TOWARD A UNITED NATIONS OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS * By S. J. STRIANSE, Preqident I• THE year 1945, the American cosmetic chemists took a great step forward when they formed the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. The twelve alert and far-sighted founders of •his Society had one common objective, and that was to increase the professional stature of the cosmetic chemist through technical advances and dissemination of the Scientific information so fundamental to the growth of this industry. In the twelve years that have passed since that historic conception in 1945, the cosmetic chemists, through this Society, have made tremendous strides. Let us review very briefly some of these accomplishments: 1. The Society has been built into an organisation of more than 600 members, taking in chemists from almost all of the major companies in the industry. 2. We have published regularly a journal whose material is abstracted in scientific publications, kept in important technical libraries, reprinted widely, and referred to in all serious work. 3. We have held meetings and seminars at which major papers have been presented, not only by chemists but by dermatologists, physicists, and other scientists. 4. We have sponsored special awards and medals through which out- standing workers have been honoured. Three years ago a Briton, William Poucher, received the U.S. Society's most distinguished honour, the Medal Award. 5. We have, in short, gained recognition for the cosmetic chemist as a man of science, who takes his place in the world of science. 6. Shortly after the Society in the U.S., the British Society of Cosmetic Chemists came into being. Its membership (some 300 in all) comes not only from the United Kingdom but from the far reaches of the Commonwealth. It, too, publishes a journal, which all of you and many others read. The Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists is the only scientific publication published by two independent societies, with consecutive pagination, in two different countries--a most distinguished venture in international relations in itself. These are all real accomplishments. I am sure we all agree that the cosmetic chemist has gone far along the road of co-operation and progress. * Presented on November 12th and 20th, 1957, respectively, in Chicago and New York. 64

TOWARD A UNITED NATIONS OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS 65 During the course of the past year, this growth of the Society continued, but manifested itself in a new and broader direction. Early in the year we (U.S.) honoured two British scientists for their work in gas chromatography by presenting to them the Society's Special Award. This Was another step into the international scope of fundamental science. Then in July and August came the outstanding event of the year 1957. The first international meetings of cosmetic chemists were held, in paris, Geneva and London. It was during the meeting in Paris that the proposal was made by the French towards the formation of an International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists. It is this International Federation and all its implications. that is the real subject of my discussion. What we do in this area will undoubtedly have far-reaching effects on the future world status of our Society and of cosmetic chemists. Therefore, it i• indeed importapt that we all give this proposal considerable thought. To put this entire questi9n into proper focus, let us go back to July 29th, 1957, in Paris wher e a meeting was called by the Soci•t• Fran•aise de Cosm•- tologie for the purpose of considering the formation of an International Federation of Societies of Cosmetology. Now get the name, Societies of Cosmetology ! You know as well as I that cosmetology has an unscientific connotation in this country. Actually it encompasses beauty treatment and the practices of the beautician. The Continental. European will tell you that cosmetology means the science of cosmetic chemistry nevertheless, we should be opposed to being identified a•s c0smetologists. We will have more to say about this later. The following countries were represented at this meeting: France, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Czechoslovakia and the United States. Mr. M. G. deNavarre and I represented the U.S., while Mr. J. Pickthall and Mr. F. Riley represented the British Society of Cosmetic Chemists. The early proceedings of this meeting revealed that some of the foreign societies had mixed memberships, including hairdressers and beauticians in with their chemists. Dr. Rovesti, of the Italian Society .of Cosmetology, said they had beauticians am.ong their members, and claimed that his society must remain faithful to their beautician members. The Belgians claimed similar mixed membership, and one felt that some of the French and Swiss had a similar problem. Please note that the Swiss members present at this meeting did not represent the group we are now sponsoring as fhe Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Switzerland. This very problem was further manifested by a proposal that CIDESCO, a society of chemists, beauticians, estheticiennes and other people engaged in the practice of beauty treatment as distinct