

The Eco Well podcast
Jen@theecowell
In this show, Jen Novakovich, Canadian cosmetic chemist from The Eco Well, interviews international cosmetic scientists and industry leaders to bring you a fresh new conversation a week about all things beauty!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 22, 2023 • 58min
A microplastics 101 with Laura Markley PhD
This podcast episode is a 101 on microplastics in beauty. What do we mean when we say "plastic" and "microplastic"? What's the microplastic issue like in beauty? To help me cover the topic, this week I was joined with microplastic researcher, Laura Markley PhD. Enjoy! Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us on patreon at www.patreon.com/theeecowell

Nov 15, 2023 • 40min
Truth in Beauty Panel Replay
This is a replay of a panel I moderated at the SCC California Suppliers Day, presented by Independent Beauty Association. The conversation was broadly about the impacts of misinformation in beauty, and opportunities for course correction. Panelists included some of my favorite LA based sci-commers; Allison Kent-Gunn @allisonturquoise, Javon Ford @javonford16, Jane Tsui @janethechemist and Valerie George @cosmetic_chemist. Enjoy! Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/theecowell

Nov 7, 2023 • 52min
An update on animal testing in cosmetics, featuring Carol Treasure PhD
What is the current state of animal testing in cosmetics? Why has it happened, does it still happen - if so, where and why? And where are we at with alternatives? New podcast alert! Our latest episode featured Dr. Carol Treasure from XCellR8, an animal-free in-vitro safety testing lab. There’s so much complexity to this topic, and I think there have been some seriously missed opportunities from the cosmetics industry for communicating what’s happening and has happened. I hope the episode does the topic justice. Enjoy! Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/theecowell

Oct 31, 2023 • 55min
A claims 101 with Craig Weiss of Consumer Product Testing
A deep dive into claims with claims expert, Craig Weiss of Consumer Product Testing. What do the claims you see on labels actually mean? What's a strong claim and what's just puffery? And how can you as a consumer more effectively read labels? This podcast explored all this and more! Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/theecowell

Oct 17, 2023 • 55min
A Toxicology 101 with Pushpa Rao PhD
This podcast features a 101 episode on toxicology, featuring toxicologist Dr Pushpa Rao. With all the noise and confusion about product safety out in the zeitgeist, I thought this was an important topic to cover. We covered the basics of what toxicology is, how it’s applied to cosmetics, fundamental toxicology themes like hazard and risk, safety substantiation, misconceptions, and more! Interested in supporting the podcast on Patreon? Find us at www.patreon.com/theecowell

Oct 11, 2023 • 56min
The Rise of Class Action Lawsuits in Beauty with Avril Love
There have been so many class action lawsuits in beauty over the last few years. What does it all mean? Are products on the market unsafe? Have these lawsuits become a cost of business in the USA? Are they making products safer? To help me unpack the topic, this weeks episode featured Avril Love, counsel at K&L Gates. Enjoy! Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us at Patreon at www.patreon.com/theecowell

Oct 4, 2023 • 1h 22min
A Deep Dive into Curly Hair with Dr Crystal Porter
This episode featured hair scientist, Dr Crystal Porter from Mane Insights, in a deep dive into curly hair. We dove into the nitty gritty of the structure of curly hair, and the science behind keeping it in good shape. Hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did! Quick edit - in this episode, Crystal mentioned "consumer scientist." She meant "citizen scientist" :). Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/theecowell

Jun 6, 2023 • 47min
State Law - The Good, the Bad, the Ugly. With Dr. Simone Swafford
This episode features a deep dive into state law, featuring Dr. Simone Swafford, regulatory consultant at Vogue Regulatory. What’s happening at the state level in terms of cosmetic regulations, and how does that impact both industry as well as consumers? We specifically dive into how misinformation is driving some of the recent legislative developments. Big thanks to Essential Labs for sponsoring this episode. Use the code ELABSPOD for 15% off! Interested in supporting the podcast on Patreon? Find us at www.patreon.com/theecowell

May 30, 2023 • 28min
Diversity & Inclusion through the Lens of Disability with Bart Maxon
This week's episode featured Bart Maxon - cosmetic scientist, creator of 20 patents, and recent recipient of the SCC Merit Award. Important to this conversation, he's achieved all of this as a 4’6” achondroplasia dwarf who's had several spinal surgeries, operating in an industry where accessibility has been an ongoing improvement for those with disabilities. I'm really inspired by Bart's story. From being told that he'd never work in a lab, to becoming a Senior Development Scientist at Dow. In this conversation, we talked about diversity and inclusion, through the lens of individuals with disabilities. What are we doing right as an industry, and where do we need to improve? Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/theecowell

May 23, 2023 • 1h 2min
Challenges and Opportunities for the Suncare Sector, Panel
This episode featured the closing panel from Michelle @labmuffinbeautyscience and my Sunscreen E-Summit, which happened a few weeks ago. On the topic of Challenges and Opportunities for the Suncare Sector. In conversation with Meredith Petillo, Senior Director of Technical & Regulatory Services at IBA, Stan Krus, Senior Technology Manager Sun Care at BASF, Carl D’Ruiz, Head of Personal Care and Pharma Regulatory and Scientific Affairs at DSM, and Michelle Wong, PhD. Enjoy! Interested in supporting the podcast? Find us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/theecowell