2O JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS our problems will be to compare the toxicity of various detergents for the living epidermal cell. As the technical difficulties are considerable, this will keep us busy for the next few years. (Received.' 1st September 1967.) REFERENCES (1) Van der Meiren, L. and Achten, G. Huid en Allergie, dl. IV (1961) (Stenfert KroeseN.V., Leiden). (2) Jacobi, O. Berufsdermatosen 6 35 (1958). (3) Bettley, F. R. Brit. Med. J. 1 1675 (1960). (4) Cooke, M. A. Trans. St. John's Hosp. Dermatol. Soc. 51 7 (1965). (5) Gaul, L. E. and Underwood, G. B. J. Invest. Dermatol. 19 9 (1952). (6) Blank, J. H. J. Invest. Dermatol. 18 433 (1952). (7) Carter, R. O. and Griffith, J. F. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. ? 60 (1965). (8) Suskind, R. P. et al. Arch. Dermatol. 88 117 (1963). (9) Jambor, J. J. J. Invest. Der•natol. 9.4 387 (1955). (10) Kligman, A. B. The Epidermis, Eds. Montagna, W. and Lobitz, W. C. (1964) (Academic Press, New York and London). (11) Szakall, A. Arch. Klin. Exptl. Dermatol. 9.01 331 (1955). (12) Spier, H. W. and Pascher, G. Aktuelle Probleme der Der•natologie I (1959) (Karger, Basel and New York). (13) van Scott, E. J. and Lyon, J. B. J. Invest. Dermatol. 9.1 199 (1953). (14) Draize, J. H. Appraisal qf the safety of chemicals in foods, drugs and cosmetics. 2nd edn. 46 (1965) (Association ooe Food and Drug Officials, U.S.A.) (15) Smeenk, G. and Polano, M. K. Trans. St. John's Hosp. Dermatol. Soc. 51 90 (1965). (16) Blank, J. H. and Gould, J. J. Invest. Der•natol. 87 485 (1961). (17) Vermeer, D. J. H., et al. Dermatologica 189. 305 (1966).

J. Soc. Cosmetic Chemists 19 21-35 (1968) (•) 1968 Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain The importance of product testing in the sphere of product development R. W. ARTINGSTALL* Presented at the Symposium on "Product Testing", organised by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain in Eastbourne, Sussex, on 14th November 1966. Synopsis--Some of the shortcomings of existing research procedures in throwing up viable new or improved products are outlined and some views on the direction in which improvements in product testing may lie are given. Although this paper is concerned with the importance of product testing in the sphere of product development, and my remarks will thus be mainly concerned with product testing, I think it essential at the outset to define what I mean by 'product development'. It seems to me that product development begins with the original conception of a product idea and continues until the eventual withdrawal of the product, whether or not it reaches the market, and perhaps after many years of profitable sales. Within this definition it is concerned firstly with the modification of existing products, and secondly with the search for new products. Because I feel it essential to distinguish between these two, I propose to deal with each of them separately later in this paper. In both instances product development must take account not only of the physical characteristics of the products themselves, but also of the cir- cumstances in which they will be used, for unless the two are fully in harmony problems will inevitably arise. Before dealing with the subject of product development under these , *Beecham Group, Ltd., Brentford, Middlesex. 21