Cosmetics and Personal Care Products within the Medicine and Science Collections

The collection of cosmetics and personal care products at the National Museum of American History currently includes more than 2,200 items that date mostly from the mid-19th century to the present day. The collection represents a wide range of products designed to cleanse, soothe, heal, protect and decorate the body: skin and hair care, soap and cleansers, oral hygiene, feminine hygiene, razors, makeup, and perfumes.nanobiztech  Collectively, these products represent an important record of American health care practices, changes in beauty and cultural norms, and the growth and changes in the American pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry.techbizcenter.

Explore the collections through sections related to specific hygiene or cosmetic applications. Note that many products will be presented in multiple sections reflecting their many uses. You can also use Keyword Search (on the right), which searches all fields of information.globalmarketingbusiness An additional Gallery and Exploration section is included for viewers who would like additional information by directing them to relevant Smithsonian collections. In the section "Bibliography" published materials on the topic are registered.technologywebdesign.

This site will continue to grow as additional collections are acquired and new interpretative sections are added. Individual records will also be supplemented with additional information about the history, production, and use of the product. allinonetechs

What is the Relationship between Medicine and Beauty Products. 

American pharmacists traditionally sell pharmaceuticals as well as personal care and beauty products. Aromatic essential oils, dried herbs and extracts were part of the pharmaceutical fund from which medicines were prepared. As a result, perfume became one of the first cosmetic products sold in American pharmacies. As the cosmetics industry expanded beyond perfumery to include cosmetics, hair dyes, razors, and deodorants, personal care products gradually joined perfume on drugstore shelves. answerhop

But this tradition of cosmetics pharmacies also reflects a long-standing belief that health, hygiene and physical beauty are intertwined. Many beauty and personal care suppliers claim that their products not only beautify our bodies but also enhance or protect our health. These claims are so prevalent today that we may not even notice them: hair dye that claims to improve the health of our hair, makeup that claims to improve the health of our skin, cosmetic lotions that claim to "detoxify" our hair. fragrant soap, menthol mouthwash. and floral feminine hygiene products that claim to protect us from bacteria. Beauty and personal care products that are marketed to make us healthier, not just more attractive, can make it difficult to make a clear distinction between cosmetics and drugs.marketingmediaweb.

In 1938, Congress strengthened the link between cosmetics, drugs, and drugs bypassing the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This law gave the FDA some oversight of the cosmetics industry. Congress is today considering the Personal Care Product Safety Act, which will further amend and strengthen the 1938 Act.

About the Collection.

Although the Smithsonian began collecting pharmaceuticals and medicines in the 1880s, the vast majority of its cosmetics and personal care collection has been acquired since the mid-1960s.leadmarketingbusiness In 1964, the Smithsonian Institution also opened a new museum, the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History), significantly expanding the exhibition and storage space, as well as the curatorial staff. During this time, museum curators began work to better document daily health practices and to broaden the presence of the variety of materials that Americans used to protect and improve health and well-being.

Collections grew rapidly from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, when curators procured a variety of products from a variety of individual and family pharmacies, many of which closed and disposed of current and obsolete stocks. These new collections represented a wide range of mass-market health products available in American pharmacies, as well as some products that are used locally or regionally. Particularly rich collections of cosmetics and personal care products were purchased from the G. W. Aimar Drug Company of Charleston, South Carolina; David's Pharmacy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Fourne St. Martinville Pharmacy, Louisiana; Glazer's Pharmacy in Sayre, Pennsylvania; Tupper Pharmacy in Summerville, South Carolina; Reid Pharmacy, Clifton, Illinois; Oaklawn Pharmacy in Cranston, Rhode Island; Sherman Pharmacy, Sherman, New York; and the Georgetown Pharmacy in Washington DC. In addition to the products, the curators collected business documents, promotional materials, and store furniture.tipsfromcomputertechs.

Other important collections come directly from pharmaceutical companies or pharmaceutical manufacturers, including American Cyanamid Company, Dial Corporation, Garfield and Company, Kiehl's Pharmacy, Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals, Procter & Gamble, and Sterling Drug. These acquisitions often accompanied archival collections related to business, production and marketing.

Individual collectors were another important source of materials for this collection. technologycompanians Our largest cosmetic purchase to date has been made by collector Isador Warshaw, who has also amassed a huge collection of promotional and commercial items that is now housed in the Museum's Archives Center. Other collectors who have made significant contributions to this collection include Gary P. and Sandra Baden, Betty S. and Joseph H. Dyal and Richard W. Polly. Collectors' interests often reflect their chosen profession, and significant collections of oral hygiene products have been acquired from dental practitioners: Francis M. Blanton, D.D.S. from White Plains, New York; Roscoe K. Bratten, D.D.S. from Galion, Ohio; and Paul W. Raiser, D.D.S. New York, New York.digitalmarketingtrick.