Dove Soap or Ivory?
What did your Mom use?
I watched the college Women's Final Four and Championship basketball tournament last week and was struck by the number of ads for Dove soap. It brought back so many memories. My grandmother and Mom used either Ivory Soap or Dove Beauty Bars (their name for soap) their entire lives. Did you know that Ivory soap was first sold in 1879? Those of us of a certain age will remember the "It Floats!" slogan, which was introduced in 1891. Or the "99+44⁄100% Pure" slogan, which was in use by 1895.
My Mom and Grandmother used Ivory soap exclusively until 1957( before my parents were married or I was born!) when the Dove Beauty Bar hit the market. Who remembers the 'one-quarter cleansing cream' or 'Dove creams your skin while you wash' ads of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s? Or the iconic ads where cream was poured into a soap shell to demonstrate how moisturizing the soap was compared to other brands?
In the late 1960s, my Mom added two products from Clinique to her skincare routine: their toner and a moisturizer called "Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion." The yellow lotion in the glass jar is forever linked to my Mom in my mind. I can't see the jar without thinking of her.
My current skincare routine would make their eyes roll. I have two cleansers, an AHA, PHA, peptide serum, retinol, vitamin C, peptide moisturizer, sunscreen, and more! Seriously? What does that say about me? ( I don’t use them all at once. Some are for mornings, the rest at nighttime.) And, while I love the brand I use, there are probably thousands of skincare lines worldwide. I checked on the Sephora website today. There are 672 moisturizers, 411 cleansers, 555 treatments, and 200 eye care products. If you shop by "concern," there are 1137 options. Wow! That is just one company.
I asked many people about their current skincare routines this week in preparation for this article. Some use just soap and water. Some use an entire skincare line. (The record was the woman who uses 15 products...DAILY!!) Some use drugstore brands, others the expensive top-of-the-price point lines. Do you think it matters?
Is our skin better now than in our parents' and grandparents' day? What do you think? My Mom had gorgeous skin her entire life. She passed away last year, two months before her 91st birthday. I know that comparing photos of people in the past vs. current photos reflects a pretty significant difference in aging appearance. Why do people look younger now? Certainly, self-care is much more buzzy than in the past. Good skincare, eating "clean," and fewer people smoking plays a part. Hairstyles and the way we dress are other reasons. Look at these examples:
I asked the question: "Curious, what was the beauty routine for your mom and grandmothers?" on a private FB group and received so many wonderful comments. Most brought back fond memories of my Mom, Grandmother, and even me from high school. Some of my favorites:
"Oil of Ulay - little pink bottle with a black lid; still remember the smell now." I don't even remember the spelling used to be Ulay, now Olay.
"My grandma always used Nivea cream (the one in the round blue metal box). She became 99 and had amazing skin, almost no wrinkles. It's funny that this morning I was wondering what she would say about my skincare collection".
"Ponds and Oil of Olay for my Mom and paternal Grandmother.
“My Maternal Grandmother used Noxema to clean and Ponds to moisturize.”
“Irish Spring and Dial were the soaps of choice for my Grandmothers”
“Yardley soaps made a late appearance, and then Oil of Olay soaps made a late comeback for my parents."
"My Mother double cleansed. She used Ponds cold cream with warm water and a flannel, followed by Ivory or Dove soap and a cool water rinse. Then Nivea lotion (not the cream). Her skin was still gorgeous when she passed at age 96.”
“Funny — I found some Ponds cold cream on my travels, and I use it whenever I wear a full face of makeup. My mama was right: it's a fabulous first cleanse, and that scent brings back such lovely memories. "
I often say I am not trying to look younger but working to have the healthiest skin possible. I want my skin to glow!! Please tell me about your skincare routine. Do you love your brand? Is it helping you accomplish your goals? And please continue sharing stories of the skincare routines your Moms and Grandmothers followed. Those memories are so important
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Before I leave, I want to revisit the NCAA Women's National Basketball Final Four and Championship games I referenced in my opening paragraph. Oh my! They were spectacular. I must admit that I haven't followed women's basketball in the past. I didn't know what I was missing. These women are so talented. If you follow the game, you will understand what I mean when I say, "Nonstop raining threes!" If you don't, just know their passion, skill, and athleticism are amazing. And I was thrilled to see the public took note. The women's national championship game attracted a larger television audience than the men's for the first time in history. The men's championship game drew 14.8 million viewers. The women's national championship game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Iowa Hawkeyes drew 18.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched women's basketball game in history. Hurray for women's sports! (BTW, South Carolina won.)
That’s it for today. I am feeling very nostalgic and missing my Mom and Grandmothers. So, please share your stories of your relatives' skincare routines—and yours from high school. I love the memories.
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Have a good week,
Diane
Ivory soap all the time growing up. And now I just wash my face with water in the morning and use the Aveda sensitive skin face lotion. At night it’s the juice beauty 2-in-1 cleanser and the same Aveda lotion. That’s it for me. Everything else is too confusing and admit to worrying about what is in the product.
My Mom is a very youthful 84 but I don’t ever remember much of a beauty face routine. She was/is a dancer so always danced (still does at 84!) and ate well, and she started a second career in the mid-60s which has kept her hugely engaged in life - thus her youthful look. I hope to follow in her footsteps that way!
I was thinking I would respond to this post via text, but then I remembered that this is an opportunity to engage with a community of women so here goes. Also, I have thought a lot about these products, both of my grandmas (have absolutely no recollection of facial products that my paternal grandmother may have used), and me as a teenager. Quite the road trip down memory lane.
I was an Noxzema girl until about sophomore year in high school when I switched to Oil of Olay. I don't remember what prompted me to do so.
I can remember clearly that my maternal grandma was a Pond's user, she also used another product that I can still smell, but I cannot remember the name. It was a really thick cream, yet it absorbed easily, I remember noticing that even as young as about 10 years old, as I was putting it on my arms in her bathroom.
And with all of that memory info, I have absolutely no idea what facial product(s) my mom used.
We had Ivory soap for bathing. We may have also had something called Lifebouy. And I also remember Irish Spring being available, around the time I was in Jr High, but I did not care for it. My dad always had a bar of Lava available to use if we even suspected we had come near poison ivy or poison oak.
I remained an Oil of Olay pink bottle customer until my early 40's. Then I switched to the white bottle, until my early 50s.
I was fortunate that I never had any skin issues as a teenager, and I was reminded of that just a few months ago when a group of us who have known each other since grade school got together.
We were not a Dove family. I remember that I always liked Cameo, but mostly because I thought it was a cool bar of soap. Loved the Cameo imprint. It's possible that my maternal grandma used Cameo.
Now I'm wondering when the advertisers morphed us from using the moniker "face creams" to "moisturizers?"