I have been fortunate enough in my career to work in a whole range of labs, everything from academic research at Exeter University (where I gained my PhD in molecular microbiology) to cosmetic formulation labs, Government labs and even water and food testing labs too. Although science is an academic subject, I absolutely love the creative side of science. I am very much an ideas person and I love asking questions and then setting about a way to answer those questions. It’s one of the things I love about creating curly hair products, starting with a curly problem and developing a product or answer to solve it.
It is important for me to share with you my passion for science and let you know that I created the BY SELINA formulations. The reason for this is because when we listen to beauty brands talking about how they created their products, often, the founders will say that they met with a chemist who created their products. They then go on to refer to the chemist as “he”. I believe that together we need to change this narrative to include female scientists. Thereby demonstrating to girls and women that science is very much a place for them. As women we are not just here to create pretty pictures and stand in front of a camera lens, we are also here to do the thinking, the making and the creating.
Did you know that in the UK the percentage of women making up the STEM workforce is just 22%! I hope this statistic is demonstration enough as to why we need encourage girls and women into science and ensure that we are better represented in STEM roles.