the cream is still on in the morning or all smudged off over the bed covers.  I toss and turn too much and for this reason I’ve never done this myself.

I tend to use a cold cream application once a week to once a month.  Though I do moisturise daily.  I like to use Rich Cream Moisturiser because of its beautiful creamy consistency.  Although Rich Cream is too rich for my skin type (oily) to use as a daily moisturiser I find I can use it as a cold cream no worries due to the fact that it is washed off and not left on.  I also use Light Moisturiser for a cold cream application (which is suited to my skin type) especially in the warmer months.  Whipped Cream Moisturiser works equally well and is perfect for dry or mature skin.

Cold Cream application:

* Apply moisturiser cream in a layer all over your face with a Popsicle stick or fan brush so you have the appearance of wearing a white mud mask.  It is best applied at night to remove makeup, dirt, dust and the build up of daily grime; as well as to richly moisturise your skin at the end of the day.

* Leave the cream to sit for at least 10mins and allow the oils to penetrate and hydrate your skin.  Read a book, watch some TV, have a cuppa, hop in a bubble bath.  Relax. 

* After 10 minutes wet a face washer in warm water and wipe the cream away.  Repeat until all the cream is thoroughly removed.  You will have also removed all makeup and daily grime leaving your skin clean and moisturised.

* The process should be done nightly, as the movie stars once did, and is a richly decadent and pampering thing to do - and we know you deserve it.  At the very least, once a week or once a month to help rejuvenate your skin.

* Remember to moisturise daily whether you do a cold cream application or not.