The Golden Oldies: Skin Care Tips From Yesteryear That Still Ring True Today

When it comes to our personal skin care routines, most of us learn from our mothers and grandmothers. With age, comes the wisdom of what works, what doesn’t, and what to never, ever do again—cough, cough…baby oil as suntan lotion, anyone? And while some of their habits deserve their spot with the ghosts of skin care past, others still hold true today. While some of our mothers and grandmothers go-to products are still around in original form, many have evolved—taking the best of yesteryear and blending it with the latest innovations. From cold creams, to cucumber slices, peep a roundup of old-fashioned 1950s-style skin care tips and products that still work today, below.

Contrary to its name, cold cream was not a night cream used to hydrate and restore the skin’s natural moisture barriers, like many modern face creams are. It was once used to cleanse the skin and remove makeup before hopping into the shower or bath. Women would apply the cream to a soft tissue or cotton ball and gently rub away dirt and makeup in the morning and the evening. Though some may still stick to their tried and true pot of cold cream, women nowadays may opt for cold cream’s younger cousin, the cream cleanser. Cream cleansers, like Garnier’s Clean+ Smoothing Cream Cleanser, work in a similar manner to the cold creams of yesteryear. The Clean+ Smoothing Cream Cleanser can be a great, modern take, as it is formulated with skin benefiting oils—like jojoba and macadamia—and is gentle enough to be used as a daily cleanser.

Garnier Clean+ Smoothing Cream Cleanser, $7.99

When lip balm was introduced in the 1800s, it wasn’t particularly a “must-try” item. This is in part due to the way it was packaged—a stick of lip balm wrapped in tin foil is not exactly the easiest or most appealing thing to apply. But over time, its popularity grew and eventually, menthol infused lip balm was invented. Menthol, which offers a cooling sensation, can often be found in oils like peppermint and gives soothing lip balms a refreshing quality. One of our favorite menthol-infused lip balms is Maybelline’s Dr. Rescue from the brand’s Baby Lips line. With six different shades to choose from there is a minty fresh lip balm for everyone.  

Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue, $4.49

When The Body Shop was founded in 1976, along with it came the introduction to their original body butters. A fan favorite from the start, The Body Shop’s Body Butters come in over ten different fragrances—not including their limited edition scents—and can provide the skin with a rich, yet lightweight, hydration all year round. We recommend trying their award-winning Shea Body Butter. Formulated with the brand’s Community Trade shea butter, nourishing beeswax, moisturizing cocoa, and babassu oil, this hydrating body butter can leave the skin feeling ultra smooth, soft, and well-nourished—it’s no wonder it’s remained one of the brand’s most outstanding products since the beginning.

The Body Shop Shea Body Butter, $21

Baby powder was a staple in the beauty and skin care routines of our mothers and grandmothers. Used on new born babies and on themselves! While today’s baby powders are best kept to babies, you can find excellent oil-absorbing powders that won’t zap your glow—we share a few here.

Used as a heavy moisturizer all over the face back in the day, nowadays we like to reach for petroleum jelly-free alternatives like Biotherm’s Biosource Balm-to-Oil. This three-phase transformation formula starts off as a balm then melts into a silky oil, before turning into a milky solution when emulsified with water.

Biotherm Biosource Balm-to-Oil, $34

In addition to a few drugstore staples, a lot of our grandmothers’ skin care routines consisted of ingredients found in their retro kitchens, like cucumbers, coconut oil, and apple cider vinegar. Homemade skin care has come a long way, we share a few of our favorite DIY recipes, here.