Noxell Corporation, formerly known as the Noxzema Chemical Company, was a Maryland-based company that made household products. Its best known brands were

Noxzema Noxzema ( ) is a brand of skin cleanser marketed by Unilever. Since 1914, it was sold in a small cobalt blue jar; but is now sold in a blue plastic jar. Noxzema contains camphor, menthol, phenol and eucalyptus, among other ingredients. Originally ...

and

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989 and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...

. In 2016, it became a subsidiary of

The Procter & Gamble Company The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

History

Francis J. Townsend, a doctor who lived in Ocean City,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

, created a formula which he called "Townsend R22", or "no-

eczema Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can v ...

". Townsend prescribed it as a remedy to early resort vacationers burned by the sun. In order to help people outside of the resort town Townsend later gave the formula to Dr. George Bunting, a graduate of

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" na ...

in Maryland, who for many years denied the transaction. In about 1917 Bunting introduced "Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy" as an alternative to the greasy,

tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inclu ...

-based medicating creams available during the period. For the first three years, Bunting and Elizabeth Buck did all the mixing, heating, and pouring of the product themselves. The product was soon renamed

and promoted as a skin cream with a variety of uses. In 1920 the Noxzema Chemical Company factory was opened in a house in Baltimore. The Noxzema product was promoted through radio and print advertising, and continued to achieve increasing sales throughout the United States during the 1940s. During the 1950s, the company diversified into other personal care products, including shaving cream, cold cream, suntan lotion and suntan oil. In the late 1950s it originated the

line of cosmetics, notable for using Noxzema's medicated ingredients. The company diversified again when it bought the

Lestoil Lestoil is a registered trade name of Clorox for a heavy-duty multipurpose cleanser product, used to remove extremely difficult laundry stains, dissolve water-based and oil-based paints, and clean grease, oil, paint, and adhesives from floors and ...

heavy-duty multipurpose cleanser product in 1960. The company changed its name to Noxell Corporation in 1966. Noxell continued to be owned during this time by the Bunting family; Bunting's son, G. Lloyd Bunting, Sr., assumed the management of the company, followed during 1973 by George L. Bunting, Jr., Dr. Bunting's grandson. In 1989 the Procter & Gamble purchased the Noxell Company in 1989, as part of a $1.4 billion merger; the company continued to operate as a subsidiary. In 1996, the company sold off the

brand to The Clorox Company, citing the need to focus on cosmetics and fragrances. Its television commercials for Noxzema Shave Cream by the

William Esty Advertising Agency William Cole Esty (March 6, 1895 – January 1954) was an American advertising executive and founder of William Esty Co.Staff report (January 22, 1954). "William Cole Esty, an Ad Executive". ''The New York Times''. After working at J. Walter T ...

caused a sensation when model

Gunilla Knutson Gunilla Knutsson (sometimes as Gunilla Knutson, Gunilla Knudson or Gunilla Knudsen) is a Swedish model, actress and author, from Ystad. She was named Miss Sweden in 1961 and was a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe pageant the same year. She ...

asked men to "take it off, take it all off" (referring to facial hair). P & G sold the Noxzema brand to

Alberto-Culver Alberto-Culver was an American corporation with international sales whose principal business was manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products under such brands as Alberto VO5, Andrew Collnge, St. Ives (skin care products), TRESemmé, FDS ...

in October 2008. Alberto-Culver was subsequently bought by the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy ...

on September 27, 2010 for $US3.7 billion. In 2016 the Noxell Company headquarters are located in a plant in the Baltimore suburb of

Hunt Valley, Maryland Hunt Valley is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the Maryland Hunt Cup Steeplechase. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore, along York Road ( Maryland Route 45), parallel to Inters ...

; the facility also houses the cosmetics division of Procter & Gamble. This plant produces products for the

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dollar ...

and

Olay Olay, previously Oil of Olay, Oil of Olaz, Oil of Ulan or Oil of Ulay, is an American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. For the 2009 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's revenue. Ear ...

brands, but Noxzema branded products are no longer produced there.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Manufacturing companies established in 1917 Manufacturing companies based in Maryland 1917 establishments in Maryland Companies based in Hunt Valley, Maryland Cosmetics companies of the United States Procter & Gamble brands 1989 mergers and acquisitions