The Eco Well podcast

This was a myth-busting episode, featuring a conversation with Dr. Michelle Wong from Lab Muffin Beauty Science. We covered some of the misconceptions on skin absorption of products, what was reported on the latest FDA sunscreen study vs what the study actually said, misconceptions on the environmental impacts of sunscreens, including the inorganic ones (re- zinc oxide and titanium dioxide), and how this has impacted regulations, silicones, parabens, and so much more.

In this episode, I featured a conversation with Belinda Carli from the Institute of Personal Care Sciences (IPCS). This episode dove into a basic cosmetic science 101. Looking to get your toes wet and learn some formulating fundamentals? This podcast is for you.

Who better to kick off season 3 than Deanna Utroske, editor at Cosmetics Design. The conversation - ‘Making it as an Indie Beauty Brand, Top 5 Tips.’ If you’re thinking about launching a brand, are already running one or are just interested in learning more about the process, I think you’ll find this episode helpful.

In this episode, I spoke with Shahin Kalantari, professor at Seneca College, brand founder and formulation chemist - his specialty is in certified organic cosmetics. This episode focused on the nitty gritty details required for launching an organic certified product, including certification possibilities and their differences, steps from concept to development, regulations and lots more.

In this episode, I spoke with Karen Gilbert, a UK based perfumery trainer and author of the book ‘Perfume – The Art & Craft of Fragrance’. In our conversation, we talked about Karen’s career journey to where she is today, the relationship between the cosmetic and fragrance sector, and why smell is important in personal care. We also took a bit of a dive into the nitty gritties of perfumery, from fragrance families, accords, aroma chemicals, sustainability and so much more.

In this episode, I spoke with Laura Markley, PhD student studying the impacts of plastics on the environment and human health, as well as founder of Waste-Free PhD. In our conversation, we talked about her research on microplastics and estrogenic compounds released from plastics, how this all relates to your cosmetic products, sustainability in cosmetics, suggestions for brands and consumers to do things better, misinformation, and so much more.

For this episode, I spoke with Paige Degarmo, a young cosmetic chemist based in the USA. Because cosmetic chemistry is such a niche, it’s not generally a career path presented as an option while in school. With Paige pretty fresh in her career and progressing quickly, I thought she would be the perfect person to talk about this - the path to a career in cosmetic sciences. I hope this podcast will be helpful to any of you aspiring to work in the field, and maybe, hopefully, even interesting if your not.

This past April I moderated this panel on the topic of sustainability, featuring Dr. Rene Van Acker, Dean of the OAC at the University of Guelph, Truzaar Dordi, financial sustainability PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Brian Doucet, Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Social Inclusion in the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo, and Dr. Stacey Danckert, co-Director of WREN (Waterloo Region Environment Network). We broke down this topic. What does sustainability really mean?

In this episode, I spoke with Dr Mojgan Moddaresio, Cosmetics Safety assessor and Cosmetic compliance expert at Personal Care Regulatory. In our conversation, we talked about how ingredients are assessed, taking into consideration scientific data, human exposure and concentrations in products, how percentage limitations for formulators are set for ingredients, and international product safety.

In this episode, I spoke with Laure-Anne Gillon, active ingredient expert at SEPPIC. This interview was focussed on the topic of her presentation at the latest Ontario SCC event - How Algae Benefits the Skin. We talked about algae in skincare, research into skin benefits, how algae may be a sustainable ingredient into the future, how biotech can improve it - both from a sustainability and efficacy front, and lots more.

This episode featured a panel I moderated for the Food System Roundtable of the Waterloo Region - a discussion about waste reduction in our local food systems. While the conversation was focused on waste in food, there’s so much crossover for cosmetic products. Included in the conversation was Thompson Tran of The Wooden Boat Food Company, Ellin Park of Zero Waste Bulk, Tara McKenna of The Zero Waste Collective blog and Kathleen Barsoum of Region of Waterloo Waste Management.

In this episode, I spoke with Belinda Carli from the Institute of Personal Care Sciences in an HLB 101 to help make formulating easier. HLB, or hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, of the ingredients you incorporate into your emulsions play a role in their end feel and function, but why? In our conversation, Belinda broke down HLB, how it relates to different emulsion types and why (e.g. oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsions), and steps you can take to use this concept to improve your skills as a formulator.

In this episode, I spoke with Katerina Stetz and Sam Farmer, two brand owners and fellow personal care podcasters, their podcast is called Farmer & Stetz. Our conversation was focused on misinformation in the cosmetics space, where it’s coming from, ‘green’ and ‘clean’ beauty, steps moving forward, and lots more.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard some of the hype regarding a recent study on sunscreen that was released last week in JAMA. In response to all of this, I decided to reach out to Dr. Brian Diffey from Newcastle University - a prolific sun care researcher. In our conversation, we talked about how sun protection works, SPF, UVA & UVB rays, the current understanding regarding environmental and health impacts, and of course, what this recent study actually said and take-homes from these results.

In this episode, I spoke with Benjamin Schwartz from AAK about oil chemistry for cosmetics. Oils are such an important component of cosmetic product formulations, with so many intricacies with respect to best usage. Which fat will be best for your formula and why? How can we use fat chemistry to predict stability? What are some important details to think about to avoid having a greasy feeling product? Disclaimer alert, this podcast is a bit more on the technical side.