J. Soc. Cosmet. Chem. 26 497-508 (1975) ¸ 1975 Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain The promise and the product J. B. WILKINSON* The 1975 Medal Lecture delivered before the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain on 6th March 1975 with Miss A. Young, President, in the Chair. Synopsis---The responsibility of the cosmetic scientist to the public at large is reinforced by LEGAL codes requiring a product to match its promise to the CONSUMER. The discipline of Evaluation Science has grown to meet the need and now covers an increasingly scientific field of physical PERFORMANCE criteria examples are discussed. The influence of emotional satisfactions must, however, be given adequate weight and the interactions of product per- formances in the emotional and physical fields provide a great challenge to cosmetic scientists the problems are discussed. THE THEORY OF EVALUATION Research moves under two pervasive influences: the scientific urge to know and the pressure, or suction, from the environment in which the research worker lives and breathes. History provides so many examples of glorious resonance of the science and the need, the man and the hour, that it seems curious to question the hypothesis. Yet science put to the benefit of the public-at-large is seen by some scientistsqand perhaps by some of the public--as a prostitution. And the scientist of this persuasion, forced by harsh economics to earn his living, thus is ever ill-at-ease. Conversely, how happy the research worker who finds these two in- fluences in phase and who has to do no 'reconciliation'--at least on these matters. This is surely the situation of those who work in one of the most difficult and advanced areas of cosmetic science--that of Evaluation Science. The scientific urge required is certainly multi-disciplinary--perhaps better described as non-disciplinary. The scientists themselves may have started life as physicists, bacteriologists, statisticians or chemists. All these disciplines are needed at times, yet evaluation problems, like all real-life * Research Division, Unilever Limited, Unilever House, London EC4P 4BQ. 497

498 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS problems, do no come carefully labelled 'attention Physics Department' or whatever. The environmental influences are those of the society in which we live. And these find expression through a multitude of channels. Consumerism is not just something which Ralph Nader and 'Which' do outside our lives, we are all consumers and while moodily grumbling about the need to put on the shampoo label the number of cc (or is it ml?), nevertheless we would be the first to complain if the whisky or tomato juice were short measure. In a democratic society, these pressures should be translated into the law of the land--which ultimately rests on consent. And the law, national or supranational, provides another enviromental influence. The corporate company environment in which the evaluation scientist operates is of the utmost importance. The far-reaching consequences of his efforts may be fully understood, vaguely appreciated or even opposed. He may be seen as a philosophic leader or an exploited technician, but in either case he will probably be hard-worked. So one would expect Evaluation Science to have made dramatic ad- vances since the S.C.C. was founded in 1948. And it has. The first general use of the term seems to be around the mid-1950s. But in any case it is a newcomer compared to the disciplines encompassed by the previous Medal Lectures: Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Dermatology and Medicine. Needless to say that this recognition delights me. What is this thing we call Evaluation Science ? Essentially it is a measure- ment science, but within boundaries very different from those of metrology. It subsumes not only measurement of physical parameters and chemical analysis but also physiological and even psychological quantification it makes great call on statistics not just as a science but as a philosophy. It operates in a dual atmosphere of science and marketing, needing a degree of understanding of that complex animal, the consumer, which far out- reaches that of many other scientific research workers--and probably that of many marketing managers. It needs an understanding, always inadequate, of the emotional content of product judgments. Not in order that this con- tent can be disregarded, but so that it can be given proper weight when this is due. Indeed the judgment of the user is the alpha and the omega of research in our field. At the beginning of the research cycle it indicates the needs and desires of the user. At the end of the cycle it shows how far the techno- logical development has satisfied these needs and desires and provides the basis for so informing the user through advertising.