2 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS select the best paper. Then the experts under Paul G. I. Lauffer will report their selection next spring, and your incoming President will make the first award sometime during the year 1955--our tenth year. This award is set up to be given annually if suitable research is published. We sincerely hope it will encourage the publication of better and more adaptable and funda- mental research in this field. VIII. We suggested last year the possibility of a new section on the west coast and have just been very much involved in the formation of a New York City section. They have had four meetings and have submitted a charter to the Board of Directors for approval and acceptance. H.R. Shepherd of Connecticut Chemical Research Corporation was the speaker at their latest dinner and nearly sixty attended. We hear that there is re- newed interest in a Hollywood section. IX. We had our first President's Night at the Chicago section in Novem- ber and installed their new officers for 1955. William Colburn has been an excellent section chairman, and Sylvia Kramer has been a tireless secretary. The programs for their eight monthly meetings have been excellent, and their selection of Henrici's in the Merchandise Mart for dinners, a happy one. May we have many more sections like this one. X. Your Society's library continues to grow. A number of important books were acquired during the year, and they were on display at the September Seminar. A series of bookcases have been acquired to house these volumes and arrangements made to loan and have open for inspection all of the books. XI. Your SocIET¾'s employment service has been handled confiden- tially by William R. Giese at the New York Academy of Sciences. I do not know how many men acquired jobs through this agency, but there is made available a list of cosmetic chemists seeking a change to any management executive seeking men. XII. I hope you were as pleasantly surprised as I was at the new ballots sent out last month describing the candidates for next year's offices. The Nominating Committee under Edward Morrish deserves a great deal of credit for its prompt handling of nominations and the printing by William Giese of the ballots complete with pictures. No one need apply for office in the future unless he takes a lovely picture. Incidentally, did you notice what a handsome group of candidates were listed? You will learn the re- sults of your ballots in a few minutes. XIII. This year the Medal Award Committee was set up to consist of past Medalists. Certainly this group would maintain or possibly raise the high standard of the Sociv. T¾'s Medalists. Under the able chairmanship of Everett McDonough, they have selected an outstanding addition to the Medalist list from England, and you will learn more about and from him tonight.

ALTERATIONS IN THE SKIN PHYSIOLOGY 3 XIV. The program for this, our Tenth December Meeting, sets a new high in technical quality. Under the chairmanship of Gabriel Barnett, who has written all over the country to get the best men in each field, a panel of outstanding speakers has been set up that future years will find it hard to pass or equal. In closing, it has indeed been fortunate to have such a team of able, will- ing workers who have made the hard tasks easy and who were never afraid to tackle new problems. Listed below are a few who deserve special credit for the time and thought which they have given to your SOCIET¾'S problems. James H. Baker George G. Kolar M.G. deNavarre Gabriel Barnett Robert A. Kramer Edward Sagarin William Colburn Paul G.I. Lauffer Sabbat J. Strianse S. F. Coneybear Edward P. Morrish Walter A. Taylor William R. Giese Everett G. McDonough Walter Wynne There are many more who helped quietly and steadily. Your incoming president is indeed fortunate to have such a group of able, willing workers, and your outgoing president will miss the many pleasant hours spent with them. ALTERATIONS IN THE SKIN PHYSIOLOGY FOLLOWING CONTINUOUS USE OF SOAPS AND DETERGENTS* By DONALD J. BIRMINGHAM, M.D. Chief Dermatologist, Occupational Health Field Headquarters. U.S. Public Health Service, Cincinnati 2, Ohio DERMATOLOGISTS and others interested in the physiology of the skin have long sought a complete explanation of the cutaneous alterations brought about by the use of soaps and detergents. A wide range of accu- mulated clinical and laboratory information can be theoretically and fac- tually applied to the problem, but there has yet to be developed a logical explanation of cause and effect relationships. Despite this lack of definition, there is one point upon which all investigators are likely to agree, namely, that no one factor is wholly responsible for the cutaneous changes suspected as being caused by detergent preparations. Indeed, the current scientific literature strongly suggests that the explanation of this problem will prob- ably rest upon determining how and to what extent keratin, sweat, pH, water * Presented at the December 9, 1954, Meeting, New York City.