Leila Deravi’s Chem 3100 allows students the opportunity to not only learn about their everyday care products, but to experiment with making their own.
Your typical college chemistry class is about following instructions and running lab tests, not actually experimenting with materials. But Chemistry 3100 is not your typical chemistry class.
Northeastern University’s new upper-level chemistry elective allows students to learn the chemical composition and structure of personal care products and then gives them the opportunity to develop their own.
“It really has been so interdisciplinary,” said Jillian Zerkowski, a fourth-year biochemistry major. “We got a comprehensive overview of what product forms exist and then we transitioned into products that we want to make and what there’s need for. It’s been really exciting to get to do that.”
The course originated from student interest. Leila Deravi, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, started a skin care company called Seaspire, inspired by her research on color change and cephalopods. Since founding Seaspire in 2019, Deravi said she’s received multiple emails a semester from students also interested in making their own cosmetics and learning the chemistry to do so. So she proposed an upper-level chemistry elective exploring the process of developing these products.
“It’s meant to be an avenue for folks to take their knowledge about chemistry and their interest in product development (and go) from individual ingredients, putting them together, making a product that meets some sort of unmet need in the industry and then seeing it all the way through the life cycle,” Deravi said. “It’s a means to get the chemistry in, but also talk about the products that are output directly for everyday users.”
The course combines chemistry, product development and a little bit of marketing by covering the development of the broad range of products that are considered cosmetics. While the term is often used to describe makeup, it applies to everyday care products like soaps.
“We not only talked about the products themselves, but how they’re used, the underlying biology and chemistry, and the regulations imposed or lack thereof,” said Jacob Bandell, a fourth-year cellular molecular biology major. “It was really interesting to see what’s not regulated (and) learning almost every aspect of these daily use products. … I assumed anything on a shelf has been rigorously proven to be good and gone through all kinds of hoops and some of them have not.”
Students learned about the chemistry of these products, why certain materials are used, and the testing (or lack of) that goes into them. They also look at why some products are classified as drugs while others are marketed as personal care (such as prescription versus regular retinol). This includes examining the product itself as well as how it’s marketed. They also were able to try their hand at making their own cosmetics, such as lip gloss.
The course culminated with students getting to create their own innovative products, specifically crafting personal care products that don’t exist on the market. Students walked through the entire development process, from finding a need in the market, designing the products, and testing it for efficiency.
“We spent about three or four lab periods making and tweaking the formulations of our product,” Bandell said. “Every change that I would make to the formula, I could see the difference. For lip gloss in our first lab, we had our base formula, tried the product, and realized it was a little too thin. After that we talked and tweaked some of the concentrations, and then the next class we made the new one that stayed on better and had better texture. (The class) was purposeful in the sense that we actually get to see the changes based on what we’ve learned and what we chose to do.”
The products are now part of a line the students developed called 3100, after the course number, and were showcased in an expo on campus on April 10. Students created a range of cosmetics, from color-changing nail polish to a wax and oil-based cream that can prevent windburn.
Creating from scratch and allowing students to think not just about the chemistry and formulation but also the marketing and communication around the products they were making helped students tap into their creative side.
“For me the biggest takeaway was being able to use all of our previous knowledge to actually design a product,” said Benjamin Goldstein, a fourth-year biochemistry student who created the windburn prevention cream. “With all our other biochemistry courses, it’s just going to a lab … to do as you’re told. This was the first class where you’re given creativity and you’re allowed to explore products and how your chemistry knowledge can actually design a product. My biggest takeaway is being able to use my knowledge to actually create something that has not been done before.”
“Never have I been in a class where it truly is so discussion based,” added Zerkowski. “Everyone is truly interested because of how applicable (it is). It’s not just following steps. It’s (thinking about) why we’re including each material and what the function of that material is to then create something that we want. The combination of science and how a product is actually being used has made the class more dynamic.”