Woman in Science: Elaine Fuchs, PhD

This week in GEMS we tested make-up brushes to determine what type of brush is the best buy based on performance and cost. One of the ways that many of the GEMS girls tested the performance of the brushes was to see which brush type applied eye shadow to their hands the best. Did you know, though, that there is a lot more to make-up design than just picking pretty colors? In fact, cosmetic scientists must consider what type of skin make-up is being applied to so they can create make-up that is safe and non-toxic. This is a lot more difficult than it sounds because skin is actually a very complicated organ with special properties and behaviors.

Dr. Elaine Fuchs does research at the Rockerfeller University to better understand how the special “baby cells,” called stem cells decide what kind of cells to become, such as hair, fingernail, or epidermal (ie skin) cells. She hopes that by gaining a better understanding of how skin develops its unique properties, doctors will be able to understand how this process can go wrong, like when cancer cells begin growing out of control, and how to correct these errors.

You can learn more about Dr. Elaine Fuchs and her research on her website here

You can also learn about some of the requirements all make-up must meet before it can be sold at the FDA regulation website here