J. Cosrnet. Sci. 1 57, 73-94 Qanuary/February 2006) Papers Presented at the 2005 Annual Scientific Meeting and Technology Showcase (Thursday's Program) December 8-9, 2005 New York Hilton New York, NY 73

74 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE THE CHALLENGES FACING TODAY'S COSMETIC CHEMIST Harvey Gedeon Estee Lauder Companies, 125 Pine/awn Road, Melville, NY 1 J 747 There was a time when the Cosmetic Chemist was expected to be only a good formulator, to have a broad knowledge of biology and lipid chemistry, to understand the HLB requirements of his or her emulsion, and to focus primarily on the aesthetics, stability and safety of his or her formula. Today's chemist is faced with many more challenges: 1. Competition: because of consolidation, the market is dominated by very large companies with large technical resources. In addition, the doctors' brands and increased medical intervention are forcing the cosmetic chemists to develop more and more sophisticated products that provide instant and long term benefits 2. Regulations: the cosmetic chemist must be aware of not only current regulations in various countries but also of new pending rules being discussed in places like California and European Union that will have a tremendous impact on the number and quality of raw materials that will be available to him or her to formulate and maintain his or her competitive advantage. In addition, the cosmetic chemist should pay attention to the various interest groups that are questioning the safety and the very usefulness of his or her products. 3. Globalization: most companies are now competing globally. The cosmetic chemist must appreciate the cultural and ethnic differences that exist around the world in order to compete effectively. No longer is whatever is American accepted all over the world: more and more groups appreciate their distinct ethnicicity and demand products that are relevant to them. In summary: today's cosmetic chemist must have broad scientific knowledge covering not only covering fields as diverse as biology and physiology, but also pharmacognosis and ethnobotany, not to mention genetics and polymer chemistry. The cosmetic chemist must appreciate the politics of interest groups and be prepared to dialogue and answer their concerns, and the cosmetic chemist must be a person of the world, understanding and respecting ethnic and cultural divergences.