THE EMERGING COSMETIC INDUSTRY 35 concept of "molecular shape" with a detailed description of the molecular features which determine physiological activity. AGEING Many cosmetic products are designed to prevent or counteract the signs ooe ageing skin. The need for better understanding of the processes of ageing is therefore obvious. Changes in the elastic property of the connective tissue appear to be involved in the ageing of skin. Jacobs" found that the propor- tion of globular proteins in cattle skins decreased with increasing age of the animal. Lansing 48 reported that in rabbit aortas the elastin increased in specific gravity, calcium content, and free carboxyl groups as the animal grew older also •' that aspartic acid in elastin increases with age. Faber and Moller- Hou 'o reported that in the combined intima and media of the human aorta, collagen increased from 20 per cent at age 20, to 30 per cent at age 70, while elastin decreased from 35 per cent at age 20, to 22 per cent at age 70. Zinsser'• applied the methods of polymer chemistry to the study of elasticity of aorta tissue. By treatment with hyaluronidase he was able to restore the elasticity of 80-year-old aortic tissue, in vitro, to that of 30-year-old tissue. As additional understanding is achieved of structural and functional questions such as those mentioned above, the problems of ageing can be attacked much more effectively. Bjorksten '• regards ageing as a slow poly- merization or denaturation of protein molecules, which he believes may be reversible. Jung *' mentioned the formation of Heinz bodies in aniline poisoning as a typical case of appearance of denatured aged protein in blood cells. Possibly ageing is accelerated by repeated minor incidents of chemical or physical injury to the body proteins, and if cosmetics can protect the skin from such injuries they may very well retard the appearance of signs of age. WATER LOSS The importance of keeping the skin moist has been ably summarised by Blank," and many cosmetics are designed to retard evaporation of water from the skin surface. A recent report by Archer and La Mer • indicates that very thin layers of saturated fatty acids suffice to perform this task they found that monolayers of these acids with 17 to 20 carbons decreased the rate of evaporation of water by a factor of about 10,000. OTHER PROBLEMS In the space of this paper, it has been possible to cite only a few of the problems on which the cosmetic chemist needs more information on the chemical level than is now available. Complete treatment of any one of

36 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS these subjects would require a full-length paper. Furthermore, there are many other areas in which additional scientific discoveries may soon revolu- tionise cosmetic practice. These include the physical chemistry of emulsions, the physics and chemistry of waxes, permeability of membranes, and many others. Chemists and other scientists from multitudinous organisations have contributed data useful to us. The data used in this paper have been contributed by dermatologists, leather chemists, anatomists, cytologists, physical chemists, polymer chemists, food chemists, enzyme chemists, immunologists, and many others. It is inevitable, fortunately, that problems of cosmetic technology call for data useful in other applications, for the cosmetic industry cannot hope to finance all the basic research it needs. Governmental support of research in the bio-sciences amounted to 40 million dollars in 1953. The National Institutes of Health alone have an annual budget of over 80 million dollars, a large portion of which goes into basic research. Since this figure is well over 10 per cent of the annual income of the entire cosmetic industry, it is easy to see that this industry's effort cannot be a large portion of the entire basic research undertaking. However, it is to be expected that the future will see cosmetic firms probing more deeply into their problems with the most modem chemical tools, and our Society will no doubt encourage the trend by keeping its members abreast of perti- nent discoveries in the underlying science. Possibly more papers dealing with pure chemistry will be heard on our programmes in the future, and we may even find means of transmitting pertinent chemical abstracts to our members. CONCLUSION In its first ten years the Society of Cosmetic Chemists has presented at its meetings and recorded in its Journal a well-rounded body of technical and scientific information. A multitude of problems require application of the newest chemical methods, and extension of chemical theory beyond its present boundaries. Our Society will undoubtedly continue its important task in building and shaping the edifice of cosmetic chemistry. This science must be based upon sound chemical understanding of the tissues to which cosmetics are to be applied, and of the effects the cosmetics will produce upon these tissues. REFERENCES • Rothman, S., "Physiology and Biochemistry of the Skin," University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1954. 2 Stromberg, R. R., and Swerdlow, M., Chem. • •E•g. JVews, 88, 1868 (19551. a Kennedy, J. J., Science, 11•1, 673-4 (1955). • Woringer, F., Rev. pathol. gert. et cornparee, Ii4,844 (1954•.