2004 ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC SEMINAR 491 pigments will be our main focus while the more durable inorganic pigments will be briefly touched upon. The need to identify pigments as chemical species in a cosmetic formulation becomes evident as emphasis will be given to the structural aspects of these pigments. The relationship between the pigment structures, their stabilities and other properties will be highlighted. The other pigment properties that affect the cosmetic formulations will also be discussed along with their restrictions in use. The latter part of this discussion will point out certain common color improving techniques available today. Today's cosmetic formulators can take advantage of these varied and improved color systems to enhance productivity and process efficiency. The various color enhancing techniques in general improves tinctorial strength, consistency, dispersibility, gloss, and the likes. This presentation is an attempt to capture some of the salient features of cosmetic colorants which would aid beginner formulating chemists to use such colorants or color systems in an efficient way in cosmetic and toiletry formulations.

492 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE UPDATE ON THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF COMMON CAUSES OF ALOPECIA AND POTENTIAL INTERACTION OF HAIR COSMETICS Elise A. Olsen, M.D. Duke University Medical Center Alopecia is a very common problem, affecting at least 50% of the US population by age 50. The spectrum includes those with barely discernable hair loss to those with near total baldness and may be of hereditary, hormonal, or infectious etiology, self induced, or related to underlying medical problems or medications. The problem is particularly vexing in women in whom the differential diagnosis for the alopecia is broad. This is also the very population who, with the concomitant use of certain hair products, may either aggravate the underlying condition or initiate a new confounding problem. The most common type of hair loss is hereditary --male pattern hair loss (MPHL)--occurring in almost 50% of men by age 50. This condition is androgen related, proven initially by Hamilton through the observation of hair loss in eunuchs only after testosterone supplementation. The specific change in the hair is a decrease in the diameter of the hair, the amount of hair in anagen, and the duration of anagen along with a prolongation of ketogen, the lag phase after ejection of the telogen hair and before anagen. The specific importance of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) was noted through the absence of MPHL in adult males with the genetic condition of 5 alpha reductase deficiency in which testosterone is unable to be metabolized to DHT and by the hair regrmvth demonstrated in about 2/3 of men ages 18-41 who were treated with finasteride, a 5 alpha reductase blocker. Why the other 1/3 of men with MPHL did not respond to finasteride is uncertain: the answer could be in the incomplete suppression of DHT with finasteride (which suppresses the serum and scalp levels of DIrT by about 2/3), the amount of 5 alpha reductase in an individual's affected scalp, the amount of androgen receptor in ma individual's affected scalp, or the amount of fibrosis in the affected scalp and hence irreversibility of the hair loss. Inflammation is also seen histologically in MPHL and how this effects the hair loss and whether this inflammation should. be a therapeutic target is unknown. These are important questions that need to be answered to fully understand MPHL. We do know that one can stimulate hair grmvth without affecting the amount of DHT present in the scalp. Topical minoxidil 5% applied twice daily is able to lead to discernable hair growth in 58% of men with MPHL at one year. This hair growth is maximum at about 4 months but still persistent at one year and later. It is thought that minoxidil, a calcium channel opener, encourages hair growth by the promotion of anagen and increasing the duration of anagen. Topical minoxidil is delivered in a vehicle of alcohol and propylene glycol which can be irritating, especially to those with underlying atopic dermatitis or seborrheic dermatitis. To use this agent effectively, patients must make sure that concurrent hair care products do not dry the scalp or are inherently irritating themselves. Although MPHL is the most common type of hair loss, the most common causes of hair loss for which patients seek medical attention are (in order of patient volume, not severity) female pattern hair loss, alopecia areata, telogen effluvium and cicatricial alopecia. These conditions can be clinically separated by the pattern of hair loss the number, location and type of hair removed by hair pull examination, microscopic examination of the distal ends of hairs collected from the hair pull, and scalp biopsy. Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) has t•vo main times of onset-- post-puberty to early 3 ra decade and early 5 • decade through menopause--and 3 possible patterns of hair loss, all involving the central scalp. Clinically there may be diffuse hair loss over the entire top of the scalp (Ludwig), frontal accentuation (Olsen) or male pattern of loss (Hamilton). The male pattern of hair loss (rare)