Top 10 Reasons to Become a Cosmetic Chemist

If you’re like me, you went through college and focused on learning & passing some of the toughest courses they had to offer. You didn’t give much thought to what you would be doing once you left college.

Well, I was fortunate enough to stumble into the cosmetic industry. Certainly, there were other fields that need good scientists, but the cosmetic industry has a number of benefits that make it one of the best places for a scientist to work. The brain trust here at Chemists Corner pondered what we think is the best part of this job and came up with the following list.

Why Become a Cosmetic Chemist

You get to practically apply what you learned in chemistry — While most of what you learned in college won’t be applicable; the skills you developed in Organic lab will be incredibly helpful. As a cosmetic chemist you will spend some of your time actually applying your knowledge & not just working on theoretical problems.

You love science and can express your creativity - Cosmetic science is as much an art as it is a science. You have to sharpen your creative skills to come up with new product ideas, new formulating approaches, and new ways to solve unique manufacturing problems.

You get to be an inventor - Painters paint, sculptures sculpt, writers write and cosmetic chemists invent. Your “art” takes the form of a beauty product that is uniquely yours. If you’re good, you may develop a patentable invention or better yet, something that people the world over recognize and love.

You get to make people happy - Consumers love their beauty products. It makes them feel better about themselves. You, as a cosmetic chemist, are responsible for this happiness. Chemistry majors who ended up in the oil industry aren’t so lucky.

You don’t have to work with dangerous chemicals - The compounds used by a cosmetic chemist have to be gentle enough for consumer exposure. So, you won’t have to work with the kind of nasty chemicals that people in the pharmaceutical, oil, and sanitizer industries have to use. Cosmetic chemicals are (mostly) harmless.

You are respected as the smartest people in your company - While you might not be the best paid workers at your company, you’ll certainly be looked at as the smartest. The business majors know how complicated chemistry can be and they respect people who know about it. Being respected for your brain is nice.

You can make a difference in people’s lives - Cosmetic chemists help solve people’s problems in direct ways. Your work can literally change someone’s life. How cool is that?

You get to create formulas - As a cosmetic chemist you get to learn how to make any beauty product and really any kind of formula you want. You can then create nearly anything you want. This gives you a sense of power and satisfaction.

You get free product - I haven’t paid for hair care products since 1992. Why? Because I’m always trying my own products or evaluating a competitor’s. This is a great perk of the cosmetic chemist’s world.

It’s fun! - Being a cosmetic chemist is a relatively low-stress job, with steady hours, that is just fun. There is enough science to keep it interesting and enough problems that still need to be solved. It is a great job to have.

Are you a cosmetic chemist already? What do you like about your job? Leave a comment below.