“Curly hair is very unique – it always changes from day-to-day,” Mr. Torch said. “There’s always a scenario that needs special attention.”

Over a career spanning more than 30 years, Mr. Torch, Hairdresser and Owner of the Curly Hair Institute, a Toronto-based salon, has been developing specialist products for curls and carving out a niche in the market.

Recently, he wanted some assistance with a new product idea and turned to Seneca’s one-year Cosmetic Science graduate certificate program, where students create a product from scratch for their capstone project. 

A team of four students - Chap Dang, Cathy Doan, Jackie Nguyen and Ethel Tang – undertook his quest to develop a volumizer serum for fine, curly hair.  

In just 14 weeks, they turned his vision for a hair volumizing serum into a reality.

“I think we’ve got a real winner,” said Mr. Torch, who is currently testing the product. If successful, it will go into production and he’ll add it to his Curl Keeper line. “The team produced a fantastic formula.”

Sharon Robertson, Professor, School of Biological Sciences & Applied Chemistry, who oversees the capstone projects, said this one was particularly good and won all the awards at the Cosmetic Science spring presentation, which is judged by six industry experts.

“The students actually amaze us every single semester that they do this,” Ms. Robertson said. “To put something like this together usually takes about 18 months in industry and they do it in 14 weeks.”

The capstone project involves everything from costing and sourcing materials to creating a regulatory compliant product, complete with packaging and a marketing plan.

It was no small feat for the team, which created 20 formula trials before coming up with the winner, a light-weight, leave-in product made of Himalayan sea salt, caffeine and ginseng among other ingredients.

The whole experience was great, said Ms. Tang, Marketing & Packaging Manager, and Ms. Nguyen, Project Manager, both of whom graduated from the program in April.

“The real-world experience I gained from this project will always be invaluable to me, and Jonathan Torch was a lovely introduction to working with a client,” Ms. Nguyen said. “Jonathan himself has had decades of experience … and was not shy about sharing his passion for formulations that really work.”

Ms. Tang agreed, noting the team learned a lot from Mr. Torch and Seneca professors.

“I take great pride in the product we collectively brought to life from scratch,” Ms. Tang said. “Seeing my design printed and in its final form was extremely fulfilling.”

Ms. Nguyen said being able to hold the finished product in her hands was very satisfying.

“Seeing the hair serum and knowing that our team worked hard to overcome all the formulation, packaging and stability challenges we faced and ended up with a product that received positive reviews … was a great feeling,” she said.