The invention of cold cream is credited to Galen, a second-century Greek physician.
Galen, also known as Claudius Galen, practiced in the Roman Empire and became one of antiquity’s most influential medical writers. The preparation associated with him was a water-and-fat emulsion intended to soothe and soften the skin. It later became known in France as cérat de Galien, or “Galen’s wax.”
Traditional cold cream commonly combined rose water, beeswax, and almond or olive oil. Beeswax helped bind the ingredients, although it was a relatively weak emulsifier by modern standards. Older mixtures could separate, so later formulators sometimes used small quantities of borax to improve stability.
The name “cold cream” refers to the cooling sensation produced as some of the water evaporates from the skin, not to refrigeration. Modern cold creams are generally water-in-oil emulsions and may be used as moisturizers, cleansing creams, shaving products, or makeup removers. Dioscorides and Hippocrates were also famous Greek medical authorities, but neither is the traditional figure credited with cold cream.