Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Oral evidence: Innovation Showcase, HC 523
Tuesday 25 February 2025
Ordered by the House of Commons to be published on 25 February 2025.
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee members present: Chi Onwurah (Chair), Emily Darlington, Dr Allison Gardner, Dr Lauren Sullivan and Adam Thompson.
Culture, Media and Sport Committee members present: Paul Waugh.
Question 8
Witness
I: Dr Idowu, Chief Executive Officer, Hexis Lab.
Examination of witness
Witness: Dr Idowu.
Q8 Chair: Welcome to our fourth innovation showcase. The Committee wants to understand how the UK supports innovators and what more can be done. To inform our work, each member of the Committee takes a turn to select an innovator to share their story before our main evidence session. Because of scheduling changes, this is the second innovator that I have had the privilege of introducing, and this session concerns a subject that is close to my heart: hair and beauty. Some people might think that it is nothing to do with science, but we on this Committee know that science is everywhere, and the cosmetics and personal care industry employs thousands of scientists. It may be undervalued because it is seen as appealing mainly to women, but this Committee values both the interests and the work of women.
This particular innovation speaks to me personally. I grew up in Newcastle, which is where the innovation comes from, and finding hair and skincare products that were designed for people of colour was extremely difficult—indeed, impossible—in my youth. It is much easier to find them now in Newcastle and across the country, but it is not always so easy to understand the science on which products are based. Data from the USA shows that some of the products marketed to black women in particular are harmful, and I think it is fair to say that unsubstantiated claims are not unknown in the sector. That is where Hexis Lab comes in: it is researching the actual science of ethnicity and hair and skin types. Let me give a big welcome to you, Dr Idowu. Can you explain to the Committee where the science is taking you?
Dr Idowu: Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to present to this distinguished Committee. Like the Chair said, I am from Newcastle. I started Hexis Lab 13 years ago; the focus of our research is to understand product formulations and to see how we can improve the outcomes of product formulation, particularly for different skin types. We have published a lot in this an area; we have written lots of papers and articles explaining the differences between different skin types and different hair types.
The hair samples that you have in front of you are a really good indication of what we are talking about. Hair types are divided into four categories, from straight, blonde European hair, which you have on the left and which is called type 1 hair, to tight curls, which is called type 4 hair. So you have type 1, type 2, type 3 and type 4. One of the things that our research has enabled us to understand is that the structure, the physics, of the hair types is different in terms of the texture, and the chemical composition and its distribution; and the scalp biology that produces the different hair types is also very different. That is where we have spent a lot of time trying to understand the challenges that people with certain hair types have compared with those with different hair types.
Historically, the industry has been biased. It has spent a lot of time developing products for a particular hair type; that was by design, because those people were interested in and able to pay for the product. However, there has been a gap in the industry so it is hard for women with type 3 or type 4 hair to find the right product for them. I am particularly interested in that because of my daughter, who is now in her 20s. She is a UK national swimmer and is now in the US competing for an American university. I am very proud of her. One challenge she had growing up was finding a haircare product that worked for her. She spends 21 hours a week underwater, which sometimes means that she has to wash her hair up to four times a day. That presents a different kind of challenge for the hair and scalp.
We have to think about finding solutions that look after the hair in terms of styling, but also look after the scalp and so take care of the next generation of hair. That is our innovation. Having published for a few years explaining the differences in different skin types, the feedback that we consistently got was, “Why are you telling us about the problem? We know there is a problem. Where is the solution? Where are the outcomes?” That is why we came out with this, to address some of the issues that we see within the industry.
Moving away from personal interest, we need to look at our industry as a whole. What you said, Chair, said is very true. A recent publication by the Environmental Working Group in the US indicated that nearly 80% of beauty products marketed to black women contain harmful, hazardous chemicals, some of which lead to breast and uterine cancer. Harvard University published a report this year along the same lines, indicating that there is a problem in products marketed to black women. Nothing has been done in terms of changes or new policy because of the lobby power of the economic interests within the consumer groups and big industry.
The US National Institutes of Health recently published a paper that established finally the link between hair relaxers and uterine cancer. A lot of black women relax their hair. The same goes on in the UK: a big report called the “Texture Gap” published in the UK recently talked about the challenges that consumers with type 3 and type 4 hair face in finding hair care products. It is well known in the industry that people with darker skin tones and type 3 or type 4 hair tend to spend quite a lot more money on looking for the right products, which they cannot find.
I propose that the world needs reformulation. We need to rethink the way we formulate consumer products. One advantage we have at Hexis Lab is that we are leveraging modern technologies, AI and data science, to understand the benefits of active ingredients that we can use in personal care formulation. Using our in silico model, which is an award winning platform, we are able to rapidly create prototype formulations that we can take into testing and validation. That is my mission, our mission in Hexis Lab; that is what we want to achieve. We want to help consumers to find better products.
I have been asked to talk about challenges that we face as innovators. In the UK, one of the biggest obstacles that we have as a business, and that I have particularly as a black founder, is lack of access to finance and working capital to be able to develop ideas and products. It is a well-known published statistic that in the UK the total amount of venture capital that goes to black-founded businesses is 0.2%. That is harmful for businesses that are looking to get access to finance.
There is mutual mistrust between the UK finance industry and the ethnic minority businesses that contribute over £25 billion to the UK economy every year. I am glad that the Government have recognised that, the Minister, Gareth Thomas, had a roundtable session last month where he spoke to us about this problem and set out what he is doing to address some of the issues. We are waiting for the road map setting out the decisions and the plan to keep some of the organisations and the lending organisations accountable.
It is not all doom and gloom. Innovate UK has been absolutely amazing in terms of giving us the opportunity to compete with other businesses within the UK, particularly those in the north-east. We have been successful in terms of the number of grants over the years, but there are now fewer grants and fewer competitions. We hope there will be more funding for Innovate UK so that we can move forward with science and innovation.
Finally, I would like to thank the Department for Business and Trade. Particularly in the north-east, it is very proactive in supporting us and meeting our needs. Our biggest income source is not the product that we have created, but the services we provide to other global businesses that are looking for solutions and ways to develop better products for consumers.
Chair: Thank you very much, Dr Idowu. It is really great to hear the positive reflection on Innovate UK and the Department for Business and Trade, and the work that Minister Thomas is doing. It is also fantastic to hear about the progress that you have made, and the personal and scientific interests that drive that.