LS4 THE VALUE OF HAIR COSMETICS AND PHARMACEUTICALS

Trüeb R.M. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Switzerland

A hair cosmetic product is a preparation intended for placing in contact with the hair and scalp, with the purpose of cleaning, promoting attractiveness, altering appearance, and/or protecting them in order to keep them in good condition. Shampooing is the most common form of cosmetic hair treatment. While shampoos have primarily been products aimed at cleansing the hair and scalp, the diversity of qualities demanded from a shampoo by today’s consumer go well beyond this function. The shampoo formulation is tailored to the variations associated with hair quality, hair care habit, and specific problems relating to the superficial condition of the scalp. With the rapid evolution of cosmetology to sophisticated research involving multiple scientific disciplines, products have evolved that are becoming more similar to topical therapeutic agents. The problem of distinguishing cosmetics from pharmaceuticals has become critical, inasmuch as various active substances tend to be added to cosmetics following the trend in the cosmetic industry towards developing pharmaceutically active compounds, and vice versa in the pharmaceutical industry towards cosmetically oriented medicinal products as part of a current “wellness” ideology. Our standard graduate training programs devote limited attention to the subject of hair cosmetics, and much of the readily available information is supplied by the industry. We should be increasingly aware that our patients look to us to supply independent information on what can be expected from a hair cosmetic or pharmaceutical, respectively, to enalbe them to make more informed choices on the consumer level.