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

56 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS binders and vehicles. These preparations were used because of their decora- tive effect. But the practice in India has been quite different. All these preparations reached a stage of high development very early, and there are among the older formulae many which are still successfully being used. Every Indian home knows the manufacturing details and the use of these cosmetics, and nobody goes to the market in search of the same. The method of manufacture adopted in Indian homes is, in brief, this: A clean and dry copper plate is smeared with the fresh juice of the flowers (full-blossomed) of Taberna Montana Coronarium (locally called Nandibattalu). The plate is then allowed to dry in the sun before a second layer of the juice is applied to it. As much of the juice as possible is spread on to the plate, which is then finally dried thoroughly. This plate is then inverted over a lighted castor-oil lamp (the juice-smeared side facing the flame), the height being adjusted in such a way that as much of the soot as possible is collected on the plate, at the same time keeping the flame alive. More than one lamp may be used at a time to hasten the process. After sufficient soot has been collected (a fact that one is able to judge by experi- ence) the plate is removed and cooled. All the deposit (including the initial juice layer) is scraped off and well mixed with the requisite quantity of pure and fresh cow's butter, in the cold, and kneaded thoroughly, taking care to see that the soot does not form lumps or ball up during the process. Quite often, a small quantity of borneol and saffron paste is added to it during kneading, to enhance its cooling effect and impart a pleasing odour. In spite of the fact that butter is easily susceptible to rancidity, it has been found that the Indian eye shadows prepared in the above manner remain unspoiled indefinitely. This preparation is commonly known as "anjana," "kadige," "kappu," etc., in different parts of the country. It is said to possess remarkable medicinal properties and to banish all sorts of irritation in the eyes, at the same time producing very pleasing and attractive soft black colour effects. SUMMARY From the foregoing, it will be clear that the use of cosmetics is not new in India, but that people are taking time to switch over from ancient Indian cosmetics to the more modern ones. There is, as I have said, one important factor which every manufacturer of cosmetics has to remember when formu- lating a cosmetic preparation for the Indian market. India, being a tropical country, experiences all types of climates at the same time in different parts of the country, and a product which is well accepted under one type of climatic conditions may not be satisfactory when and where there is a change in the climate. If we go a little deeper into the subject, it should not be very difficult to manufacture products which will be ideally suited for