A dozen studies update professionals in the cosmetic industry, and related industries such as detergents, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and latex paint on the current knowledge and practice in polymer science, based on the notion that those industries have not been keeping up with the latest. Among the topics are elements of polymer science, fundamentals of polymer adsorption, interactions between polymers and surfactants in applied systems, polysaccharide-based polymers in cosmetics, silicones, proteins, measuring and interpreting polycation adsorption, the adsorptivity of charged and uncharged cellulose ethers, and evaluation methods for conditioned hair. A 100-page appendix provides brief information on all the polymers used in the cosmetics industry. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)