160 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS IVth INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON SURFACE ACTIVE SUBSTANCES The Congress will be held in Brussels September 7-12, 1964. The works of the Congress are divided into three sections: Section •1: (subdivided into four groups) under the directorship of Professor Dr. Ing. F. Asinger (Germany): "Chemistry of Surface Active Substances," during which some 50 papers will be presented. Section B: (subdivided into six groups) under the directorship of Pro- fessor Dr. J. Th. Overbeek (Netherlands): "Physics of Surface Active Substances," during which about 150 papers will be presented. Section C: (subdivided into seven groups) under the directorship of Professor C. Paquot (France): "Use of Surface Active Substances," during which some 100 papers will be presented. Readers interested in the Congress may obtain Circular No. 3 and the final registration forms upon application to: General Secretariat of the IVth INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON SURFACE ACTIVE SUBSTANCES 49, Square Marie-I.ouise Brussels 4, Belgium

j. soc. cos. CHEM. 15, 161-172 (1964) SOME EXPERIENCES IN THE SAFETY TESTING OF COSMETICS By M^V.T M. RIEcER, PH.D., and GmDo W. B^TTIsT^, ProD.* Presented September 24, 1963, Seminar, Boston, Mass. ABSTRACT Several problems of safety testing of cosmetics and their influence on clinical studies and on product development are discussed. The value of animal testing is compared with that of safety tests in humans. The discussion emphasizes experiences in the use of eye and patch tests. The use of these techniques for predictive testing and product development is described. Evidence is presented which indicates that safeness of cosmetic products is more reliably established through use of tests on human volunteers. INTRODUCTION Safety of drugs and cosmetics has been the topic of many discussions and the subject of a voluminous amount of literature (cf. e.g., 1, 2). Never- theless, a clear definition of what is actually meant by "safe" is not avail- able. Webster defines safe and safety as "freed from injury or risk... freedom from danger or hazard... incapable of doing harm... trust- worthy." If Webster's standard were used when compounding drugs and cosmeticø, there would be none on the market. It must be realized that it is impossible to devise, conduct and pay for tests which will guarantee that a product is absolutely safe. This fact has been undoubtedly recognized by Commissioner G. P. Larrick of the F.D.A., who is quoted by Irving H. Jurow (3) as stating, "No drug is absolutely 100% safe." In the case of a drug, an element of potential hazard to the patient is always present. However, the decision whether the drug should be used is made on the basis of necessity. As Schneiderman (2) has stated only a year ago, "Some side effects from a drug or a product can be tolerated if the drug is a lifesaving drug. However, less or fewer side effects can be tolerated if the drug is less important." A similar balance of the advan- tages of a particular product rs. its potential risks might well be applied to all consumer products. Where does this method of reasoning place * Warner-Lambert Rcsearch Institute, Morris Plains, N.J. 161