314 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS and evidence was obtained that it was hydrolyzed by esterases from fungi, serum and skin the hydrolysis rate became vanishingly small as the freed acid created a pH in the region of 4 to 5. Clinical reports and a limited literature on the subject suggest a very low order of toxicity for glycerol triacetate. REFERENCES (1) Ochs, Irving L.,/lrch. Otolaryngol., 52, 1 (1950). (2) Ludwig, F. E., Surgery, 19, 486 (1946). (3) Adkins, H., Royals, H. E., and Wilds, A. L., O•ce of Scientific Research and Development Report No. •t•t19, Dec. 2 (1944). (4) Nicolaides, N., and Wells, George C., •7. Invest. Dermatol., 29, 423 (1957). (5) Rothman, Stephen, "Physiology and Biochemistry of the Skin," 1st edition, Chicago, University of Chicago Press (1954), p. 224. (6) Burack, Adele M., and Knight, S. G., •7- Invest. Dermatol., 30, 197 (1958). (7) Bernstein, Eugene Traugott, and Herrmann, Franz, N.Y. State y. Med., 42, 436 (1942). (8) Li, R. C., Sah, P. P. T., and Anderson, H. H., Proc. $oc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 46, 26 (1941). (9) Cox, W. M., Jr., •7. Biol. Chem., 103, 777 (1933). (10) Rothman, Stephen, op. cit., 38. DRUGS IN COSMETICS--SHOULD THEY MIX? By A. J. LEHM^* Presented February ¾, 1959, New York Chapter DURINO THE PAST thirty or forty years cosmetics have become almost a necessity and are probably no longer considered as a luxury. Synthetic chemistry has aided greatly in popularizing cosmetics, and the demand for incorporating the newer materials into cosmetic products has outstripped research in the fundamentals of skin physiology and related problems in skin pharmacology and toxicology. Claims for the new products frequently have taken them beyond the realm of cosmetics into the category of drugs. The terms "cosmetic" and "drug" as defined in the law are not mutually exclusive. An article may be both a cosmetic and a drug. The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act states that the term "cosmetic" means: (1) arti- cles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleans- ing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any such articles, except that soap is excluded. * Div. Pharmacology, Bureau of Biological and Physical Sciences, Food and Drug Ad- ministration, U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington 25, D.C.

314 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS and evidence was obtained that it was hydrolyzed by esterases from fungi, serum and skin the hydrolysis rate became vanishingly small as the freed acid created a pH in the region of 4 to 5. Clinical reports and a limited literature on the subject suggest a very low order of toxicity for glycerol triacetate. REFERENCES (1) Ochs, Irving L.,/lrch. Otolaryngol., 52, 1 (1950). (2) Ludwig, F. E., Surgery, 19, 486 (1946). (3) Adkins, H., Royals, H. E., and Wilds, A. L., O•ce of Scientific Research and Development Report No. •t•t19, Dec. 2 (1944). (4) Nicolaides, N., and Wells, George C., •7. Invest. Dermatol., 29, 423 (1957). (5) Rothman, Stephen, "Physiology and Biochemistry of the Skin," 1st edition, Chicago, University of Chicago Press (1954), p. 224. (6) Burack, Adele M., and Knight, S. G., •7- Invest. Dermatol., 30, 197 (1958). (7) Bernstein, Eugene Traugott, and Herrmann, Franz, N.Y. State y. Med., 42, 436 (1942). (8) Li, R. C., Sah, P. P. T., and Anderson, H. H., Proc. $oc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 46, 26 (1941). (9) Cox, W. M., Jr., •7. Biol. Chem., 103, 777 (1933). (10) Rothman, Stephen, op. cit., 38. DRUGS IN COSMETICS--SHOULD THEY MIX? By A. J. LEHM^* Presented February ¾, 1959, New York Chapter DURINO THE PAST thirty or forty years cosmetics have become almost a necessity and are probably no longer considered as a luxury. Synthetic chemistry has aided greatly in popularizing cosmetics, and the demand for incorporating the newer materials into cosmetic products has outstripped research in the fundamentals of skin physiology and related problems in skin pharmacology and toxicology. Claims for the new products frequently have taken them beyond the realm of cosmetics into the category of drugs. The terms "cosmetic" and "drug" as defined in the law are not mutually exclusive. An article may be both a cosmetic and a drug. The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act states that the term "cosmetic" means: (1) arti- cles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleans- ing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any such articles, except that soap is excluded. * Div. Pharmacology, Bureau of Biological and Physical Sciences, Food and Drug Ad- ministration, U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington 25, D.C.