JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS The second important climatic and weather factor that has to be taken into consideration is the temperature, which similar to light, influences the sebum secretion. We now know, especially after the experiments of Sulzberger et al •2, that sweat and sebum secretions are parallel. Hot weather will cause, through increase in sweat secretion, a better fattening of the skin. For this reason the dry skin of the ichthyotic gets worse in the cold season and there is a greater tendency to illness in respect of ichthyotic eczema. The dry ichthythiotic skin becomes even dryer with increasing age and after baths, as our own experiments have revealed. It is necessary to fatten the skin regularly, especially after baths. For skin care in such cases we recom- mend ointments containing glycerine, wheatgerm oil preparations or oint- ments containing vitamins A and E, as well as fatty acids and finally reversible emulsions based on hostaphates. In the glycerine ointments and creams, the water retaining properties of the glycerine (and of the glycols) are effective, while the wheat germ oil and vitamin ointments protect the lipid covering from the fatty side and favourably influence regeneration, particularly of aged skin. A hostaphate reversible emulsion has, in our experience, been effective in the care of dry skin as well as in cases of industrial dermatosis. The primary W/O emulsion is rubbed on to the skin and subsequently washed off lightly with water. At that stage the O/W emulsion is formed, and a sufficiency of fat remains combined with a large amount of water. As a weak acid buffer system adapted to the skin is present, it is probably that a certain functional regeneration of the skin takes place during this process. For prophylaxis, but even more for therapy, Hebra's salicylic diachylon ointment can be used: Salicylic acid 2.5 Emplastr. lithargyr. 15.0 Nipagin 0.1 Adip. suill. ad 50.0 Sabalitschka •a suggests that octadecylgallate (0.01) can be used to replace Nipagin (0' 1). The application of the various ointments mentioned above should not be omitted particularly after bathing. Not for nothing do biblical as well as classical traditions associate washing with anointing, to which Gottron • repeatedly draws attention. According to experiments by Jacobi •5 as well as by Schneider and Schuleit •6, the substances of the fatty layer which stimulate moistening, are extracted not only by alcohol but also by water. This process causes not only primary water loss but also affects the lipid content, so that a dry fat deficient skin which is prone to cracking results. At times water is shunned by ichthyotics since bathing actually causes pain and burning. The extraction of the components which stimulate moistening

CARE OF THE SKIN, WITH REFERENCE TO CLIMATE AND SEASON of the skin surface thus leads finally to loss of the natural defensive mech- anism of the fat and acid layers of the skin. Our own experiments revealed that in all people, the skin is less capable of moistening after bathing than before, and also that the dry skin of the ichthyotic is less capable of moisten- ing than the greasy skin of the seborrheitic. Pure ceratin is relatively water repellent and is only made capable of being moistened by the moisture- stimulating components of the fatty layers. Apart from bathing, farting should be carried out in the cold seasons as often as is necessary to maintain a soft and smooth skin, that is to say from twice to six times weekly. It is clear that even the healthy person needs to use more fat for skin care in winter than in summer. In any case the lips, which like the hands, crack easily, should be greased from time to time. In the place of lipsticks and lip colourings, which usually contain solvents, lip pomades containing grease are to be preferred. A particular concern of skin care during the winter is the problem of chapped hands. Gaul and Underwood • attribute the incidence of dry cracked skin to changes in atmospheric pressure as well as temperature and humidity. According to our experience, chapped hands are met with particularly at the beginning of the winter, when temperature and humidity change relatively quickly. At the same time the two authors • find dry cracked skin occurring between November and January. In this connection perhaps glycerine can be considered again. Pure glycerine, on account of its water repellent properties, dries the skin and thus increases its prone- ness to cracking. Water saturated glycerine on the other hand, serves to maintain a certain film of dampness on the skin. One can, therefore, approve the old custom of rubbing slightly damp hands with glycerine after washing. For this purpose glycerine and wheat germ oil ointments, as well as the reversible emulsions already referred to can be recommended. With Hebra's diachylon ointment, one can generally clear up chapped hands in every instance. Gaul and Underwood • consider the humidity of the air, outside as well as indoors, as one of the most important factors in skin care and therapy, for the maintenance of a smooth and soft skin. We can agree with this in as far as we have repeatedly observed dry cracked skins also eczema craquel•e, in Augsburg after the persons concerned had moved from the damper climate of the German or Dutch North Sea coast to our drier climate. Gaul and Underwood • make similar observations about people who return from the tropics to the drier areas of America. Skin cleansing and care is of decisive importance in view of the seasonal and climatic dependence of the mycoses. Thus epidermophytosis is not only one of the most prevalent diseases during the hot season in our latitudes, but as "ringworm" altogether the most prevalent disease of the tropics. While