54 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS from the top and filtered. Needless to say, the oil used must be fresh and low in free fatty acids, etc. The danger of the oil becoming charred always accompanies the process. In the cold maceration process, the crushed herbs are freed from unwanted portions and allowed to remain in the purified oil for several days with constant stirring. When the oil has absorbed the active principles of the medicinal herbs, as will be evident from the colour and odour of the treated oil, it is filtered, dried and bottled. The product obtained is of very high quality, and is correspondingly expensive. In the water extraction process, the active principles of the herbs are first extracted by boiling them with water and the extract further boiled with the oil base. This process does not seem to be very effective, as many of the constituents which would have been easily taken up by the oil may not be fully compatible with water. Further, the oil will be in direct contact with Water, traces of which, if left in the oil, invite problems of rancidtry. The only advantage of this process is that it is a hot maceration process without the risk of charring. The modified enfleurage process, as practised in India, is based on the fact that fresh sesame seed kernel has a very good a•nity for the volatile constituents of flowers and leaves. Bags of sesame seeds are soaked in water for about two to three hours, by which time the husk becomes loosened. The bags are then removed from water and gently rubbed by hand, when all the husk separates. The bags are then emptied into large tubs of water. The light husks which float are removed by skimming and the heavier seed kernels are thoroughly dried in the sun. The seeds thus treated form the base for absorbing the odorous constituents of flowers. Only fresh flowers are selected for the process. A thin layer of seeds is spread over a clean sur- face and over it is spread a layer of fresh flowers. A man sits at one corner of the room and skilfully throws the seeds and flowers in alternate layers on the ground in such a way that the layers are very uniform in thickness. After all the flowers are covered up like this, the whole set-up is left undis- turbed for a good twenty-four hours, when most of the essential oil from the flowers will have been transferred to the seed kernels. The residual flowers are then separated by sifting and the seeds treated over again w•ith a fresh batch of flowers. (The used flowers, which have not lost their entire content of essential oil, are used to pre-treat fresh seeds before the latter are charged with fresh flowers.) When enough of the essential oil has been absorbed by the seeds--a stage which the operator knows by experience-- the seeds are dried in the sun to remove traces of moisture and stored in bags. They are crushed as and when required and the freshly crushed oil has the fine, delicate odour of the natural flower, with a background of the warm sesame oil note. The chances of rancidtry developing in the dry seeds

COSMETICS IN INDIA 55 is very remote. This oil is used as such or after blending with other suitable perfumes. Excellent hair oils may be so obtained. As regards perfumed hair offs, there has for a long while been some prejudice against their use. It has been the general belief that the constant use of perfumed hair oils leads to premature greying of the hair and also baldness! Many people will not use them, even very occasionally. The very term "hair oil" is taken to mean perfumed oils, as distinct from "pure oils," and quite frequently one can hear people saying, "Don't use hair offs, but use pure oils." All these baseless fears are fast disappearing now, however, and perfumed hair oils and other hairdressing preparations, such as brilliantines and hair creams, are becoming increasingly popular. COSMETIC POWDERS Next in importance and popularity to vanishing creams and hairdressing preparations in India are cosmetic powders. They are being used in India without any discretion, and it is rather unfortunate that, in most cases, it is not the quality of the product but its selling price that is the guiding factor. It may be said here that this is not a universal statement, but it definitely applies to a major part of the existing market. Increasing the percentage of indigenous talc reduces the selling price of the product materially, but the disadvantages of any such increase beyond certain limits are obvious. An average Indian goes in for a cheap product and uses it for all p•poses during all seasons of the year. Many people do not bother even to use an ordinary base like a vanishing cream, and, during the "winter" season, it is not uncommon to find rather dark-complexioned people smearing a layer of talcum powder of measurable thickness on the bare facial skin and moving about with glistening faces. This, in many cases, is overdone, even to the extent of developing a sharp contrast between the face and the immediately adjoining portions of the neck and the ears! It is only very recently that people are coming to know the proper use of the different cosmetic powders. Properly advertised face powders are now beginning to educate the public in the more skilful application of this important cosmetic. ANJANA: HOME-MADE EYE-SHADOW Eye cosmetics have also been widely used in India for a very long time, but more because of the "medicinal" properties claimed for them than for their decorative effects. Different types have, of course, been used in different countries. In Ancient Egypt, for example, a preparation called "kohl," corresponding to the present-day mascara, was once used extensively. Such preparations appear to have been based on lampblack, blacklead, and several metallic oxides and ochres as pigments, with vegetable oils as