The IFSCC in its 50th year - how cosmetics have changed over the lifetime of the IFSCC and how they might look 50 years from now

IFSCC Magazine, 11 (2008) (4) 333–335. This essay won the 2008 Maison G. de Navarre Young Scientist Prize. Fifty years, a half century, five decades have been fifty interesting years in the cosmetic industry as well as in the IFSCC. On September 8, 1959, the International Federation Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC) was established. At that time only eight countries joined the Federation, but today the IFSCC is the world's largest association of researchers in the field of cosmetics. Forty-five Societies representing 53 countries have met the high standard of scientific and educational qualifications of the IFSCC. The number of individual members in the Federation exceeds 13 000 and is still growing. The IFSCC's first president was Maison G. de Navarre from the USA. Like the incredible growth and expansion of the IFSCC, development of the cosmetic industry has made it the fastest growing industry in the world!