I was curious about engineering and how it comes into play with cosmetics

Hi Mary Kate:

I’m glad you are interested in learning more about an engineering career.  Actually, yes, there are two engineering majors, (1) chemical engineering and (2) materials science and engineering, whose skill sets are particularly of interest to companies such as L’Oreal, Lancôme, Johnson and Johnson, Procter and Gambol, etc., who make skin care consumer products, including cosmetics. And, indeed, these cosmetics and skin care companies recruit BS graduates from these fields. Cosmetics actually require a lot of underlying science. Here is one example, surface science principles are needed to help understand the surface of the skin and its interaction with light (for, say, foundations that reduce the appearance of lines) and the surface of the skin interacting with liquids that will hydrate or chemical reactions that help treat acne. Fluid dynamics helps us understand how components flow over obstructions, like skin imperfections. So you need to learn some physics, some chemistry, some kinetics and fluid mechanics, and some thermodynamics to understand the most likely phase (solid solution or phase separated, for instance).  With these skills from a materials science or chemical engineering degree, you will be able to go to companies for an internship during your college degree program and set yourself up for a career in cosmetics or skin care.

Good luck.

Paulette Clancy