Can AI Replace Cosmetic Chemists?
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While most may think Artificial Intelligence (AI) is just hype and their profession cannot be mimicked by it, it’s time to think more broadly! In 2020, big tech giants – Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon collectively acquired over a dozen artificial intelligence startups to enhance existing products and enter new markets. There are many examples of how big tech is making inroads in pharma with an AI-driven intent to simplify (some may even say compete) with the expensive drug development process.
So is the beauty industry next? The thoughts are endless on potential applications but for today, let’s focus on cosmetic chemists – a profession often described as a blend of art and science. While the title reflects a doomsday scenario for cosmetic chemists, it was actually not that scary when a group of beauty industry experts (Lynnette Greber, Ron Robinson, Akshay Talati, Majid Seraj, Brandon Ford, Sudhir Baswan), healthcare experts (Salwa Arafa), and AI/machine learning expert (Rimah Alwakya) discussed this on Clubhouse on Aug 4, 2021.
For starters, what are the responsibilities of a cosmetic chemist?
Simply speaking, cosmetic chemists are accountable for developing new, stable cosmetic formulations which may include new botanicals, synthetic actives, emollients, surfactants, preservatives, and other ingredients to deliver benefits with particular sensory profiles. This includes a lot of “bench work”, stability testing, and iterations based on marketing and consumer testing feedback.
So, what could be the implications of AI on the roles of a cosmetic chemist? Could AI create new product formulas and predict its sensory attributes?
“Predictive algorithms are not new to the cosmetic industry. Some come from very basic chemistry like the HLB equation for predicting oil/water/emulsifier ratios and other tools like CIBA sunscreen simulator (now BASF) debuted a couple of decades ago where you can predict the SPF of a product based on the concentration of actives in the formula,” says Akshay Talati, a beauty expert and cosmetic chemist with 20+ years of corporate beauty industry experience.
Another example which Akshay gave was back in a day, Collaborative Labs based on the east coast created a software with a series of 20 different vehicles from three variables (oil, water, and emulsifiers phases), which provided a mix ratio based on the desired outcome of the product format and textures (creams, lotions etc.). Behind that software, were cosmetic chemists’ brains coaching algorithms on predictive outcomes. Algorithms save time speeding through endless data and permutations. However, algorithms are only as smart as what’s fed into them by us, humans. Unfortunately, that idea was too ahead of its time and did not stick.
“Algorithms are only as smart as what’s fed into them by us, humans” – Akshay Talati, Beauty Industry Expert
The same is true when it comes to survey-based customized products which create an illusion of choice for customers but in a true sense are not personalized to skin conditions of a person as the product library is created based on a certain set of input parameters using commonly used ingredients and not on measured/diagnosed condition of the skin.
According to Majid Seraj, the founder of Nexderm, it needs to be defined that for whom the AI tool will be geared towards – cosmetic chemists or customers? While the industry has taken a leap to drive its application towards a more consumer-centric model, cosmetic chemists might be able to leverage it more effectively. Majid also pointed out that there is a need to define “cosmetic chemists”. In today’s digital age, many people could consider themselves to be a cosmetic chemist to some degree – from an influencer to a physician.
“Currently customers have an illusion of choice when selecting a product through survey-based algorithms” – Rimah Alwakya, AI and ML expert
“There is a human element to the product development which AI or a computer cannot replace,” says Brandon Ford, the director of the beauty accelerator program for Lubrizol, who helps navigate new (indie) brands through the complex intricacies of the product development process. Beauty entrepreneurs are very passionate and take a very high financial risk when launching their brand, and he sees a lot of desire from the brands to get connected or consulted with a “real person” for developing their product. If AI can help a chemist to be more efficient in decision making, it would really benefit the product development process.
In my (author’s) opinion, if we pay attention to adjacent chemical and pharma industries, AI is already in the works where it can predict millions of chemical reactions, aid in molecular discovery, and predict physicochemical interactions much faster and more accurately than humans (with all due credit to humans for building those algorithms and training AI). I wonder if we could apply the same algorithms to predict chemical interactions, degradation pathways, stability of actives, reaction rates, and other predictive outcomes related to product stability.
Can AI formulate hyper-personalized products for consumers based on their unique skin conditions and needs?
According to Ron Robinson, the founder of the award-winning brand BeautyStat, there is a global trend for the customization of cosmetic formulas for every individual with a unique need. For an AI to successfully design a personalized product, advanced diagnostic tools need to be designed which can accurately analyze a person’s skin condition on a very individual level (though we are far from that).
So, are we there yet? As per Lynnette Greber, the founder of the beautealab, there are already some concepts ahead of its time, like the launch of Hi-mirror skin analyzer. The mirror is supposed to analyze and track the changes in your skin condition (digitally), followed by AI-driven personalized daily solutions which also take into account other environmental conditions like UV index, humidity, temperature, etc.
While this specific visual technology has a long way to go, we have indeed seen the power of VISIA skin analysis systems for skin research, which makes this almost sci-fi application interesting to track. Another commercial example in this space is Neutrogena 360 app which does digital diagnostics and product recommendations.
There is also an argument that brands want to stand out based on unique textures (sometimes handcrafted, artisan positioning) and AI is far out from innovating new things at the moment!
Assuming we get to a point that we have the perfect diagnostics to predict the individual skin condition, then comes the next big issues which every personalized solution suffers with – scale-up and faster turnaround. Can automation coupled with a functional AI replace cosmetic chemists to scale up personalized solutions? Or does the role of cosmetic chemist pivot to being an “AI Technology Chemist” where the primary job is to feed and train the AI programs to deliver personalized solutions?
Tangential thoughts
According to Salwa Arafa, a neuroscientist, pharmacist, and fitness enthusiast, “We are already seeing this happening in the nutrition world where diagnostic results are combined with the online nutrition programs (RP strength) which are AI operated. The algorithm alters macronutrients based on activity levels, sleep, and your desired goals. In addition, they also offer personalized ‘human’ consultation to help you through your specific needs.”
Hypothetically speaking….
Can there be a point when the consumer need is focused on the functionality of the product and not the sensory textures? Perhaps, AI then has less to worry about making an aesthetically pleasing product. To take it even further, what if AI could create a personalized, functional formula and also account for sensory textures and hedonic outcomes (if it could be quantified)? That would certainly be called a sci-fi at the moment.
So, can AI really replace cosmetic chemists?
The expert consensus at the moment is that AI would emerge as a potential ally for cosmetic chemists in the future (at least for the short term) with a caveat that we could only speculate the future and not accurately predict it. While it seems farfetched that cosmetic chemist’s jobs would be in peril, there could be some interesting pivots or skillsets which a cosmetic chemist might be expected to excel in beyond just chemistry.
References:
1. CB insights – Accessed August 15, 2021
2. www.canfieldsci.com – Accessed August 15, 2021
3. Image credit – Canfield, Canva
4. Clubhouse conversation “Can AI replace cosmetic chemist?”; Beauty and Wellness Club – Aug 4, 2021
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