Noxzema ( ) is a brand of skin
cleanser marketed by
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 drink, t ...
. Since 1914,
it was sold in a small
cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminum(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighter ...
jar; but is now sold in a blue plastic jar. Noxzema contains
camphor,
menthol,
phenol
Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it req ...
and
eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
, among other ingredients. Originally developed as a
sunburn
Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and animals include: red or reddish skin that is ho ...
remedy, it is a type of cold cream or vanishing cream (so named because it disappears after being left on for a few minutes) which is used as a facial cleanser and
make-up remover. It can also be used for soothing chapped, sunburned, or otherwise irritated skin; and for getting rid of acne and other blemishes (as it draws dirt out of pores when left on for a few minutes or more). Since the introduction of Noxzema, the brand name has appeared on
shaving cream
Shaving cream or shave cream is a category of cream cosmetics used for shaving preparation. The purpose of shaving cream is to soften the hair by providing lubrication.
Different types of shaving creams include aerosol shaving cream (also kn ...
,
razors
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors.
While the razor has been in existence since before ...
, and skin-cleansing cloths.
The main product and its
line extensions have been marketed by a series of companies: Noxzema Chemical Company,
Noxell Corporation
Noxell Corporation, formerly known as the Noxzema Chemical Company, was a Maryland-based company that made household products. Its best known brands were Noxzema and CoverGirl. In 2016, it became a subsidiary of The Procter & Gamble Company ...
,
Procter & Gamble
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 ...
and
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, ...
(
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 drink, t ...
).
History
The original formula for Noxzema was invented by Dr. Francis J. Townsend
(1875-?), a physician/druggist by 1900, in
Snow Hill, Maryland
Snow Hill is a town and the county seat of Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,103 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Snow Hill was founded in 1 ...
; by 1910, in
Berlin, Maryland
Berlin is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States which includes its own historical Berlin Commercial District. The population was 4,485 at the 2010 census, and has since grown in population. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-D ...
; and by 1920, in
Ocean City, Maryland
Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...
. The formula was called "Townsend R22" and referred to commonly as "no-eczema".
Dr. Townsend, who practiced near the beaches of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, prescribed it as a remedy, mainly to beach resort vacationers who were severely burned by
ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
sun rays.
Townsend later gave the formula to druggist George Avery Bunting (1870-1959), who for many years denied the transaction. In about 1917, Bunting began producing and selling "Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy", marketing the product as an alternative to the greasy,
tallow
Tallow is a rendering (industrial), 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 techn ...
-based medicating creams in use during the period. For the first 3 years, George A. Bunting and Elizabeth Buck mixed, heated and poured the product themselves. The name was changed to Noxzema, supposedly because a satisfied customer exclaimed, "Sure knocked my
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 ...
!".
[ An early slogan was "The miracle cream of Baltimore".][
]
Ownership
Beginning in 1920, the cream was produced by Bunting. In 1926, Noxzema Chemical Company broke ground and built a small factory in Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Maryland at the corner of W. 32 St. & Falls Cliff Rd. In 1926, N.C.C. applied for a trade-mark with the U.S. Patent Office. By 1937, 15 million units were being sold yearly.
By the 1940s, the product was being sold throughout the United States, and it continued to be produced by the Noxzema Chemical Company. Management moved to the founder's son in 1949. and, in 1966, the company was reorganized Noxell Corporation
Noxell Corporation, formerly known as the Noxzema Chemical Company, was a Maryland-based company that made household products. Its best known brands were Noxzema and CoverGirl. In 2016, it became a subsidiary of The Procter & Gamble Company ...
, but still under the ownership of the Bunting family. Under a non-family member's leadership, the company "moved its headquarters to a building complex in Cockeysville, Md."
In 1989 Procter & Gamble acquired the brand as part of the acquisition of Noxell. 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, ...
bought the rights to the brand in 2008 from Procter & Gamble
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 ...
and operated the line of skin-care products until Alberto-Culver was acquired by Unilever in 2010. In October 2014, the Noxzema brand in Greece changed its ownership from Procter & Gamble to a domestic company, Sarantis, for €8.7 million.
Advertising
This "knocks 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 ...
" product, which says "shaving cream" on the container, was advertised from 1967 to 1973 as a medicated shaving lotion with the phrase "Take it off, Take it all off" (referring to facial hair). Earlier advertising, which had begun in the 1940s, via radio and print advertisements, was handled locally.
In 1998 ''Proctor & Gamble'' unveiled "a foray into so-called nontraditional media" as "a break from traditional Noxzema advertising" in order to "stimulate sales of Noxzema skin cream among women ages 21 and over." In 1999 they introduced and advertised product line extensions
A product line extension is the use of an established product brand name for a new item in the same product category.
Overview
Line extensions occur when a company introduces additional items in the same product category under the same brand n ...
.
References
External links
*
1999 announcement of Bunting family gift
to Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
Noxzema pronunciation
Skin care brands
Former Procter & Gamble brands
Unilever brands
Shaving cream brands
Products introduced in 1914
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