Panthenol- a family cream
When I was growing up, there was this mild smell of a specific cream, packed in a pale pink tube, available for our entire family and I never thought about it until now. After covid, I lost my sense of smell. Eventually, it came back but changed. I couldn’t smell my child, food, parfume…it was different for almost everything. Lemon which I adored was now just a high peach smell somehow disturbing. Now, almost one year after that disturbing experience, I can finally smell the majority of things like before but some of them just remember how they used to smell-like my favourite perfume (which is not my favourite anymore).
Among all these scent experiences , new although felt before, I could smell this magical cream from my childhood. A drawer where it stood, smells like it, and a whole room after we applied it.
Last week I searched for a natural solution for my maturing skin, worried about its itchiness and thinness as well as fine lines appearing after the third decade of my life. There was almost none-to be vegan, environmentall-friendly, and with clearly marked content-which was very important for me, who can and will read chemicals in cosmetics and translate it. At least, parts of the store which held such type of cosmetics were not offering any close solution.
Then I moved to the area with some simplified products and found this cream, took it and when opened later at home-this magical scent appeared, returning me to my childhood, a time of observing.
The main ingredient in simplified cream, suitable for grownups as well as children, is panthenol. This is a type of vitamin B5 and alcohol analog of pantothenic acid. When we apply it to our skin, it will quickly be absorbed and later moisturize it for a long time. This chemical is used as a wound healer and its magnificent properties are widely used for making a variety of creams for sensitive skin, prone to irritations, and even for cleaning solutions, for contact lenses. Later I found out that the entire line for sunburns, epidermal wounds, and even eczema is based on this chemical.
The conventional manufacturing process of panthenol involves chemical condensation of synthetic R-pantolactone (α-hydroxy-β,β-dimethyl-γ-butyrolactone) with 3-aminopropanol.
It occurs organically and can also be produced from both plant and animal sources. So making sure it’s plant-based is still important for me and my family.
Later I find that panthenol is without smell, but our market is giving it some very mild, in my experience fantastic addition which is a guide to recognize a panthenol in creams etc.
