Purely Cosmetic: Aisha Dar Shines in 79th Cosmetic Chemist Showcase

The Society of Cosmetic Chemists' (SCC) 79th Annual Scientific Meeting and Showcase in New York City this past December brought together a range of people involved in the cosmetics industry. Over two days, attendees got to experience cutting-edge insights, presentations and breakout sessions. The event also featured a showcase in which students got to present original research relevant to cosmetic science to attendees and potential employers.

When the dust settled, Aisha Dar, a PhD candidate in Stony Brook's Department of Chemistry, rose above more than 125 fellow researchers and was awarded first place with research focusing on the rheology and structure of nanocomposite hydrogels. Entrants were judged by the society's Committee on Scientific Affairs.

"Winning first place, honestly I was not expecting that at all," said Dar. "I just wanted to interact with people and present my work. I was shocked. But it was really nice to get first place."

Dar presented research on laponite, a synthetic, layered silicate clay that forms clear gels in water. Laponite is used as a modifier, thickener and stabilizer in cosmetics,

"I was presenting the interaction of a clay and a polymer complex, and seeing how adding parabens [synthetic preservatives] affected the gel activity of that complex," she said. "I saw in my research a decrease in the gelation temperature of my system, meaning my materials showed a nine-degree decrease in temperature. That's useful in cosmetics for things such as cold creams or cold eye masks that need to be held at colder temperatures."

Dar described her experience presenting at SCC as an "amazing opportunity."

"The industry is full of one amazing idea after another," she said. "I just wanted to experience that and talk to people."

There she had an opportunity to speak to other student exhibitors as well as established companies.

"I got to talk about their products and see if there was anything similar to what I was doing. You can compare notes. Even as a student it was fun to talk about it and see what was going on."

Dar said her road to chemistry began when she was a high school student in Woodside, Queens.

"I had an amazing chemistry teacher," she said. "His name was Mr. Yanek, and he would teach chemistry with such passion. It was his obsession. Watching him teach really made me interested in chemistry. So when I went to college, I already knew I wanted to do something in the sciences, and probably chemistry."

Which she did, attending New York University and earning a master's in chemistry in 2022. During her studies, she had a chance to do chemistry research and electrochemistry.

"I was slowly being exposed to cosmetic chemistry," she said. "When I talked to Professor Surita Bhatia [Department of Chemistry], my advisor and PI, about my interest in cosmetics, she gave me this project, and that really catapulted me into this world. There's so much in this industry. There are opportunities I didn't even know existed. Professor Bhatia was the key in launching my interest."

When it came time to pursue her PhD, Dar said she chose Stony Brook because of both the program and its proximity to her family.

"Stony Brook is a great school, well-known for its sciences and academics," she said. "It was a very clear and easy choice for me."

The quality-of-life Stony Brook offered made that choice even easier; Dar's husband is a resident physician at Mather Hospital in nearby Port Jefferson, offering both an opportunity to have a normal domestic life as they both pursue their careers and studies.

Looking ahead, Dar hopes to one day work in cosmetics chemistry.

"I would love to work on developing new products in skincare, makeup, or anything like that," she said. "This experience with SCC showed me what an amazing community this is."

- Robert Emproto