Purchased items were inspected for physical appearance; all were neat and un-tampered with. A visual check revealed that there was no separation of phases in the case of creams or emul- sions nor was there any sedimentation or discoloration in the case of shampoos or the other products. Only five out of 16 shampoo preparations disclosed the type of preservative used in their formulation. Three manufacturers indicated that their products were preserved with cocamidopropyl betaine (a foaming ampho- teric surfactant and not a preservative) and the other two were preserved with isothiazolinones. All other preparations in the various product categories either indicated use of parabens or did not specify the name of the preservative.