Where are we going to find the next generation of cosmetic chemists? I bet that question is not often on your mind, but it might matter – a study published October 10th, 2008, says that girls who are especially gifted in math and science often choose other career paths based on the lack of importance American culture places on math, deficiencies in the public school system, and very few women role models.
According to ScienceDaily, data reflects the fact that top mathematicians in the country are, in fact, foreigners by birth. The US is starting to let other countries fill our needs when it comes to engineers, mathematicians, scientists…and cosmetic chemists. The study shares that both girls and boys in the US find their math and science talents overlooked, or worse, discouraged. Second-generation children of immigrants from a country where math is valued are more likely to have their gifts identified and nurtured.
In younger grades, girls are often as good as or better than boys in their math classes, but upon reaching middle school, they lag behind due to peer demands and society’s attitude. By the time they reach high school, girls with this ability are likely to fall even further behind due to more social expectations and failure of schools to challenge them appropriately.
What we need to do to insure the US the future of things like the Beauty Brains Blog and the chemists that run it is to change our attitude towards math and science now – so that in the future, the brains of beauty will not be lost.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I make my own products too, mainly to avoid things I’m allergic to. I am all for preservatives in theory, but it seems that I’m allergic to some of them. I’m wondering… If I make a waterless product, does it need preservatives? Also, when I order raw ingredients, they are concentrated and they don’t have any preservatives–for example, the surfactant coco-betaine. But I think it has some water in it, because it’s a liquid and it’s water-soluble. If I use several ingredients full strength to make a concentrated shampoo or conditioner, can I get away with not using preservatives? As an example, how about a formula with coconut oil, cetyl alcohol, cyclomethicone, cetrimonium chloride, and amodimethicone, all used full strength. I know that coconut oil won’t last forever, but would this product last at least as long as coconut oil lasts on its own, or would the small amount of water in the ingredients spoil the coconut oil?
You can only make preservative free products if they have little to no water in them. Cetrimonium chloride is not sold at “full strength” but is instead a dilute version of the actual chemical. When you have water, you’ll get microbes growing. There is not really any good reason to take the risk.
That’s good to know. I’m already annoyed enough by red rashes and red eyes from allergies, so the last thing I need is an oozing skin infection. I’ll look for another solution.
But how about the bottle of cetrimonium chloride I bought? Will it be OK for as long as the company says its shelf-life is? Should I keep it in the refrigerator? It doesn’t have any preservatives in it.
Yes, it will be OK for as long as the company says. The Cetrimonium Chloride might have a low enough water activity level that microbes can’t grow. But how do you know it doesn’t have a preservative in it? (They usually do). Refrigerating it will help it last longer.
When we do stability testing, we always include a refrigerated version as a control because these last the longest.
Thanks for explaining all this! It’s kind of hard to get detailed DIY info about making cosmetics.
The reason I thought the cetrimonium chloride didn’t have preservatives is that I just assumed that the company would list the preservative as an ingredient if it had preservatives in it. The only detail the store gives about what’s in this product is: “Our cetrimonium chloride is a 29-30% active solution of cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride”.
so weird in here I dont know what your talking about. . .hahah I really dont have brains, I left it in my room tsk3 but I can solve math equations anytime I want. . .
It’s about the same in Sweden, though not as bad… in Sweden everyone’s becoming an engineer. We have so many with a degree in some kind of engineering it’s crazy, you need an engineering degree just to swipe floors (almost).
Ummm…. who says you have to be a woman to be a cosmetic chemist? Some of the very best cosmetic chemists I know are male, including myself. I was mentored by a male cosmetic chemist who is a consultant to the industry in Riverside, CA. Some of the best cosmetic chemistry courses that I’ve ever taken were presented by men, such as the late Henry Maso. David Steinberg is probably the top man if you want to know anything about cosmetic chemistry preservatives. Ken Klein can give you day long lectures on cosmetic formulas, ingredients, and marketing. I could go on and on. I do however agree that science is becoming a “lost art” in schools all over the U.S. Tell the students they will be designing graphic art software for the latest video game, and you’d probably have a line as long as the school building waiting to get into the class! It was 41 years ago yesterday that we put men on the moon. What have we done since, of that magnitude? All I can say is I am very glad I grew up as a later member of the “baby boomer” generation. I have a strong feeling that history will prove that we were the apex in all things in the U.S., and the decline came rapidly thereafter…
I’m a Molecular biologist from Brazil and here the government does nothing to encourage kids to become scientists since they don’t put money into research. Here if you want an actual job as any kind of scientist, you have to leave the country… so I am trying to go to the US to find a job working with research, since here there aren’t that many!
I do remember as a kid living in the US that I was in advanced math classes, while my american classmates were in regular math classes. All the kids in my advanced class were… FOREIGN, so I guess you are right.
@John – I think the point is that girls still aren’t being encouraged to be scientists, even if they’re good at it, because people still think of it as “a man’s field” – even if the science is about makeup, which is seen as “a woman’s thing.”
It’s sad. You hear people say “Girls can do anything” but in school they’re kind of ignored and pushed into something that’s seen as “more girly.”
I sometimes wonder if teachers ever think years later about how much they messed up the kids they taught.
@Eliana: I’m from Brazil too, and I agree with you to some extent. It’s true that the government doesn’t do much to encourage kids to become scientists, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t great research spots in most public universities, it’s just not a high paying job. Research is well paid in industries (like pharmacy, which is my area), and the only reason there aren’t more spots is because most industries in Brazil are actually american or european and therefore “import” most research.
That said, in Brazil you actually have to be good at every single subject in school if you wanna get in college. And if you wanna get into a good university, you better be darn good at math and science. Unlike in the US (where I’m currently living), where “extra-curricular activities” seem to count more than your actual grades, which I never understood. Also, in Brazil being good at a sport will not get you into college, another thing I don’t understand about the system here.
@Beta – For some reason we Americans tend to be sports obsessed. I don’t know why. I, personally, find sports boring. But we sacrifice our arts classes for sports. Push kids into playing sports even if they don’t want to. Pay sports stars more money then most people can use in 20 lifetimes.
If someone could explain it to me – I still wouldn’t understand.
Thats exactly what the Science Academy of my country has expressed. For the education system, subjects like math, chemistry and physics are less important than used to be (now students take less hours of these). So we cant expect too many scientists to come in the future………..
I would love to be cosmetic chemist but im a biologist sooo interested in the brainy side of beauty.
Betaberry and Eliana got a point, being scientist is not a decent- paying job. I live in Bolivia and we spend more time trying to get funding for our researchs than doing the job itself… and its sooo lame that most of the budgets of these fundings dont even consider scientists salaries, what do they think?? that we live of photosynthesis??. We work hard as in any other profession and shouldnt receive our salaries as charity.
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