Here’s my attempt at a summary of my latest podcast with Rick Stafford PhD and @dr_oli_jones - 17 pages on social media is... a lot lol, but there was a lot to cover and I wanted to put everything in one place as a reference. Still, this post only brushes the surface. I split this post into two parts - 1st half is on how the antiplastic movement harms science literacy, 2nd is on how it harms environmental outcomes - in case you want to flip ahead. Link in bio to tune into the podcast!
The most frustrating part of the antiplastic movement for me is that people can’t seem to see that it’s creating delayism for addressing broader environmental issues, like climate change. Especially because addressing those meaningfully would also address microplastic pollution...
The quack social media pipeline for experts is something that I’ve observed on here, and over the past 8 months… it appears to be getting worse. Just me? 😅
Expert led misinformation is a bigger problem than many people care to believe. It’s got that extra stick factor due to appeal to authority. Even after corrections, continued influence is a problem. With the current systems and incentives in place, how do we even begin to address this? Seriously. I’m a PhD candidate that studies this kind of stuff and I’m feeling at a bit of a loss…
This past weekend, I hosted the Truth in Beauty e-summit: a full day free conference digging into misinformation. While the lens was beauty, the takeaways were broad. This theme came up in quite a few of the presentations - specifically, the challenges of expert led misinformation. For example, in the presentation @dr_oli_jones about microplastic misinformation - you probably don’t have a spoon worth of microplastics in your brain… but the fact that so many online “experts” have told the public otherwise? Or from Dr Chris Borgert PhD who presented on “endocrine disruption” - a topic that online experts consistently are getting wrong. Or from @labmuffinbeautyscience and @j_stokesparish on finding credible experts online - it is a minefield! Highly recommend tuning in - the replay is now live! Comment “truth in beauty” for the replay to your DMs.
#science #dermatology #cosmeticscience #health #physician
Attending NYSCC Suppliers’ Day next week? Join us at IBAStudio for interviews, complementary scicomm coaching and a series of workshops to help you cut through the noise. And if you can’t make it to the show, we’ll also be livestreaming all the workshops on Live on IG @indepenentbeautyorg - everyone who attends, in-person or virtually, will have the chance to ask our speakers questions. Brought to you by Independent Beauty Association. Finding and communicating truth is hard! The goal of IBAStudio is to help! While creating educational content we’ll share here later on. See you there?
Day 1 & 2
Interviews & Free Sci-Comm Coaching with yours truly! I’ll also be on hand to chat scicomm careers and strategy!
Day 1
11-11:30am: Navigating Ingredient Data with Lanesa Mahon MBS @raya.faces
2-2:30pm: Beauty’s Snowballing Misinformation Problem with Michelle Niedziela PhD
Day 2
11-11:30am: Building Inclusive Evidence with AJ Addae MSc @dropdeadaj
IMO, “cruelty free” is a red flag claim 🚩. When I see it, it realllllyyyy makes me think twice about buying a product from a brand. After reading this post (and maybe listening to the podcast!), LMK if you agree.
This post is based on my latest podcast. A roundtable discussion featuring the POV of regulatory expert from the brand side of things, Jonathan Reynolds & regulatory toxicologist from the ingredient supply side, Barae Jomaa PhD ERT. This post just brushes the surface of what we covered - for loads more context, you’ll definitely want to tune in! Comment “animal testing in beauty” for the episode to your DMs!
Last episode of my Spring 2026 podcast season! I’ll be back in the fall! Any topics you’d like to see covered in my next podcast season? LMK in the comments and I’ll try my best to make them happen! :)
Beauty and personal care companies are navigating an increasingly complex patchwork of U.S. federal and state legislation and regulatory requirements, and the landscape continues to evolve rapidly. IBA’s U.S. Legislative & Regulatory Policy Map was built to help the industry visualize and better understand what’s happening across the country, from legislative hotspots and emerging policy trends to bills gaining momentum (or stalling) - in short, real-time insight that businesses need to prepare for what lies ahead.
Explore the Policy Map: /iba-us-policy-map/
Thank you to Obelis for sponsoring the IBA U.S. Legislative & Regulatory Policy Map and supporting industry education and awareness.
Thank you, Jen Novakovich @theecowell for your encouragement and support.
For deeper insight into regulatory policies, implementation, and agency priorities, join us next week in New York City for IBA’s Cosmetics Convergence: Meet the Regulators conference, bringing together beauty and personal care companies with federal and state regulators for a full day of direct dialogue on MoCRA, ingredient restrictions, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), advertising claims compliance, and more. /cosmeticsconvergencemeettheregulators2026
There are a lot of barriers for women in science communication that I think a lot of people don’t realize, but really should. Insight in this post are based on my latest podcast - a roundtable on women in scicomm, featuring the POVs of @egraslie@drjengunter & @labmuffinbeautyscience - this post just brushes the surface of what we covered. An important discussion to tune in to!
Comment “women in scicomm” for the episode to your DMs!
The PD eBook is live! Consider this your reference guide for navigating product development in beauty. Don’t sleep on this resource! It’s packed with insights that would be useful to just about anyone in beauty - whether you’re an industry veteran or newcomer. There’s some really important information in here! Please share!
Comment “beauty product development” for the eBook to your DMs!
So proud of our 2nd scicomm cohort for creating this tremendous resource! Amazing work all of you! 💜⚛️
A huge thank you to everyone who helped support our cohort and this eBook! Thank you to our cohort coordinator, Luciana Smaldore! Thank you to our speakers who were so generous with sharing their time and expertise with us, including with helping us do the eBook fact-checking! Thank you to Nawal Abdul Kareem for working with us to create our eBook designs! Thank you to Ryan Nelson from Independent Beauty Association for helping with the copy feedback for our cohort!
Please share! Comment “science of scicomm” for the replay to your DMs!
The agenda was planned to give a cross section of some of the most important topics we think anyone doing scicomm should know about - and probably anyone navigating the interwebs, or thinking about misinformation and science. Massive thank you to everyone who helped make this summit possible, and how helped us keep the event freely accessible! 💜⚛️
Headed to NYSCC Suppliers’ Day 2026? Stop by IBAStudio on the show floor (Booth 1902) for an interview, science communication coaching or one of our expert led workshops.
IBAStudio interviews are hosted by science communicator, Jen Novakovich of The Eco Well. Whether you’ve done interviews before or not, you’re in good hands. Jen will offer complimentary, in-the-moment scicomm coaching to help you feel confident, clear, and camera-ready.
It’s your chance to:
• Share insights that your peers (and the next generation of brands) need to hear
• Highlight your expertise and point of view
• Be featured across IBA’s social channels post-show
This year’s studio will also feature 3 free expert led workshops you won’t want to miss.
1. Navigating Ingredient Data
May 19 | 11:00 – 11:30 am
What do formulators need to know to scientifically vet their ingredients?
Fireside chat w/ Lanesa Mahon, MBS, PhD Candidate & 2025 recipient of the SCC Madam C.J. Walker Scholarship
2. Beauty’s Snowballing Misinformation Problem
May 19 | 2:00 – 2:30 pm
Why misinformation snowballs in beauty and what to do about it
Fireside chat w/ Michelle Niedziela, PhD, behavioral scientist in consumer & market research
3. Building Inclusive Evidence in Cosmetic Sciences
May 20 | 11:00 – 11:30 am
Where are there inclusivity gaps in cosmetic sciences, and what’s the opportunity to fill them?
Fireside chat w/ AJ Addae, PhD candidate, founder of SULA Labs and finalist for the SCC Madam C.J. Walker Scholarship
Not able to make it to NYSCC Suppliers’ Day? Join our workshops on Instagram @independentbeautyorg where we will be streaming them live.
Share your perspective. Learn something new. Be part of the conversation shaping what’s next.
Calling all scicomm folks and organizations: this event will be helpful to you and your network! And science professors who encourage students to communicate their science - this event will give them important tools to succeed at that! Please share!
Link in bio for details & registration!
Massive thank you to all of the wonderful people who agreed to donate their expertise and time to help make this event possible, and to help keep the insights freely available! I am such a fan of all the speakers on their respective topics and so honored that they agreed to participate!
If you are someone who creates online content, or a brand who works with content creators, you REALLY should read this. A guide to influencer-brand rules, responsibilities and penalties when things for wrong. For both the brand AND influencer. #SharingisCaring
This carousel is based on my latest podcast roundtable with Jennifer Santos from Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR) and Meredith Petillo from @independentbeautyorg - This episode should be mandatory listening for beauty brands and content creators! Comment “responsible influence” for the episode to your DMs + info on the new influencer certification!
Are you a content creator or a company who occassionally works with content creators? You should prob listen to my latest podcast episode! A roundtable on influencer marketing, and what everyone needs to know. There are rules, and very real potential repercussions, for brands AND influencers for not getting them right. This podcast features a roundtable discussion with Jennifer Santos from BBB National Programs, now program director of the Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR), and Meredith Petillo, VP of technical regulatory affairs at I
@independentbeautyorg (IBA). Comment “influencer roundtable” for the episode to your DMs!
This conversation topic was requested by one of my patreon supporters, and it came at the perfect time with CISR just dropping the Institute for Responsible Influence (IRI) training and certification, to train up influencers and get everyone on the same page for the rules and responsibilities. If you’re a content creator, highly recommend checking it out!
Since disclosure is such a big topic for this discussion, here are the disclosures relevant to this episode. I’ve been a contractor with IBA for the past few years helping them with their scicomm on social media - there was no payment for this episode, I’m genuinely really excited to see this program launch, and really proud of IBA for its contribution. IBA serves on the advisory council for CISR, and both Meredith and I got free early access to the IRI influencer training and certification. If you are a content creator, I could not recommend the training enough. it was super informative, only took 90 minutes, I think it’s pretty accessible - it’s about $100 and comes with ongoing support, and covered all the important things legally that you really need to know, and some of it isn’t that obvious. For example, the extra rules that apply specifically to “expert” influencers.
