Every day, scientists around the world work to better understand our hair and scalp. Since 2022, the Martha Schwarzkopf Award for Women in Science, presented by Henkel, has honored the important work of female researchers in hair science and related fields. The award not only recognizes outstanding scientific achievements but also strengthens the visibility of women in a field where they are often underrepresented, especially in the area of natural sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics (STEM). While the prize money is a meaningful reward, what matters most to the scientists is the long-term exchange and building of an international network. Because to them, one thing is clear: “Together, we can achieve more!”
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Bringing hair research to the next level
The Martha Schwarzkopf Award for more participation in science
Following her husband’s death in 1921, Martha Schwarzkopf took over the Schwarzkopf company’s leadership and founded the Schwarzkopf Institute for Hair Research.
More than 100 years lie between Martha Schwarzkopf and the recent award winners you will meet in this story: Dr. Andria Constantinou and Dr. Claire Higgins. Yet across generations, these three women are united by one thing above all: the courage to break new ground and a pioneering spirit that drives progress in hair science. As a tribute to Martha, Henkel has created this international research prize three years ago and will be awarding it for the fourth time in 2025. A prize that not only bears her name but is also deeply rooted in Martha’s legacy. When she took over the leadership of the Schwarzkopf company after her husband’s death in 1921, Martha became one of the first women leading a business in Germany. Although she was not a scientist herself, she firmly believed that healthy hair is beautiful hair. With this conviction, she founded the Schwarzkopf Institute for Hair Research, where under her leadership, experts from various fields worked together to develop new hair care solutions.
“The Martha Schwarzkopf Award for Women in Science aims to promote visibility of female researchers and their outstanding achievements in hair science and adjacent fields like computational, biophysical and medical sciences. At the same time, we acknowledge the dedication and innovative work of female researchers, who manage their research careers especially in the STEM areas, where they still face many hurdles. Every year, we look forward to applications from female scientists who are shaping the science of hair today and for the future,” says Dr. Andrea Sättler, who established the award at Henkel. All submissions are reviewed by a panel of hair scientists from the Henkel Consumer Brands research and development teams, based on scientific criteria and categorized into two areas: “Lifetime Contributions” and “Emerging Talent”.
A focus on the exchange between female researchers
The award also aims to highlight the women behind the science: It offers a platform for female researchers from different countries to connect, inspire one another, and further develop entrepreneurial ideas. Women remain underrepresented in scientific and technical fields, and hair research itself is a rather specific field. “The close exchange allows for the scientists to look beyond their own research and develop new ways of thinking,” says Dr. Jessica Welzel, Manager R&D Hair Science and the award’s coordinator. This leads to a more holistic perspective where the needs of consumers are at the center, enabling the translation of cutting-edge scientific findings into innovative products.
The Martha Schwarzkopf Award at a glance
Facts & Figures
- The Martha Schwarzkopf Award was established in 2022 and is being presented for the fourth time this year.
- Since 2022, eleven female researchers have been recognized for their contributions to hair research with the award.
- The prizes are awarded in 2 categories: The “Lifetime Contributions” category which honors established female scientists who have made significant contributions to hair research through their projects & the “Emerging Talent” category which recognizes young female scientists who are implementing creative approaches in hair research.
Two winners of the Martha Schwarzkopf Award share insights into their research, motivation, and what the Martha Schwarzkopf Award means to them:
The award winner Dr. Andria Constantinou (Emerging Talent, 2022)
Andria is a Resident Physician at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She received the award for a research project using artificial intelligence to analyze changes in the microbiome – the natural microorganisms in and around the hair follicle – in connection with hair inflammation.
“Dermatology includes many fascinating research fields – and some of them receive far more funding than hair science. For other conditions, new therapies and medications are developed all the time. But in the last 20 years, almost nothing has changed for hair loss. There are still very few effective treatments, and so many unanswered questions.
People say, ‘Hair is just hair.’ But hair loss can deeply affect a person’s quality of life. I’m fortunate to work both as a doctor and as a researcher. Lab work can be frustrating when progress is slow. But thanks to my patients, I never lose sight of the purpose behind what I do. We study autoimmune diseases in children, infants, and even people over 90 years old. Hair loss affects more than just middle-aged men. A hair follicle is like a tiny organ. When we started studying the follicle’s microbiome, many thought we were crazy – wasting time and money. But we achieved surprising results that nobody expected. As scientists, we constantly need new questions to drive new ideas. Right now, we’re investigating how AI can help us understand and eventually treat inflammatory processes in the follicle.
At first, the Martha Schwarzkopf Award felt like a recognition of my work. But three years later, I know it’s so much more. I became part of a valuable network. I met brilliant scientists from around the world and got the chance to look at science from beyond academia. It’s fascinating to see how research works in industry. Both worlds can learn a lot from each other – and achieve great things together.”
The award winner Dr. Claire Higgins (Lifetime Contributions, 2023)
Claire is an Associate Professor at the Imperial College London and President of the European Hair Research Society. She has been researching hair follicles and their surrounding skin environment for 20 years. Since last year, she has been a member of the scientific advisory board of the Scalp Science & Technology Research Group at Henkel.
“I love asking questions. And I enjoy the challenge when I don’t know the answers. At school, many teachers thought I was disruptive in class as I was always putting my hand up to ask yet another question, but really, I just wanted to understand. When I went to university, I wasn’t sure whether to study science or art as I loved being creative. Ultimately, I chose science. In art, you can create something – but you need to be creative in science to push boundaries and solve problems that no one has solved before.
I used to think the world of hair science was rather small. But through the Martha Schwarzkopf Award, I’ve met many female scientists who approach things in completely different ways. While we study the scalp and look beneath the surface, others focus, for example, on the hair fiber. There is still so much to discover about the hair follicle. Great solutions are often the result of collaboration between people with different perspectives and abilities. That way, the same questions can be viewed from different angles, and surprising answers can emerge. That’s also the long-term vision of the award: to advance research by building a global network.
Together with other award recipients and researchers, we founded the scientific advisory board of the Scalp Science & Technology Research Group at Henkel. Our goal is to evaluate how scientific findings can be translated into new technologies or therapies. I’m a scientist through and through, not an entrepreneur. There’s still so much I can learn through collaboration, and I enjoy expanding my abilities in that area as well. I want my research to have an impact – to truly help people.
Anyone who wants to advance in science must create visibility for themselves and their research. Many women lose this visibility – especially when they become mothers. It simply becomes more difficult to attend conferences or give guest lectures. At my university, there is a scholarship for mothers and fathers returning from parental leave. With that funding, I booked a flight and hotel for my parents so they could travel with me and take care of my 4-month-old daughter while I delivered the keynote at the World Congress for Hair Research in Spain in 2019. More initiatives like this are needed to achieve equality in science.”
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