Pompeian Massage Cream

I have often seen old advertisements for Pompeian Massage Cream and old texts recommending it. I was never clear, though, on just what it actually was. Cleopatra's Boudoir clears up the question:

Stecher’s Pompeian Massage Cream was a casein-based rolling cream that also contained benzaldehyde (artificial almond oil). It was coloured bright pink, probably with carmine, and was preserved with benzoic acid. It was pressure sensitive and was used by first rubbing it in and then rubbing it off.

After a shave the face was wiped clean with a towel and then Pompeian Massage Cream was rubbed in and then rubbed off taking any remaining soap and loose skin cells with it. This action may have helped reduce skin irritation caused by soap left on the skin and as it exfoliated the skin may also have reduced the likelihood of ingrown hairs.

As casein was a milk protein Stecher labelled Pompeian Massage Cream as a ‘skin food’. This was not illogical for the time. Back then it was thought that the skin was a good deal more porous than we know it to be today. Consequently, many believed that the skin could be ‘fed’ externally by applying a cream. In 1909 the words ‘Skin Food’ quietly disappeared from the label and the cream was primarily promoted as a cleanser that removed material that soap could not get to.

While the original Pompeian Cream seems to be long gone, a similar product that I am familiar with is Earth Theraputics Foot Peel (and yes, it is safe for the face -- at least it was on mine.)

The modern familiarity with the concept of exfoliating makes products like Pompeian cream a little less useful, but Gibson girls seemed to love its ability to both stimulate and clean the skin.