COSMETICS-a
FERTILE FIELD for CHEMICAL RESEARCH1 FLORENCE E. WALL New York University, New York Cit3
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of reliable scientific data on the products and treatments that constitute the basis of the vast cosmetic industry. According to the new law (I)
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The term "cosmetic" means (1) articles intended to be rubbed poured, sprinkled or sprayed on, introduced into, or othcrwisc applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appear-
HE passing of the new Federal Pure Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1 9 3 G t h e long-fought Copeland Bill-and the commendable efforts both to formulate and to comply with the regulations for the prosecution of this law, have revealed a remarkable lack
' Presented by title
before the Division of Chemical Edncation a t the ninety-eighth meeting of the A. C. S., Boston, Mass., September 14,1939.
ance, and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any such articles; except that such term shall not include soap.
Griebel (3),Cox (3a),and Pedretti (4). Tests for these individual amino-dyes in the presence of one another are essential because so many of the finished products are now rather complicated mixtures. There is considerable confusion about other preparations through the loose use of such terms as "hair tonic," "hair restorer," "hair rejuvenator," and so forth. Because some of these may actually be hair dyes, simple tests must be available for both the metallic salts commonly used (5, 6), and for resorcin, beta-naphthol, p~ogallol,pilocarpin, and other organic compound^.^ The ingredients of creams and lotions for the skin present few difficultiesin their basic ingredients. Simple tests, spec~ficif possible, should be available for the preservatives which may be used; and for anti-oxidants. Of the latter, over twenty substances are now in common use, many of them complicated organic compounds, sold principally under proprietary trade names. In case of untoward results from the use of a cosmetic product, the investigator should be able to determine whether the trouble is due to some primary irritant (such as alkalies, formaldehyde, phenol, mercury compounds, and so forth) ; or to some allergenic substance (such as almond oil, or some natural or synthetic ingredient of the perfume used). Oil of bergamot and methyl beptine carbonate have been known to cause trouble, and other aromatic substances may be suspect. Here again, micro-tests are required because of the extremely small quantities occasionally involved. The extremely rare case of imtation from face powder is now usually traceable to the perfume, rather than to the lead compounds .or 6rris root, which always figure in the liSts copied freely from book to book.& Sun-tan preparations present a whole set of problems in themselves. Vehicles, sensitizers, and screens or filters for light should be readily ascertainable. The limited number of substances available for use in deodorants, anti-perspirants, and-depilatories, makes qualitative testing comparatively simple. This question may become an academic one, because these preparations, in addition to "altering the appearance and promoting the attractiveness" of the person, also "affect some function (perspiration) or structure (hair) of the body." The latter characteristics remove them from the class of cosmetics into drugs, for which publication of active ingredients is required. From the foregoing r6sum6, it can be seen that on the analytical side, research is needed for information on practically everything used in every type of cosmetic product in common use. The departments of chemist q 'in colleges and universities can well add projects on ~ o ~ m e t i to c s those on foods and drugs, and direct the
The exemption of soaps was allowed, allegedly, to prevent their being taxed as a luxury. But since soaps are so widely advertised as popular stand-bys and sure guides to beauty, health, and happiness, both soaps and perfumes, for the purposes of this paper, will be considered as allied industries. . In another paper presented before this Division (z), it was prophesied that the inevitable passing of a law to control cosmetics would generate a spontaneous demand for chemists that understand these former mysteries. That time has now come and the demand is upon us. This does not mean that there are so many positions yawning open in the commercial and industrial branches of the work (for the depression is still with us, and staffsare still curtailed), but that there is a basic need for information a t the source, and for research workers who can undertake to supply it. To aid in the prosecution of the many necessary checks required by the Food and Drug Administration, whole tables of reliable qualitative and quantitative tests are required. Since the new law covers adulteration and misbranding, many additional tests must be available for undesirable or forbidden substances which might be incorporated into otherwise simple products. One of the first major problems confronting tl?e Administration is that of certified colon for cosmetics. Instead of the comparatively simple task presented by the relatively few colors used in foods, the list requested for certification for use in the wide variety of cosmetic products numbered over two hundred.2 Many of these colors have been used for years, presumably safely and successfully, with no need for, nor thought given to, testing of any kind. This is especially true of many imported colors. Now that certification is required, identification must be assured, and tests must be available both for individual colors and for selective identification of the ingredients of mixtures. A full range will include standard colors, intermediates, and isomen The tests for colors used in cosmetics may be physical as well as chemical. The devising of a range of spectroscopic tests may appeal to some research workers. Because of the small quantities involved in many cases, the range of micro-tests should be enlarged considerably. The dyes used in hair colorings are not included in the lists for certification, because special regulations have been made for them. Because of the problems of personal idiosyncrasy or sensitivity to the amino-dyes, preliminary tests, to be made on the individual, are exacted. However, in cases of positive reaction from this preliminary test, i t would be valuable to know which ingredient of the preparation (usually a mixture) Bibliography for books giving typical recipes. ' Arrowroot starch is another substance alleged to be a cause is the actual offender. of trouble in face powders. The author recalls an elaborate ~ ~analogous ~ t to those s required, which serve recipe for a powder given to a patient by a physician who told as patterns for further research, are those devised by her she was allergic to arrowroot and should never use a powder
as,,
' The
complete lists of certified colors for all classes of controlled products should be obtained from the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture. Washington, D. C.
containing it. When the questions were relayed back as to how many face powders he had examined recently, and in which ones he had found srrowroot starch, he chose to consider the incident closed.
thoughts of those with the right chemical background and aptitude to some of the many and various kinds of work that need to be done. Just as much, if not more, awaits the qualified investigators in other phases of research on cosmetics. The rapidly increasing movement for instruction on good grooming, as an integral factor in personal hygiene and the development of personality, offers to teachers of chemistry on all educational levels fine opportunities for research and the collection of statistical data on the use and effectiveness of various cosmetic products. Here, chemistry makes a good starting point, but for the effective organization and prosecution of such tests, the instructor needs a good supplementary knowledge of living human skin and hair, from both the scientific standpoint of cosmetic dermatology and the s t h e t i e t y p e s of complexion, suitability of colorings, and so forth. Knowledge of this kind cannot be learned from books. Once the basic scientific principles are assimilated, the practical knowledge can be acquired only through actual clinical work with classes of students. Several more or less successful programs are now under way in various colleges and high schools, associated with some diluted chemistry of cosmetics and the compounding of preparations. This is all very well, but three years of classes in what is called "Cosmetic Hygiene" a t .New York University, have shown the author that most students are far more interested in what types of cosmetics they should use and what the products will do to and for them, than in what is in them or how they are made. Such courses can be easily fitted into any program from Junior High School up. When worked out in cooperation with teachers of home economics, physical education, and health, they can serve as splendid media for sound consumer education on cosmetics. After the long siege of destructive terrorizing to which the trade and industry as a whole were subjected by the selfappointed "apostles to the guinea pigs'fand other professional reformers, correct information, given out under legitimate educational auspices, is usually most welcome (7). In addition to this type of research directly with the users of cosmetics, there are many more advanced problems, the solving of which will help to establish needed basic principles related to the composition and effects of cosmetic preparations and treatments. Among these, the following could well offer serious study to research workers in biochemistry, especially in institutions with clinical facilities in cosmetic dermatology: ( 1 ) The Phenomena of Absorption by the Skin.Granted that we still preach that "the skin is fed only by the blood stream," i t would be desirable to have proof, free of mere authoritarian dicta, of the possibiity or impossibility of improving the skin by the local, external application of appropriate cosmetic products. Comparative data on the penetration and
absorption of various substances would help to dissipate extravagant claims for cosmetic products. (2) The Relationship, if Any, behueen Systemic Condi-
tions (Acidosis, Pregnancy, Menstruation, and so Forth) and the Success or Failure of Cosmetic Treatments.Reliable data on this would doubtless explode the popular theories about "acid in the blood" as the prize excuse when anything goes wrong. (3) The Identi$cation of, and Collecting of Statistical
Data on, Idiosyncrasies and Tolerances for Substances Used i n Cosmetics.-This could easily be done in institutions where an associated hospital conducts clinics for allergy and conditions of the skin. Notable work of this kind has been done by Hany L. Baer, M.D. (8). a t the Skin and Cancer Foundation, in Pittsburgh. (4) The Actual Fads about the Use of Vitamins, Hor-
mones, and Other Organotherapeutic Substances for Cosmetic Effect.-These would settle the claims for such border-line products; and possibly prove the contention of Goodman (9),that when and if any improvement does take place, the substance is out of cosmetics and into drugs and medicines. ( 5 ) The Development of Safe and Suitable Hair Colorings.-The need here is to find substitutes for the allergenic substances, which are now the most commonly used, and the most satisfactory dyes to use. (6) The Practical Application of the Work of Astbury, Speakman, Woods, and Others (10) to Problems i n the Permanent Waving of Hair.-This study, on the molecular structure of keratin in hair, is currently being tested out for practical application in England. In America, while many writers and-rewriters have seized on the idea and' worried it, no one seems to have done anything particularly constructive about it. The solution of any phase of these suggested problems could well furnish the material for a thesis, and make a good step toward opening up this field-so closely related to the field of cutaneous medicine--to the recognition and consideration which have been too long denied to i t by scientific and professional people. On the more utilitarian side, there are studies to be made on the effects of various containers on cosmetic products, and vice versa. Glass, carton, metal foils, and plastics-all these present problems which might well be taken up by independent investigators, and even turned to profit. The application of new raw materials should never be made without controlled tests-preferably clinical-both with the raw materials themselves and with the finished cosmetic products before they are marketed. Research on several of these problems, by some of the better manufacturers, has been continuous and prolific of many good ideas for the improvement of their products, but practically all the records of this valuable work remain rightfully in the private archives of whoever financed them. There they will remain, a t the cost of considerable overlapping and duplication of effort, until such problems are undertaken openly in the university laboratories and clinics, whence the findings
stand a better chance of acceptance and publication by cedures in beauty culture. Above all, she must be willing to practice what she preaches, and try to look like a the reputable scientific periodicals. Even in days of unfavorable economic conditions, good example of the possibilities of the business. there is a fairly steady demand for chemists with a So "research in cosmetics" means far more than the sound knowledge of cosmetic preparations and treat- confecting of a ravishing lipstick, or the creating of ments. Anyone that hopes to accomplish anything, some magical cream or lotion, guaranteed to restore however, must realize that study of these products lost youth and beauty. In the opinion of this investicannot be dissociated from their practical application gator, the multiplication of courses which teach the in beauty culture. The would-be investigator should compounding of cosmetics is rather to be deplored. If supplement his knowledge of chemistry with pertinent classes could be limited to the manufacturers, who information from anatomy, physiology, dermatology, ought to keep up with the latest and best, they might be justified; but, open to anybody and everybody, they physics, and physical therapy. All phases of work in cosmetics should make a strong simply help to flood the market with "kitchen-made" appeal to women chemists. It is obviously a woman's products, which compete unfairly with those of the business, yet relatively few women scientists have given legitimate manufacturers. i t serious consideration (11). Teachers of chemistry, There are already too many persons who know merely particularly teachers in secondary schools, should in- how to make cosmetics, but too few engaged in the vestigate the possibilities of teaching related science in scientific studies on which the future of this vast and the vicationdand industrial schoolswhere cosmetology valuable industry should rightfully be laid; and not (12) fofficiallv accented term for ~rofessionalbeautv nearly enough in the interpretation of cosmetic arts and culture) is taught as a trade course for girls. Boards of practices, or in the education of prospective consumers education are learning that the prospects of success are on the scientific choice and artistic use of them. better from the trained scientist who picks up the A good knowledge of the right kind of chemistry cosmetology, than froni even the best so-called practical offers a fine introduction to this whole field. The oerson who tries to build UD a backmound of science. organizing of the necessary scientific knowledge, and Chemistry has frequently served as the wedge into a the application of it to the various problems waiting good position, but the importance of i t in %e actual to be solved should offer alluring prospects to those study of cosmetology has been greatly exaggerated. that are properly equipped to do something about Other branches of science, as enumerated above, are them. The horizons are broad and the future most more pertinent and more valuable (13). In addition, promising for those that are willing to take cosmetics the instructor must have a fair practical knowledge of, and beauty culture seriously and help to establish even if she has not actual technical skill in, current pro- these worthy studies on a sound scientificbasis.
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LITERATURE CITED
(1) Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; Copeland Bill, S. 5. (An act t o prohibit the movement in interstate commerce of adulterated, and misbranded foods, drugs, devices and cosmetics, and for other purposes.) (2) WALL,"Training in chemistry for the cosmetic industry," J. CREM.Enuc., 13,432-5 (Sept., 1936). (3) G ~ B E L"Test , for distinguishin@paraphenylenediamine from paratoluylenediamine." Apoth. Ztg., 45, 318 (1930); through Chem. Abstr., 24,2606 (1930). (3a) Cox, "The chemical examination of furs in relation t o dermatitis," Analyst, 54,694 (1929); ibid., 58,738 (1933). (4) PEDRETTI,"The determination of some poisonous hairdye tinctures and antidotes," Oficina, 4, 21 (1931); through C h m . Abstr., 25, 4658 (1931). (5) WALL,"The basic science of hair treatments," The NestleLeMur Co., New York City, 1935, Chapter IV. (6) WALL,"Hair restorers under fire," The American Pnfumn, 35.. 34 (Dec.. . . 1937). (7) WALL. "A guide to good grooming," Forecast (Feb.-June.
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1939): a set of articles desiened for teachers of e w d grooming in colleges and hig6 schools. BAER, "Lipstidr dermatitis,'' Arch. Dnmatol. Syfihilol.. 32, 726 (Nov.. 1935). GOODMAN, "Cosmetic dermatology." McGraw-Hill B w k Co., Inc., New York City, 1938. ASTBURYAND Wnons, "X-ray interpretation of structure and elastic properties of hair keratin." Nature, 126, 913 (1930). WALL, "The status of women chemists," (quoting R. L. Evans), Cknnirl, 15, 174 (Apr., 1938). WALL, "Cosmetology-the new profession?" The American Hairdresser. 59., 40- (Oct.. 19%). ~~ ~ WALL. "The contributions of 'science t o cosmetolow."
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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
B e m r r . "The cosmetic fomulary," Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., New York City, 1937. CHILSON, "Modemcosmetics," The Drug and Cosmetic Industry, New York City, 1938. CADES,"Manual of good looks," The Crowell Publishing Ca.. New York City, 1936. EPHRAIM, "Take care of yourself," Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York City, 1937. "Cosmetics," Bull. 12, Household Finance Carp., Chicago, 1939. MCDONO~G "Truth R, about cosmetics." The Drug and Cosmetic Industry, New York City, 1937.
POIICRER,"Perfumes, cosmetics and soaps," D. Van Nostrand
Co., Inc., New York City, 1936, Vol. I (4th ed.) Vals. I1 and 111 (5th ed.). PUSBY, "The care of the skin and hair." CentCo.. . Annleton -. Inc., New York City, 1934. REDGROVE, "The cream of beauty," Heinemann, London, 1931; "Hair dyes and hair dyeing," Heinemann, London, and Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., New York City, 1939. WALL,"The quest for beauty in the library." Special Libraries, 28, 311 (Nov.. 1937). (Review of literature on cosmetics and cosmetology, with comprehensive bibliography.) ?
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