ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS ON THE BIOLOGY OF HAIR GROWTH 49 "REGIONAL FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF HAIR FOLLICLES AND SWEAT GLANDS IN THE SKIN OF iV•AN" GEORGE SZABO Dept. of .4 natomy, London Hospital 3/Iedical College, London, England. There is a great individual and regional variation in the frequency dis- tribution of hair follicles and sweat glands in the adult skin. The combined averages for cm • of fixed skin are 980 for the head, 270 for the trunk, 250 for the arm, 190 for the leg. In spite of gross difference there is no significant sexual variation in the distribution of hair follicles in the face. In the foetus the density of the appendages is higher than in the adult the regional variation, however, is smaller and it increases during post-natal development. The differential rate of growth of the body surface is respon- sible for these regional variations in the adult. Initially, the density of dis- tribution of the appendages appear to be similar over the entire body, but later the appendages become spaced farther apart in the trunk and extremi- ties than they are in the head. The relative numbers of hair follicles to sweat ducts, however, vary from region to region even in the foetus, and hairs are relatively more abundant in the head. It is assumed, therefore, that hair follicles do not increase in number after they have been formed in the fcetus, and that their relative numbers appreciably decrease.

COSMETICS IN INDIA,: A Brief Guide for the Student and the Intending Manufacturer By SETHUMADHAVA, M.Sc. (Tech.)., Dip. Soap. Tech.* THE MANUFACTURE and use of cosmetics and perfumes in India are by no means of recent origin their beginnings may, in fact, be traced far back into the mists of remote antiquity. Turning the pages of history, we find refer- ences to the liberal use of various cosmetics and perfumes by kings, courtiers and commoners as a normal part of their daily routine. Naturally occurring materials were prepared and compounded to give various types of cosmetic preparations, which corresponded in many essential ways to those in use to-day. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between perfumes and cosmetics in ancient India, and the manufacture of these allied aids to beauty may usually be regarded as one overall process rather than a series of deliberately separated practices. Cosmetic and perfume receptacles of many kinds have been discovered in some of the oldest excavations of Mohenj adaro and other Indian archaeo- logical sites. Very lucid descriptions of these and the art of beauty culture of ancient India have been recorded in the early works of our celebrated poets, scholars, dramatists and historians. Even to-day, we find many people in India, using, as a matter of routine, judicious blends of some of the naturally occurring materials which bear closer resemblance to ancient Indian cosmetics than to those of the present day. A very interesting account of the art and science of cosmetics in the Gupta Age and in the time of the poets Kalidasa and B•na have been made available to us by Sadgopal. • A detailed study of these old writings reveals that some cosmetic preparation or other was used at every stage of human activity from the cradle to the grave. FOR THE BATH Prior to bathing, men, women and children used to massage their bodies with several pastes (creams) and tissue oils to render the skin (particularly the limbs and face) soft and supple. Sandalwood was used for the prepara- tion of several of these pastes, which were called Anulepana, Angaraga, etc., and several beneficial oils (tissue oils) were prepared from such fruits as ingudi, manatsila and harilata. During the bath, in addition to using scented waters like rose, geranium, etc., a soap-like preparation called Phenaka was also employed. Several medicinal herbs were commonly soaked in advance in the water intended for the bath. * Burmah Shell, Bangalore. 5O