Last Saturday, nearly 40 Inland Southern California residents from 12 families gathered at UC Riverside for a free youth hairstyling session and workshop on safer hair and beauty products hosted by Kalina Michalska’s KIND Lab. Families learned about ingredients of concern, how to read product labels and ways to make more informed choices about everyday products.
The Aug. 8 event reflected the KIND Lab’s commitment to community-engaged neuroscience, which emphasizes working with communities throughout the research process and giving back to participating families. The educational part of the workshop was led by Astrid Williams of the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners’ Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Non-Toxic Black Beauty Program.
“Our conversations with families revealed strong interest in workshops that offer practical information, skills, and empowerment,” said Michalska, an associate professor of psychology at UCR. “Rather than simply collecting data from communities, our lab has increasingly focused on creating programs that share research findings and address issues that matter directly to families.”
Participants learned about potential health concerns associated with chemicals in some hair and beauty products, particularly those marketed to people with textured hair and communities of color. The workshop also connected these concerns to other environmental exposures affecting some Inland Southern California communities, including pollution associated with warehouses and truck traffic.
The educational session was paired with hands-on activities, including a hairstyling lesson led by hairstylist Maria Cristina Lemus and making homemade hairspray with natural ingredients such as aloe and essential oils. Michalska said combining health risk information with positive, practical activities could help young people stay engaged.
“Giving young people only information about potential health risks can be discouraging and may contribute to anxiety or disengagement,” she said. “Hands-on activities offer a way for families to turn what they learn into something practical and empowering.”
Michalska said the goal was not to tell families which products to buy or avoid, but to give them information they could use to make their own choices.
The workshop was made possible by a recent gift to the KIND Lab from Beto Ventures.
“It’s an example of how philanthropic support can help translate research into programs that directly benefit Inland Southern California families,” Michalska said.
Credit for header photo of Kalina Michalska and other photos: Christophe Katrib, UC Riverside.
