{"id":92480,"date":"2025-05-01T04:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T08:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/?p=92480"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:13:00","slug":"graduating-senior-conducts-breakthrough-research-in-cosmetic-sciences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/05_01_2025\/graduating-senior-conducts-breakthrough-research-in-cosmetic-sciences","title":{"rendered":"Graduating Senior Conducts Breakthrough Research in Cosmetic Sciences"},"content":{"rendered":"

When considering what she would study after graduating high school, Karissa Richards said she was inspired by her everyday routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that I wanted to be in a STEM field, but between the options that were presented to me \u2014 medicine and engineering \u2014 nothing appealed to me the way they did to my friends,\u201d Richards said. \u201cHowever, I have always been interested in personal care products. Within my friend group, it was an everyday thing to discuss the fragrances and other products that I would use.<\/p>\n

\"Graduation

CELEBRATING SUCCESS:<\/strong> UToledo recognizes the Class of 2025 with a series of stories featuring students receiving their degrees at spring commencement<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThat made me think \u2014 someone had to create these products that we use daily and maybe there could be a career in that,\u201d Richards said.<\/p>\n

After researching the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Richards found UToledo\u2019s unique Cosmetic Science and Formulation Design Program<\/a>. From her hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, Richards decided that she had follow her passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving from everything I knew in Jamaica to pursue an education in a field that was unfamiliar to most people around me was not easy,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the moment I discovered cosmetic science, I knew it was what I wanted to study. I could not see myself doing anything else for four years. So, I made the terrifying decision to go completely outside of my comfort zone and pursue my education here. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I have made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her interest in cosmetics led her to get involved in ongoing research being led by Dr. Gabriella Baki, an associate professor of pharmaceutics and director of the undergraduate Cosmetic Science and Formulation Design Program, aimed at improving the appearance of foundations for individuals with darker skin tones.<\/p>\n

\u201cReducing the ashy appearance of foundations when applied to dark skin tones has been an important issue in the cosmetics industry,\u201d Richards said. \u201cThe aim of our project was to use ultramarine blue pigment to create foundations that are more visually appealing and suitable for people with darker skin tones.\u201d<\/p>\n

UToledo researchers first found that incorporating the vivid, deep blue pigment to the traditional mix of red, yellow, black and white colorants allowed for warmer, more lifelike skin tones in powder foundations.<\/p>\n

Richards has helped expand that same concept to stick foundations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was to evaluate and compare the effect of this pigment on the appearance of stick foundations, as opposed to powder foundations,\u201d she said. \u201cThis comparative analysis has been an important part of the project as we are exploring the use of this blue pigment across various product forms including powders, sticks and creams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Outside

Karissa Richards, who will graduate Saturday as valedictorian of the bachelor of science in pharmaceutical sciences class, worked on improving foundations for individuals with darker skin tones.<\/p><\/div>\n

Richards was given the opportunity to present her portion of the team\u2019s findings at several events including the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Symposium, the Midwest Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) Teamworks Event, the Michigan SCC Technical Meeting, the 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Exhibition and the SCC 78th Annual Scientific Meeting and Showcase in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s broader findings also were prominently featured during the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego in March.<\/p>\n

Baki said Richards has been passionate and involved in the research from the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarissa was excited to continue the work we started and branch out into a new project. She took the initiative at developing the foundation stick base with our team and refining the formulation until it met our standards,\u201d Baki said. \u201cThroughout her time with us, Karissa consistently demonstrated responsibility, independence and commitment to learning. It has been a privilege to be part of her academic and research journey and witness her growth over the years as both a scholar and a future professional in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richards will graduate Saturday as valedictorian of the bachelor of science in pharmaceutical sciences class of 2025. After graduation, she will start her career at Proctor & Gamble as a quality assurance manager in the beauty care sector, which includes working with popular brands such as Old Spice and Native.<\/p>\n

She also will be finishing her master\u2019s degree in cosmetic science within the year through UToledo\u2019s fully online graduate program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a huge accomplishment, one that I have not fully processed yet,\u201d Richards said, \u201cbut it is incredibly rewarding to see that my hard work, commitment and dedication over the past four years will culminate into my achievement at graduation, making my graduation that much more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Outside<\/a>

Karissa Richards, who will graduate Saturday as valedictorian of the bachelor of science in pharmaceutical sciences class, worked on improving foundations for individuals with darker skin tones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":914,"featured_media":92481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,581,69,36,1,42,3,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92480"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/914"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92480"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92484,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92480\/revisions\/92484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}