Claiming that a soap will leave your adult face as soft and fresh as a child’s is nothing new in hygiene advertising. But the origins of Pears’ Soap as a hypoallergenic alternative to other soaps that, at the time, used arsenic or lead in their recipes, made it uniquely marketable to mothers caring for their children’s sensitive skin.

However you tend to your face today, we hope it’s bright with the approach of warmer weather. Happy May Day!

FUN FACT: Following a major change in recipe and fragrance in 2009, an uproar on Facebook from dedicated fans of the (then) 202-year-old brand sparked a promise from Pears’ Soap to reinstate the original scent and hypoallergenic formula. Sound familiar, Hotel Del?