Episode 24: Gina Cosby Interview
Interview begins at 11:20
Interview - Gina Cosby
Gina Cosby is a Technical Services scientist currently working for Rhodia. She has focused primarily on the formulation of surfactant and conditioner blends, esters for skin care and creating other sample formulations for the personal care and cosmetic industry. Gina received her BS in Chemistry from Purdue University and was also the winner of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists Young Scientist award in 2006.
You can connect with Gina on LinkedIn
Cosmetic industry stories
Age old remedies of White Tea, Witch Hazel and Rose could be the next anti-aging treatments.
Cosmetic Science
Forces against Innovation and how to solve them
1. Current formula already work
Solution — Challenge yourself to come up with completely new formula types that would never be launched. For example, an all oil-based shampoo. A spray-on skin lotion.
2. Regulatory environment
Solution — First, don’t ask your regulatory people whether you should investigate an ingredient. They’ll say “no”. Investigate then ask for forgiveness later. Most of the stuff you look at won’t be special anyway. But if you do find something special, prove the benefit of your new formula. If you can prove something you have created is truly revolutionary, your company will find a way to get your regulatory people to discover “loopholes” to allow use of a raw material.
3. Hard to understand
Solution — Create prototypes that so obviously show the benefit of your claims that people automatically understand.
4. Push cost savings
Solution - Use cost savings exercises like a knock-out experiment to make formula changes that you normally wouldn’t consider. These could lead to some completely different formula types. For example, what would a skin moisturizer that was completely water-based look like?
5. Things that work are drugs
Solution - Look to the coatings industry for some new product ideas. Cosmetic films have been under investigated and could lead to some non-drug solutions.
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Chemists Corner is a podcast about cosmetic science and is broadcast to help educate, entertain, and inspire current and future cosmetic scientists. The information and opinions discussed on Chemists Corner are those of the hosts and the guests alone. They do not necessarily reflect those of any past, present or future employers.
