lpprecia tion The following Institutions have made substantial grants toward the publication and maintenance of THE JOURNAL or THE SOCIETY or COSMETIC CHEMISTS: Alrose Chemical Company. American Perfumer Atlas Powder Company J. T. Baker Chemical Company Beauty Counselors, Inc. Compagnie Parento Inc. Compagnie Parento, Limited Dow Chemical Company Emulsol Corporation Firmenich & Company Givaudan Delawanna, Inc. Lehn & Fink Products Corporation Raymond Laboratories Inc. Reheis Company, Inc. Schimmel & Company The Toni Company Van Ameringen Haebler, Inc. Van Dyk & Company Albert Verley, Inc.

OPERATING A COSMETIC CLINIC* By RUTH BOYLE Good Houaekeep.ing Beauty Clinic, New York, N.Y. NOT LONG ago a manufac- turer asked me if I knew of anyor•e who would make some use tests of his face powder on a large number of women. I talked to a consulting chemist about it, and this was his response, "It isn't necessary to test it on women. That is messy and ex- pensive, and you come out with a lot of conflicting statements and no definite information. The thing to do is work with it in the laboratory, try it on different textures under different conditions, and you get results that mean something." Now I have the greatest respect for laboratory procedures, but I con- sider this point of view completely unrealistic I believe that every cosmetic should have the benefit of all the laboratory tests you can give it but this, to my mind, is only laying the groundwork. You still must find out how that cosmetic works on living human tissue, and how it meets the tastes, habits, and prejudices of the average woman. The simplest way to get this final answer, is to try it out in a mini- ature world--a cosmetic clinic. * Presented at the December 6, 1946, Meeting, New York City. 711 Some of you have visited the Good Housekeeping Beauty Clinic • and you know that the set-up is very simple. It consists of a make-up table where six women at a time may apply creams and make-up, a manicure table, a basin for sham- pooing, a chair used for both sham- poos and facials, a small kitchen, and space where groups may be' assembled. Our own employees form an ex- cellent testing group because they vary in age from 16 to well past 60, and include many types. We keep a card file that tells what type of skin and hair they have, their color- ing, and so on, so we can always find ten women with dry skin or three with bleached hair. They enjoy working with us, partly be- cause it is a change from their usual routine, partly because they like to get a free lipstick or Shampoo, and partly beoause, being women, they are naturally interested in cos- metics. We keep the atmosphere friendly and informal and help them with their personal problems as much as we can without encroach- ing on the time necessary for our main job of testing.