564 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS For 125 years fungi have been known to produce disease in man and animals (4). Before 1930 many fungus diseases were infectants in a small region of the country, but after 1930 an important cause for the spreading of fungus diseases as well as other diseases was the migration of people from one area to another. Some of the reasons for this great migration were economic depression and the great drought that occurred in the Midwest during the 1930's. The Second World War also caused a great deal of moving, both of industries and of the employees of the industrial plants. The fungi of most concern are the keratinophilic fungi. These fungi are best known because of their relationship to certain dermatomycoses such as athlete's foot and ringworm of the scalp. These fungi are strongly keratinolytic and degrade keratin by an enzyme system (4). This enzyme system is not fully understood, and successful tests of keratin in vivo are difficult. The keratinophilic fungi of the Gymnoascaceae have been studied extensively. Members of this family include Trichophyton mentagro- phytes, Microsporum gypscum, and Microsporum audouini. There is little doubt that the infections caused by the keratinophilic fungi are spread from infected to healthy persons by either direct or indirect transfer of arthrospores or keratin that contains the fungus. The need for knowledge of the microorganisms of the scalp and of their role in dandruff is of great importance to the manufacturers of hair preparations, such as medicated shampoos, hair rinses, and hair dressings. These types of products have been marketed by many companies in recent years. Their value is often questionable and al- most always incomplete because of the lack of information about the effectiveness of the product against the organisms that are found on the scalp. It is the purpose of this study to investigate the connection, if any, of the molds found on the scalp with the presence of dandruff. EXPERIMENTAL A group of 100 l•ersons was studied. It consisted of members of the senior and third-year classes at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy between September, 1963, and June, 1964, of members of the faculty, and of people taken at random from outside this College. Twelve of the subjects were females. The subjects were not considered to have any abnormal scalp condition. They ranged in age from 17 to 66 years. The material used in this study is known as "scurf." A scurf sam- ple was obtained from each subject by having each person scratch his

HUMAN SCALP AS HABITAT FOR MOLDS 36,5 scalp with his fingernails and by allowing some scurf to fall upon a culture medium. Each subject selected the area of scalp of his choice. It was assumed that a representative sample from all parts of the scalp was obtained. IDENTIFICATION OF MOLDS Culture Technique The culture medium used for the primary isolation was Sabouraud dextrose agar (Difco pH 5.6). To prevent the growth of yeasts and bacteria, neomycin (3 mg/ml) and nystatin (5 units/ml) were added to this medium. Primary isolations were made in Petri plates having a diameter of ,•)0 mm. Subsequently subcultures were made in smaller Petri plates (diameter 45 mm). These subcultures were grown on Sabouraud anti- biotic agar, except for the molds of the genus Penicillium, which were grown on Czapek dox agar (Difco pH 7.3). All mold subcultures were grown from ten to fourteen days in the dark at 25 øC. The cultural characteristics most useful in identification were the following: 1. Colony Growth: The rapidity of growth and the size of the colony at maturity is important. 2. Colony Surface.' The colony surface could be velvety, floccose (wooly), funiculose ,or fasciculate. Ridges and furrows oriented in a radiating or concentric manner demarcated the colony into well-defined zones (zonate). 3. Colony l•argin.' The colony margin could be undulating or entire. 4. Colony Color: The chromogenicity of the aerial parts, including hyphae, conidiophores, and conidia, was observed. Sometimes the medium surrounding the colony became colored by soluble pigments, which was an important consideration. 5. Spores: The degree of sporulation and the spore color were important in designating species. (•. t•xudates.' Droplets of liquid appearing on the surface of the colony were often seen. These droplets varied in number, clarity, and pigmentation. 7. Odor: The odors produced by molds varied considerably and were characteristic.