A Cosmetic: Any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips, and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view to exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, or changing their appearances and/or correcting body odours and/or protecting them or keeping them in good condition. The legal regulations cover all the products named in this book whether classed as toiletries or cosmetics. The reason for a new edition of Poucher's volume on cosmetics is that during the years that have intervened since the last one there have been important developments, not only in the cosmetic industry but in cosmetic science, which cover the research in maintaining standards of quality in the development and regulation of the marketing of safe, stable products which the consumer can use with confidence. Young chemists using this new volume and benefiting from the information on cosmetic science and facts about the industrial side of marketing cosmetics must wonder who the writer was whose opus is being revised and enlarged for the tenth time.