Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-05-25
Cosmetics Not What They seem-Im-
mense Profits to Dealers.

COsmetics MOI Wnat Iney 5eem-lm-
mense Profits to Dealers.
[Chicago Herald
Cosmetics" was the topic of an inter-
esting paper read by Professor Albert Z.
Ebert, President of the Illinois Board of
Pharmacy, at the annual meeting of the
Woman's Physiological Institute in Chi
cage. The Professor laid out before his
hearers a small drug store stock of cosmet-
les, consisting of a box or a bottle of al
most every noted make, and then proceeded
to tell what they were made of, and what
they actually cost, and what they sold for
at retail, proving that the whole business
was an outrageous swindle as regards price,
to say nothing of palmiag off on a confd-
ing public as an innocent and harmless
lotion or powder, a nostrum made of dan
gerous and hurttul drugs. The component
parts of the most widely known face pow
ders are chalk, starch, magnesia, bismuth
and oxide of zinc, some of them being a
combination of two or more ingredients.
while others, and by long odds the most Of
them, are nothing but French chalk pure
and simple. What the Professor said was
not so much Of a condemnation of the use
OF cosmetics as ii was an explanation of
the swindles praoticed by manufacturers.
There are 100000 these preparations
he said, "and one firm alone in this city
lists 1000 OF them. Then he read seven
simple formulas and gave the names of a
~half-dozen elements, and said that every
compound sold, under whatever name.
contained nothing he had not named.
This little pot" he said, holding up a
cream, " has at present a wonderful repu-
fafIOn m tha cfraputh of tla ,0a.o4 g
mula, said to have been the secret of a
famous Frenchwoman's beauty. What is
1t? Common zinc oxide ground in equal
parts of water and glycerine and perfumed
with rose. | viii give you the formula"
and he did so. at has a pretty ribbon
about il and sells for 81 80, or SIS a dozen.
What does it cost? Ten cents" Then he
showed the ladies what they were buying
when they purchased another cream of
wide reputation. "You pay 81 80 for it.
1t is a pretty bottle and holds eight
ounces; seven of them are pure water, the
other is calomel. Cost of calomel for a
dozen bottles, 50 cents; cost of bottles, %
cents; filling and corkiLg, 6 cents; total,
66 cents; retail, Sl8."
Magnesia, the Professor stated, is not
nearly so commonly used as is generally
supposed it is too fluffy and lacks adhering
properties. One name for a face powder
is " flake white" and if a lady goes into a
drug store asking for that article she gets
nothing but the ordinary white lead, made
from zinc. In chalk lime is a predominant
ing feature and can not help but be injuri-
Gus to the skin. He produced a box of pop
ular powder that sold at retail atS1 50, and
then said it was nothing but French chalk.
pure and simple, and that one cent would
be an extortionate price for the amount
contained in the box. He was very sar-
castle over the recommendations from
noted chemists and printed on the labels and
over the testimonials from actresses and
singers, and while on this subject ELECTED
a laugh as he mentioned the name of a
w~ell-known and popular downtown clergy
man.
"The danger arising from the use of cos
metics, said the doctor, SIS greatly over
drawn. Face preparations have a legiti-
mate use, and properly used are no more
harmful han perfumes. Zine, when pres
ent in powders, possesses some curative
powers, and bismuth is only slightly iniu-
rious. The principal trouble is the con-
tinued application Of powders and the
stopping up OF Inc caplllarles OF the face.
Most face powders are only zinc, bismuth,
magnesia and chalk. Lead and mercury
seldom enter into them. These are more
frequently found in washes, which get their
only merit from the glycerine or oil in
which the elements are ground. In all of
them there IS no difference except as to
name"
DR.. Ebert has some figures which showed
that $4,000 900 was spent in America
each year for cosmetics, Of which $25,000,-
GOO, was invested in advertising, and that
the remainder, S37. 600. 600. was profit.