Cut the grease and the blackheads. (Ponds Cold Cream Cleanser)

Member Name: Whatagain

Product:	Ponds Cold Cream Cleanser
Date:	05/08/09 (250 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gentle deep cleanser, help to balance the skin and very cheap!

Disadvantages: Takes nerves of steel over the first few days!

I have had problems with my skin for a long time. I have a very greasy T zone and dry cheeks, I suffered with acne in my teens and while my skin improved in my twenties I still have a lot of blackheads and get regular spots on my chin and forehead. I also have very large pores on my cheeks.

When I was a teenager everyone always said that I would have lovely skin when I was older and I would get less wrinkles, well guess what, they lied.

I have tried more cleansers than I can remember, and my skin stayed the same, I was really starting to get down about it.

I decided to give Ponds Cold Cream a go as I wondered if I was being too harsh on my face, as I regularly spend a fortune on different creams and potions the £3.86 price tag seemed well worth a punt.

I could not find this cream in any of my local supermarkets and I eventually found it in Boots. The jar is in a small green and white box, when you open it up there is a glass jar with a white lid. It looks fairly old fashioned but is not ugly.

The cream is a glossy white colour, the fragrance is hard to place, it smells very comforting with a slight floral hint.

I started by dabbing small dots of cream over my dry face before rubbing it in with my finger tips, the cream feels quite oily and heavy, this was disconcerting as with my oily skin I normally use oil free everything! I spent a few minutes massaging the cream in to get the full effect, it is safe to use the cream to remove eye make up.

You can either remove the cream using cotton wool or a muslin cloth or face flannel. I used both as I wanted to see what came off! When I wiped my face with the cotton wool ball I was amazed at how much gunk was removed, the ball was very grey with the dirt and dead skin that was left. I then soaked a muslin cloth in hand hot water and rested it on my face for a few seconds, to open the pores, before wiping my face clean.

I must admit that after my first go I was not particularly convinced, my face still felt slightly greasy and I was convinced that I was going to break out due to all the oil. But I decided to persevere and see how it went.

After a week of cleansing like this at night I had still not broken out in spots, I also noticed a real reduction in the number of blackheads on my chin and forehead. So far so good. I was going to keep this up.

I have now been using the cream for 6 weeks, my skin is looking so much better, I have virtually no blackheads on my chin and forehead and the number on my nose is much lower. The dry patches on my cheeks have gone and my T-zone is nowhere near as oily as it used to be. My skin also looks much brighter and fresher.

I have spent the last 20 years agressively avoiding having anything oily and greasy on my face and stripping off the oil that appeared. I now think that this is the wrong way to go about it. Using a gentle product which works with my skin has had a far more balancing effect and stops the skin for overproducing oil. I would highly recommend this product to other greasy girls.

As a final note do not bother buying the expensive muslin face cloths which retail at around £2 for 2. Go to the baby section and by muslin squares, these can be cut to size and you will get around 16 for £4, they do not look as pretty but last as long and make a big saving.

Summary: Fantastic bargain cleanser.