In the online beauty community, new techniques, products and fads appear almost as quickly as they disappear. Whether it is sea moss, bee pollen, vitamin C serum, natural sunscreen or any of the many other self care recommendations that have appeared online, it can be confusing to tell which products are safe and effective to use. A speaker event hosted by the Cosmetic Chemist Society of UCI (CCS) in Natural Sciences II aimed to combat beauty and self care misinformation in the social media space on Jan. 15.
In front of a patiently waiting line of club members stood a quaint coffee cart with a vintage copper espresso machine and two professional baristas crafting stylish drinks — some of which were dusted with a cocoa design reading “SCC x UCI.” The 33 attendees enjoyed coffee and matcha beverages provided by Cappuccino Man and Ike’s Sandwiches covered by their $10 entry fee or club membership as they listened to the presentation.
The featured speaker, Ava Perkins, is a cosmetic chemist and online content creator whose work aims to “bridge the gap between industry knowledge and consumer understanding in the cosmetic space.” Perkins is currently the Chair of the NextGen Advisory Committee for the nationally recognized Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC), which supports CSS in their quarterly speaker events.
According to the Hollywood Institute, cosmetic chemistry “is the science behind the development and formulation of cosmetic products,” and combines knowledge from many fields — including chemistry, biology, physics and medicine. Cosmetic chemists utilize their knowledge of these subjects as they aim to produce healthy beauty and self care products.
“[A cosmetic chemist is] someone who formulates these products, someone who puts a care into these products and who I like to think of it as like, if you give them the label they know what’s in there,” CCS PR Manager Brigette Villamin told New University. “It’s not just like a foreign language on the back of a shampoo. It’s like someone who really has that expertise and then also someone who’s worked in the industry.”
Misinformation surrounding quality self care ingredients is prevalent on social media and can prevent consumers from accessing beneficial products. According to Perkins’ presentation, social media users, emotionally charged clickbait headlines and cosmetic companies are partially to blame for this.
Perkins partially attributed the increase in misinformation as a contributor to the rise of online content from cosmetic chemists addressing misinformation with accurate information. Yet, Perkins said a difficulty is generating legitimate discourse online about different types of ingredients because ensuring consumers understand ingredients’ effects requires work on both sides of the screen.
Despite this, the SCC believes in the importance of providing all beauty and self care product users with well-researched information they need to make informed decisions about their own health. Speaking events such as this one, allow professionals to connect with the next generation of cosmetic chemists and inspire them to pursue the same mission.
“It’s kind of combining what we’ve been forced to learn in class and in applying it to something that really interests us,” Villamin told New University. “We all had to take organic chemistry but never did I think it was interesting till I realized, ‘Oh, that’s what makes my hair softer.’”
UCI Biology student and attendee Autumn Vang said the presentation revealed new career opportunities that she hadn’t considered before.
“Because [most people in biology] pursue the premed route, so I was like … I don’t know [that] I [didn’t have to do premed] coming up with this club and I was like, oh that’s really cool, yeah,” Vang told New University.
In addition to speaker events, CCS hosts formulation events where members can develop cosmetic products, such as lip gloss and hair treatments through hands-on opportunities. The club aims to provide members with a wealth of knowledge and networking opportunities in marketing, advertising, management and more.
“If you’re curious, if you like skincare, it’s not as technical as you think it would be. There are obviously sometimes that you’ll see a [chemical] structure on the board, but we do have anything in cosmetics,” Villamin said. “We try to touch on sales for marketing from how a product is made, but also from formulations.”
Anteaters can find more information about the Cosmetic Chemist Society on their Instagram account and website.
Annia Pallares zur Nieden is a Features Intern for the 2025 winter quarter. She can be reached at anniap@uci.edu.
Edited by Kaelyn Kwon and Annabelle Aguirre.