Obituary: Robert Goldemberg, Cosmetic Chemist

Posted: October 15, 2008

Courtesy of The Record.

Robert Goldemberg, a cosmetic chemist who preached the beauty benefits of egg yolk, olive oil, yogurt, honey and other kitchen ingredients, died Oct. 1 at an assisted living center in Ohio.

He was 83 and had Alzheimer's disease.

A native of Hasbrouck Heights and a Princeton graduate, Mr. Goldemberg worked for the cosmetic houses Coty, Shulton and Lanvin-Charles of the Ritz, as well as for Van Dyk and Co., which supplied raw materials to cosmetic makers.

While running a consultancy called Rakuma Laboratories, he received two patents for an oral rinse designed to loosen plaque. The invention was called Plax; it is now a product of McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a unit of Johnson & Johnson.

"Dad was a constant thinker," said his son, David, of Sonora, Calif.