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Skincare Nostalgia: Products from the 80s


Vagaro

Published January 3, 2017

Updated October 23, 2023
A young woman with creative hair style and a pink 1980s look. White and pink colored.

The 1980s weren’t just about bright colors and big hair — the decade also brought us some amazing skincare products. Here’s a throwback at some of the iconic skincare solutions from the 80s that we remember fondly:

Bonnie Bell Ten-O-Six Lotion

If you had oily skin in the 80s, it’s likely you used this popular orange-hued astringent. Ten-O-Six was normally applied with a cotton ball and with one swipe, dirt and oil were swept away. Although Bonnie Bell brought this product back to the market recently, the consensus is that the original formula can’t be beat.

St. Ives Firming Clay Mask

Another pore-blaster from the 80s was the Firming Clay Mask from St. Ives. The formulation and packaging has been tweaked since its debut; in the 80s, the blue clay came in a jar. Finger-painting this product onto our faces was almost as fun as the squeaky-clean skin we enjoyed after washing it off.

A young woman with creative hair style and a pink 1980s look. White and pink colored.
Buf-Puf

Exfoliation was rough in the 80s — the Buf-Puf Deep Facial Cleansing Sponge had the texture of something you’d use to scrub the remnants of last night’s lasagna out of a casserole dish. Many smooth skin seekers paired this puff with their favorite cleanser, as actress Sharon Stone demonstrated in the 1987 commercial.

Noxzema

It seemed like  everybody had a jar of Noxzema in the 80s — and many devotees of this cleansing cream still do. Although there have been a few packaging upgrades here and there throughout the years, the effective cleansing action and fresh fragrance remain the same.

Oil of Olay

To this day, Olay remains one of the world’s most beloved skincare brands. It all started with Oil of Olay, a lightly scented pink lotion that was on the dressing tables of women everywhere. In the 80s, little else made you feel as glamorous as treating your skin to this anti-aging wonder.

What’s your favorite skincare product from the 80’s?

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