Blog Post #6, Careers in Chemisty: Cosmetic Chemist

Link to my article: https://learn.org/articles/What_is_a_Cosmetic_Chemist.html

Everyday we use products such as perfume, deodorant, shampoo and hair products. All of these products are not made in any ordinary factory. In fact they are all produced in a factory by people called cosmetic chemist. They are responsible in the making of all of our essential products. I decided to pick this career for my post because I thought it was very different and interesting from many other careers that involve chemistry. For my post you will be looking at what cosmetic chemist do, how chemistry is involved with their job, salary and degrees needed to specialize in this field. A cosmetic chemist is someone that specializes in the production of items such as shampoo and makeup. Their job/responsibility is to create makeup, fragrances and shampoo that is safe and can be applied safely on skin. This is normally done by testing products in a laboratory. So how is chemistry even involved in the production of makeup you ask? Well before makeup is even sent to a factory to be packaged and sent away to sell, it has to be tested in a laboratory. Chemists have to test the chemical reactions of makeup, so how it can affect a person and what chemicals are needed so that shampoo can clean hair or nail polish remover can remove makeup. Solubility is important in the production of shampoo and perfume. Chemical reactions and solubility are two out of the five units we touched in over the course of this unit. We looked at different types of chemical reactions such as synthesis and neutralization and for solubility we looked at how different types of solute can be dissolved in a solvent. The degrees that are needed to be a cosmetic chemist is a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Courses such as chemistry and cosmetic science are very important in order to obtain a job. Optional courses include biology and physics. It is recommended that a PhD should be obtained but it is not required. Having a PhD will help to get a job automatically. In high school courses such as chemistry and biology should be completed. Physics is not required to take. 

 In Canada the average salary for a cosmetic chemist is $78,000. I think that being a cosmetic chemist is such an interesting job. They are responsible for not just the production makeup but also some of the essential everyday items such as shampoo, deodorant and lotion. After reading this article I was very much interested in working as a cosmetic chemist one day. It seems like a very interesting and cool job to test around with chemicals and produce essential items. Do you think that a comedic chemist plays an important role in chemistry? Explain why or why not.