P&G scientist gives talk on creating Pantene Gold line

For Ashley Kirby, third-year mechanical engineering student, Wilkerson’s talk gave her a glimpse into a potential future career. 

“I would like to incorporate my two passions [into my career]: engineering and my hair,” Kirby said. 

Kirby wants to create an affordable, high-quality hair care line that offers products to meet the needs of people with all types and textures of hair. 

“I know what my end goal is to be for my hair care line, but I just don't know how to get there,” said Kirby. “The lecture gave me insight into the business side of it.”  

"I've seen a lot of companies, such as P&G, branching out into the natural hair movement, which is really awesome,” Kirby said. “But I see the reviews of the different hair care lines and it doesn't always work for everyone.”  

Kirby is hard at work on her own research, experimenting with homemade hair care products, watching YouTube videos from other creators and testing various products with her family and friends.

“There are five women in my house, and we all have different hair types and need to use different products,” Kirby said.

Kirby plans to travel the world to research natural ingredients that are reported to have beneficial properties for hair but aren’t available in the United States.

“I know there are so many hair care lines for Black women out there now, but I want something to bring something different to the table that no one's ever seen,” Kirby said.

She hopes that investigating novel ingredients will help her develop products that work for a wide array of consumers, regardless of hair texture, gender, skin sensitivity, allergies and more.

“The event was important to me because I got to see a person in engineering who looks like me, has the same passions as me and is successful in fulfilling what they want to do.” said Kirby. “The stories act as a guide for my own story.”

Growing up, Kirby didn't really see many people of color working in STEM fields besides her mother, a nurse, who told her about engineering. "I realized, wow. That's a whole career problem-solving,” said Kirby.

“It’s nice to hear different people’s stories of how they found positions and projects they're actually proud of,” said Kirby.

She wants to inspire other people of color who are looking for a role model in STEM and those who might be afraid to create their own business. 

“Women of color, particularly Black women, take a lot of pride in their hair, so I think it’s really important to actually see a person being successful in what they really want to do,” said Kirby. “If they see someone similar to them doing it, maybe they will realize, ‘Hey, I could do that, too.’”

Wilkerson's lecture provided an opportunity for students to envision themselves as engineers and learn about STEM career pathways. 

The event was open to all UC faculty, staff and students.