Face Moisturiser for Dry, Sensitive or Reactive Skin: My PHOEFI Story
The personal story behind PHOEFI Day and Night Cream, and the familiar ingredients that help nourish dry, sensitive or reactive skin.
My skin has been the bane of my existence for most of my life. It is only in the last five years, with a real focus on skincare every day, that I have felt my skin is at its best. It still needs daily attention, but it no longer feels like a hopeless cause.
My skin saviour is PHOEFI Day and Night Cream. Its story began around 45 years ago, with a cream a chemist made for my dry, patchy, sensitive skin.
The cream Mum never forgot
The old chemist suggested to my mother that she stop the steroid creams I was using and apply his cream daily until I no longer needed it. Initially, my skin became worse. He described this to Mum as withdrawal symptoms and encouraged her to be patient.
A few weeks later, my skin began to improve. We continued using the cream, and after a few years I no longer needed it.
That is my childhood experience, including the explanation we were given at the time. Any changes to prescribed creams should be discussed with your treating doctor.
When my skin changed again
Decades later, with menopause and an autoimmune condition, the dryness and sensitivity returned. This time my skin also seemed to react to skincare products and even food. At one stage, I wondered whether the shower water was affecting it. For a while, I avoided using water to clean my face.
I felt desperate. I tried face moisturiser after face moisturiser, as well as doctor-prescribed creams, without finding the lasting result I was looking for.
Then Mum reminded me that she still had the recipe for my childhood cream. Why not try making it again?
As I explain in my About Us story, that was easier said than done. By focusing on the key ingredients and finding an Australian manufacturer with a similar base, I eventually found a formulation that carried the thinking behind that old recipe into a cream with modern improvements.
Skincare formulation has come a long way in those 45 years. I wanted to keep the thinking behind the original cream while benefiting from modern emulsifiers and an updated preservative system, which helps protect the formula from contamination. The addition of shea butter and macadamia oil brings extra softness and nourishment—exactly the kind of everyday comfort I wanted for my dry, sensitive and reactive skin.
Familiar ingredients with a purpose
What mattered to me was understanding how the ingredients worked together: drawing moisture into the skin, softening dry patches and helping reduce moisture loss. Many have been used in skincare for generations. These are the ingredients I wanted to look at more closely in today’s formula.
Glycerin — hydration with a long history
Glycerin has been used in skin preparations since the 1800s. It is a humectant, meaning it attracts and retains water in the skin’s outer layer. That helps dry skin feel softer and more comfortable. A familiar name on a label, but one with a very useful job.
Sweet almond oil — a cold-cream classic
Almond oil appears in cold-cream recipes from the nineteenth century. As an emollient, it helps soften dry skin and leave it feeling smooth and supple. I love that connection between traditional cream-making and the nourishment I still want from my moisturiser today.
Sunflower oil — softness and moisture
Sunflower oil helps soften and condition dry skin, supporting hydration and the skin’s protective barrier. It is a familiar plant oil with a useful place in a nourishing everyday moisturiser.
Stearic acid, cetearyl alcohol and sodium hydroxide — how the cream comes together
These have long histories in cream-making. Stearic acid and alkalis were used in traditional vanishing creams, where partly neutralising the acid helped create an emulsifier. Cetearyl alcohol was also established in cosmetics decades ago. In our formula, stearic acid adds body and softness; cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol that softens skin and helps stabilise the cream; and sodium hydroxide adjusts the formula’s pH. Their names may sound technical, but each has a practical purpose.
Ceteareth-20 — keeping oil and water together
This non-ionic emulsifier has been used in cosmetics for decades. It helps keep the oil and water evenly blended, contributing to a consistent cream. Its job is to support the formula that delivers those moisturising ingredients to your skin.
Caprylic/capric triglyceride — softness without a heavy feel
Already used in hundreds of cosmetic products in the 1970s, this emollient helps soften skin and gives the cream slip. It helps a nourishing formula spread smoothly and comfortably, something I appreciate in a cream I use every day.
Dimethicone — helping hold on to moisture
Silicones have been used in protective skin creams since the 1950s. Dimethicone helps reduce moisture loss from the skin’s surface while adding a smooth, silky feel. Alongside glycerin’s ability to attract water, it plays a useful part in helping skin stay moisturised.
Vitamin E — antioxidant and conditioning care
Vitamin E has been used in skincare for decades. Listed as tocopherol, it is an antioxidant and skin conditioner. It also helps slow oxidation of oils in the formula, supporting their stability.
Shea butter — rich nourishment for dry skin
Shea butter is a rich emollient with skin-conditioning and moisture-retaining properties. It helps:
- Soften dry, rough-feeling patches.
- Reduce moisture loss from the skin’s surface.
- Give the cream a rich, comforting feel.
Macadamia oil — softness and suppleness
Macadamia oil is an emollient that adds nourishing oils and a smooth finish to a cream. It helps:
- Soften and condition dry skin.
- Reduce moisture loss.
- Leave skin feeling smooth, supple and nourished.
The cream I keep coming back to
PHOEFI Day and Night Cream is made in Australia, unisex, fragrance-free, paraben-free, sulphate-free and artificial colour-free.
To use it, gently massage onto your cleansed face and neck morning and evening. Apply before sunscreen and makeup in the morning, and as the final moisturising step at night.
My skin still needs care every day. But after so many years of frustration, that care now feels worthwhile. This is my skin saviour.
My own experience has taught me to give a product at least 90 days of consistent use to judge the results, provided my skin is comfortable with it. When a product is working for me, I find my skin continues to improve over time.
Phoefi x
Explore PHOEFI Day and Night Cream
Rich nourishment for dry, sensitive or reactive skin.