ABSTRACT
What is biotechnology and how do we define and understand it in a way that is
relevant to personal care? The historical definition would be the use of living
organisms and their products to solve life’s basic problems, such as food,
shelter, health, security, and happiness. Making beer and cheese (1), for
example, is a biotechnology application more than 4000 years old that used bac-
teria and their enzymes to ferment milk and grain into higher value foods.
Personal care (2) applications are also thought to have originated more than
4000 years ago, in Egypt, when such plant extracts as henna and indigo were
used as makeup to paint faces, hair, and bodies, and animal and vegetable fats
and beeswax were used for skin creams and coverings.
