Hello curly and welcome to the BY SELINA plastic free curly community!
I am Selina, the creator, founder and formulator behind BY SELINA. There are two things I am extremely passionate about in this world and that is great quality curly products and girls & women in science.
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.
The BY SELINA Story
The idea of producing curly hair products was born in 2010 after I had severely damaged my hair with excessive heat styling and bleaching. My hair was extremely fragile, and every intensive conditioning product on the market was laden with silicones and did absolutely nothing to help restore my curls. At the same time, I was also working in a formulation lab creating cosmetics. It was here that I learnt the art of formulation science and knew that there was a better way to care for curls. It wasn’t until nearly 10 years later, in late 2018 when BY SELINA was born.
BY SELINA officially started after my first curly hair appointment with the Curl Consultant Claire in Exeter, Devon. During my appointment with Claire I discussed my technical background, my nearly 10 year old dream of starting my own curly hair product line as well as my ongoing frustration with the limited availability of curly products on the market. During that appointment Claire gave me the encouragement to go home and bring my dream to life. Claire also introduced me to Sarah, the BlewBelle Cornwall Curl Specialist – both women have been incredible in supporting my dream and sharing valuable knowledge on the frustration facing curlies and wavies alike. I have incorporated this knowledge into my lines to ensure I create products you will love.
