Amika’s Dr. Cicely Shillingford on Her Beauty Chemistry Profession

Virtually 10 years in the past, Cicely Shillingford skipped her morning lab to attend a neighborhood commerce present, and her life modified perpetually. As a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry at New York College, she had been considering her future and contemplating beauty chemistry when a colleague invited her to the New York Society of Beauty Chemists Ingredient Commerce Present. For the primary time, Shillingford felt out of her depth, immersed within the nuances of the wonder provide chain—information she could not achieve from her Ph.D. program. Reasonably than retreating, she embraced this newfound curiosity, igniting her ardour for the complicated world of magnificence. “I had no thought how even to ask the appropriate questions or begin the dialog, however I simply dove in,” she recalled. “That was a turning level for me.”

At the moment, Shillingford is the director of product improvement on the award-winning haircare model Amika, the place she leads the creation of formulations that maintain tempo with client tendencies whereas making certain high quality, security, and efficacy. Past her work at Amika, she has devoted herself to mentoring college students and younger professionals from underrepresented backgrounds, particularly ladies of shade.

Hold studying to find how Shillingford navigates the intersection of science and creativity in product improvement, helps the rising pattern of “skinification” in haircare, and advocates for inclusivity and mentorship within the magnificence trade.

You have had a powerful journey from structural biochemistry to product improvement and wonder. How did attending the commerce present spark your curiosity in beauty chemistry?

“That day was momentous for me. As a tutorial, I might been so targeted on deep dives into particular topics that I usually forgot how the remainder of the world works. On the commerce present, I discovered myself asking naive inquiries to ingredient suppliers about being in magnificence and tips on how to get began. After that, I continued my self-education alongside my Ph.D. analysis. Tutorial analysis is one factor, however understanding the wonder provide chain and making use of your information is not one thing you be taught in a Ph.D. program. That have was a turning level for me. My life has been a sequence of alternatives given to me by mentors and recommendation I’ve taken. In order that was a kind of moments. I want I might identified earlier that I may receives a commission to make lipstick.”

In your function at Amika, you create merchandise that affect individuals’s on a regular basis magnificence routines. What does magnificence imply to you, each personally and professionally?

“I used to be fairly a tomboy rising up. As a baby, I might placed on make-up for dance after which go play soccer on the weekends. A second that made me assume critically about magnificence was at a cheerleading camp in South Texas. It was the most popular weekend ever, and considered one of my teammates was doing a full face of make-up earlier than the ultimate day of performances. I requested, ‘Why hassle?’ She stated, ‘After I look good, I really feel good, and after I really feel good, I carry out higher.’ That caught with me. If you look good, you’re feeling good; whenever you really feel good, you do good. As a cheerleader, placing on make-up helped me step right into a persona and carry out higher. I by no means felt like the standard, lovely child, however as I grew older and realized extra about magnificence, it helped me re-establish my sense of self, confidence, and objective. That is when it clicked that magnificence, confidence, and sense of self are interconnected.” 

The intersection of science and wonder is a captivating house. How do you steadiness the technical elements of product improvement with the wonder trade’s inventive and consumer-driven wants?

“At Amika, we work intently with our product advertising and marketing workforce to construct ideas that fill portfolio gaps, align with tendencies, and meet varied standards. The product workforce’s job—advertising and marketing and improvement—is to co-create the claims and advantages and outline the patron wants. In terms of beauty merchandise, altering the appear and feel of pores and skin or hair addresses an underlying physiological purpose tied to a client ache level.”

“As a scientist, I contemplate what applied sciences, substances, or molecules assist that purpose. For instance, if the difficulty is flat hair and the patron needs quantity, I first contemplate the physiological trigger—is it thinning, getting older, stress, genetics, or extra oil on the scalp? As soon as I perceive the trigger, I search for options via chemistry, whether or not it is molecules that create texture or static on the root to make the hair strands repel one another and create quantity.”

“Formulation is like baking a cake. It isn’t simply mixing substances however reworking them into one thing new, the place science, client wants, and wonder mix collectively. Due to that, there’s a whole lot of artwork and creativity in chemistry.”

What are some rising tendencies in haircare that you simply’re enthusiastic about?

“I am positive some beauty chemists will roll their eyes after I say this, however I am genuinely excited concerning the ‘skinification’ of hair. Hair has many attention-grabbing properties, and there are numerous objectives to realize. The variety is immense, particularly for Black and Indigenous ladies of shade, the place the types are infinite. Watching skinification transfer into styling is thrilling, focusing not simply on self-expression but in addition on hair well being and getting older. We have accepted preventative skincare to keep away from wrinkles, however customers have not linked that getting older additionally occurs on the scalp and within the hair. This shift in mindset may open a big marketplace for well-aging hair merchandise.”

“There are additionally thrilling developments in sustainability. Particularly, at Amika, now we have an thrilling partnership with a regenerative agriculture firm referred to as Forested, based mostly in Ethiopia. Pushed by Jamie Richards, our director of ESG (Atmosphere Social Governance), this partnership goals to combine their substances into our provide chain, primarily shea butter for now. By being regenerative, they make sure the land stays wholesome for future crop improvement and employees in these communities are correctly compensated. It is uncommon for companies of our measurement to have such funding, and I am proud to be a part of this initiative.”

Amika’s model is all about inclusivity and group. How do these values align along with your private {and professional} mission in product improvement?

“I like that Amika means good friend [in the Esperanto language]. A giant a part of Amika’s success, particularly being primary at Sephora for nearly a yr now, is the ‘All Right here’ marketing campaign. Amika has all the time lived these values of being a good friend to all, and that message of inclusivity and group is embedded in our whole tradition. Now we have 11 or 12 collections now for each hair sort and purpose. It’s important that after we say a product is for a selected hair sort, we validate that in a scientific setting. We take a look at merchandise completely to make sure our advertising and marketing aligns with our testing in order that we serve our clients successfully. I not too long ago began a Curly Coily committee at Amika, main a roundtable of girls with sort 3A to 4C hair, predominantly sort 4. We talk about product improvement, take a look at merchandise, and combine insights all through our product improvement life cycle and go-to-market campaigns to make sure inclusivity in each a part of our new improvement. I am excited to see how this group evolves and the way we are able to convey all voices to the desk deliberately.”

Throughout your time at NYU, you performed a pivotal function in growing the illustration of Black Ph.D. students in chemistry. How have mentorship and advocacy formed your profession, and the way do you see this affect taking part in out within the magnificence trade?

“Advocating for Black ladies in STEM has all the time been a big a part of my tutorial life. After I began grad college and realized I used to be the one Black individual within the chemistry division—and could be till I graduated—I knew that wasn’t okay. I labored laborious to recruit 4 new Black college students into this system, which concerned touring, mentoring college students one-on-one, reviewing purposes, and serving to with scholarship purposes. I drafted petitions in June 2020 to remove the GRE, which we efficiently did. It is a take a look at that traditionally exhibits underrepresented minorities do worse on it. Inclusivity is one thing I’ve all the time felt referred to as to advocate for. I see myself as a product of serendipitous alternative, luck, nice mentorship, supportive mother and father, and a ardour for science.”

“I am lucky to proceed this work at Amika, the place now we have an energetic DEI committee. This yr, I have been fortunate to take a seat on the donations committee to assist the model donate 1% of our income to varied organizations throughout key cultural moments. Some organizations we have supported embody Black Ladies for Wellness, which advocates for well being fairness for Black ladies, and Kinds for Children, which helps trans adoptive mother and father learn to take care of the hair of Black and brown kids. Moreover, our ‘Rooted in Progress’ mentorship program supplies scholarships predominantly to Black feminine founders of hair firms to enhance fairness within the hair trade.”

What recommendation would you give to younger ladies, particularly ladies of shade, who’re considering pursuing a profession in STEM throughout the magnificence trade?

“In case you’re considering magnificence and academia, a Ph.D. is a good path. There are packages for beauty science in america and globally, with extra popping up. The perfect-known ones are on the College of Toledo and the College of Cincinnati. Many do not notice which you could receives a commission to pursue a Ph.D. within the U.S. with a stipend, making it extra accessible for first-generation or immigrant college students for whom increased schooling alternatives won’t be as accessible.”

“One thing influential for me in grad college was becoming a member of the Chemist Membership, a 160-year-old group in New York that connects college students with chemical trade careers. Whereas it is much less beauty-focused, I realized tips on how to join with professionals and be an excellent chief. I even launched a convention sequence via that group and packed a room with 200 professionals three years in a row, together with the CEO of Dow Chemical and senior expertise individuals from L’Oréal. There are lots of packages and occasions for publicity, too. There are lots of packages on Eventbrite—you simply need to be resourceful sufficient to search out them. The New York Society of Beauty Chemists and the Nationwide Society for Beauty Chemists are organizations each pupil considering beauty chemistry ought to be part of. You will make nice connections, they usually have nice conferences with pupil reductions.”

“Be gritty and attain out to individuals prepared to speak. I get many LinkedIn messages and attempt to reply to those who resonate with me. I am all the time completely satisfied for individuals to contact me for steerage as a result of transitioning into this trade as a scientist will be robust. Be curious, ask questions, and be taught as a lot as you may. Do not hesitate to achieve out—you by no means know whose door would possibly open for those who knock.”