Profile
Bernice Ridley
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About Me:
I’m a cosmetic scientist, I have worked for many years and am passionate about cosmetic science and education!
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As well as being a cosmetic scientist, I like doing creative things. I have a Gold Medal in acting, appearing on stage and screen (although I have never seen the film!) and run a drama club. I love to sing and belong to a social choir. I go to the gym and I run and volunteer at Parkrun. I am also volunteering for Leeds 2023 City of Culture. Life is full of opportunities that you make!
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My pronouns are:
She/her
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My Work:
I work on the education side of cosmetic science, I develop and review training courses for people in the cosmetic industry and work with industry experts. It is my perfect job!
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During my working life, I have made the resins that go on bandages that set broken bones, made washing up liquids, fabric conditioners and bleach, and most of the time I developed new ingredients that went into cosmetic products. These made creams thick and spread correctly, or conditioned skin and hair, and it was fun developing cosmetic formulations. It is great fun to see something you made on a supermarket shelf!
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My Typical Day:
I work at home, even before it became fashionable! I get up very early and go to the gym, do around three hours of exercise then come home and start work around 8:30. My day will involve helping students, setting essays or exams, looking at what is new, and creating content for courses. I talk to my colleagues mostly via video conferencing. I finish around 18:00, but sometimes I can have meetings in the evening if people aren’t available during the day.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would develop a new STEM activity where students could make a skin cream during the session, the money would go towards getting equipment and ingredients that other STEM Ambassadors and I could use.
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Education:
I grew up in Cumbria and I went to secondary school in Keswick. I was a good all-rounder and liked arts and sciences, but I thought that science explains everything so well so I decided to do sciences at A-level (you couldn’t mix and match in those days!).
I went on to study Chemistry at Manchester University and struggled with Schrodinger and the darn cat! We had to do labs every week and some of the things we made stank so much that our friends wouldn’t go anywhere near us until we had had showers and changed!
After starting work I did a Diploma in Cosmetic Science and this was a course I used every day for over thirty years, this is the course I now work on from the other side! I have also done various management courses and other training to keep me up to date.
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Qualifications:
9 O-Levels
4 A-levels (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, General Studies)
BSc Hons in Chemistry
Diploma in Cosmetic Science
NEBSS Certificate in Management
LAMDA Medals in Acting (Bronze, Silver, Gold)
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Work History:
When I was at school I worked in various jobs in the summer, I was lucky as I lived in a tourist town so there were jobs around. Once at University I did a summer at a research lab that included using liquid nitrogen. When I was applying for jobs in my final year I wanted to go into technical marketing, but I didn’t get any of the jobs I applied for but did get one in Research and Development. This was working on resins for orthopaedic splinting bandages, the light plaster casts that you have once a broken bone starts healing. I then went to run a lab developing home care products, washing up liquid, fabric conditioner and bleach, and discovered I liked formulating products. From there I went to work as an application scientist for the personal care industry, I worked on thickeners and conditioning polymers, and this was where I discovered cosmetic science. It was great fun, you get to do science and also see things as a consumer.
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Employer:
Society of Cosmetic Scientists
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
A scientist, but when I left University I wanted to go into brand management
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Never, but we did some things as classes that I am not very proud of!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Be an actor!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Pet Shop Boys
What's your favourite food?
Chocolate
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Win the lottery so I didn't have to think about money, be on TV as an actor, make sure my family and friends were OK
Tell us a joke.
Never trust an atom, they make up everything...!!!
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