An interactive and curated event to dive into the science of hair care. A full-day e-conference scheduled for Sept 24, 8 am-4 pm ET.

Replay is now live!

 A common critique of industry events is that they are either too expensive for attendees, close their eyes to misinformation, are geographically exclusive, or all of the above. We put this event together to demonstrate how accessibility makes a difference. Our attempt to democratize accurate information for the cosmetics industry. Interested in supporting our free e-conference initiative? Please share!

Summit Schedule

8:25 am ET: Conference Introduction Jen Novakovich

8:30-9:10 am ET: Hair Care Misconceptions - Heleen Kibbelaar Ph.D. @sciencemeetscosmetics

9:10-9:50 am ET: Hair Structure 101, What it all means - Trefor Evans Ph.D. from TRI Princeton

9:50-10:30 am ET: Textured Curly Hair - Crystal Porter Ph.D. from Mane Insights

10:30-10:40 am ET: 10 minute break

10:40-11:20 am ET: An Overview of Scalp Care - Jeni Thomas Ph.D. from P&G Beauty.

11:20-12 pm ET: Formulation Concepts for Hair Care - Barbara Bernardi from Clariant

12-12:20 pm ET: Heat & Color Protection - Sponsored Fireside Chat with Jennifer Marsh Ph.D. from P&G Beauty.

12:20-1 pm ET: Lunch Break

1-1:40 pm ET: Hair Coloring - Valerie George @cosmetic_chemist

1:40-2:20 pm ET: A Silicone Alternative Update - Mike Fevola Ph.D. from Inolex

2:20-3 pm ET: The Future of Hair Health - Molecular Repair Technology - Meagan Schlapp from K18

3-4 pm ET: Closing Panel - Challenges and Opportunities for the Hair Care Sector. Featuing Crystal Porter Ph.D., Trefor Evans Ph.D., and Heleen Kibbelaar Ph.D. Moderated by Jen Novakovich.

Speaker Bios

Heleen Kibbelaar PhD is a cosmetic scientist and science communicator behind the platform @sciencemeetscosmetics. Through her scicomm work, she explains the science behind cosmetic products, mainly via Instagram posts. She earned a BSc in chemistry from the University of Amsterdam, MSc in nanomaterial science from Utrecht University and PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Amsterdam, focussing on complex fluid systems. During her academic career, Heleen internships at L’Oréal and Unilever. 

Dr. Trefor Evans has worked in the hair care industry for over 30 years. The first 16 of these were spent as a scientist and manager in the product development labs of large consumer good companies (Helene Curtis, Unilever). Since joining TRI, he has held the positions Director of Measurement Services and Director of Research and now possesses the title Institute Fellow. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati and is Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Cosmetic Science. Dr. Evans is highly active in the hair care industry through many working relationships with companies of all shape, size, and background. He is a regular presenter at International Hair Conferences and has been an invited speaker at many technical meetings and symposia worldwide. For the past decade, he has also served as Chairman for the International Conference on Applied Hair Science. He has published numerous articles in the scientific literature and trade magazines and is co-author and co-editor of the book “Practical Modern Hair Science”. He holds seven patents in the area of hair care and his research work has been awarded by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists on three separate occasions. Dr Evans regularly teaches and facilitates training classes on the topics of hair science and hair product claims which have been held in the US, Europe and Asia. He also teaches a customizable 1-man, 1-day course that has been conducted on-site at numerous client companies. He guest-lectures on Hair Science and the Hair Care Industry for a variety of academic cosmetic programs and has instructed at various educational events organized by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists.

Valerie George is a cosmetic chemist, hair and hair color expert, science communicator, educator, leader, and avid proponent of transparency in the beauty industry. She most recently worked on the latest research in hair color and hair care as Executive Vice President at a leading salon professional brand. Today, she formulates for and lends expertise to brands at Simply Formulas. She is a two-time past chair of the California Chapter of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, past chair of the Committee on Scientific Affairs for the National Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and a recipient of the California Chapter Merit Award for her services to the Society. Valerie is also the co-host of The Beauty Brains podcast.

Mike Fevola PhD is Vice President of R&D and Product Stewardship at Inolex, a designer of sustainable ingredients based on green chemistry.  Previously, Mike was a Research Director & Fellow in Global Beauty R&D at Johnson & Johnson Consumer, responsible for upstream innovation in Cleansing, Sun Care, and Body Care. Mike holds a Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Delaware. He is an inventor on 38 US Patents and a coauthor of 20+ peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Mike also serves as Chair of the Personal Care Products Council’s International Nomenclature Committee. 

Meagan Schlapp is a cosmetic chemist, product developer, and lead science educator for the Research + Innovation Team at K18 Biomimetic Hairscience. Her 7 years of experience has taken her from formulating products for color cosmetics, skincare, and hair care in the lab, to communicating complex science topics and technologies through down-to-earth education. Continuing her passion for accessible skin and hair science, she champions dispelling misinformation and propelling the next era of radical breakthroughs with K18.

Crystal E. Porter PhD is a hair scientist and owner of Mane Insights, Inc., where she conducts research studying the hair and scalp of people of African descent. Dr. Porter is passionate about debunking myths and empowering others to properly care for their hair. As a former cosmetic scientist with Unilever and L’Oréal, USA, Dr. Porter was able to conduct research and study the biophysical characteristics of hair in pigmented populations. Not only has she studied, but also contributed to the scientific community by authoring scientific papers, book chapters and delivering presentations regarding ethnic hair. Dr. Porter earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Chicago State University and her Doctorate degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Physical Polymer Chemistry. Armed with extensive knowledge and experience, she has created a patented process that helps professionals understand their client’s hair so that they can provide customized hair care solutions. In addition to her professional work, Dr. Porter’s personal passion is educating and mentoring underrepresented youth about STEM opportunities. Part of her work with the Chicago State University Center for STEM Education and Research allows her to use her talents and training to expose students to culturally relevant research; helping them understand how STEM impacts their everyday lives. Dr. Porter is a wife and mother of two daughters. For fun, she loves jumping rope in the 40+ Double Dutch Club and working out at the gym.

Barbara Bernardi is an Application Chemist at the Clariant Consumer Care Innovation Center for North America, based in New Jersey. Since entering the personal care industry, Barbara has gained experience in formulation development and claims substantiation for both hair and skin care. She holds a master’s degree in Physical Chemistry from the Federal University of Sao Carlos (Brazil) in which she developed research studies to design a biodegradable wound dressing. This is Barbara’s first speaking engagement, and she is excited to discuss hair care formulation principles.

Jennifer Marsh PhD has been working with P&G for 27 years in a variety of roles including consumer research, product development and technology development.  Most of her early career was spent working as a technologist in hair color during which time she developed new damage technologies for our Clairol Nice N Easy Brand and a new oxidant system launched in 2008 as Nice N Easy Perfect 10.  Jennifer moved from the UK to Cincinnati in 2007 and joined the Beauty Technology Division working on hair color and hair care technologies including new actives for Pantene and our other hair care brands. She is passionate about building fundamental technical models and translating these insights into new technologies and technical product stories. Jennifer has published ~ 45 papers in the area of hair structure science and hair color and presented work at many external conferences.

Jeni Thomas, Ph.D. is the Senior Director & Principal Scientist at P&G Hair. Jeni has been studying hair and scalp science for more than 17 years. Her fascination with hair began at age 13 when her once straight hair mysteriously turned curly. More than a decade later and after completing her Ph.D. studies in Analytical Chemistry, she turned her scientific curiosity to the world of hair. She learned that her teenage hair mystery could be explained, yet many other unanswered hair and scalp questions remained. Jeni’s work at P&G Beauty has included research and partnerships with experts around the world to deepen our scientific and consumer understanding across all topics related to hair and scalp health. Throughout her career, Jeni has designed studies to answer common hair & scalp questions (e.g. does rinsing your hair in cold water really give you better shine?), published research on a range of hair & scalp topics, and co-founded a new brand focused on improving scalp condition to improve hair retention. She now leads P&G Hair’s Global Scientific Communication and Education programs to provide women and men with the information they are seeking for their best hair and scalp results. 

Thank you to our event sponsors for helping us keep the Hair Science E-Summit free and accessible to anyone!

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