Martinez found her passion in analytical chemistry. “I loved the idea of using chemistry to solve real-world health problems,” she explains. Her interest in public health deepened during her undergraduate degree, when she studied urinary biomarkers of food intake and assisted with projects to measure nicotine metabolites in urine. She learned that smokers who switch to using lower-yield cigarettes, believing them to be better for their health based on advertising and marketing, offset the change by forming worse smoking habits. “Companies advertised ‘healthier’ cigarettes with less nicotine, but users compensated by smoking more, increasing their health risks,” she says. “That made me question what else are we being misled about.”
That question led her to dig deep into other aspects of our lives. Working under the supervision of Professor Maxim Berezovski, Professor Isabelle Plante at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and Dr. Yong-Lai Feng from Health Canada, she used urine analysis to investigate beauty professionals’ exposure to endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interfere with hormones. Chronic exposure is linked to health issues like infertility and reproductive organ cancers. Think of endocrine disruptors as tiny saboteurs, upsetting the delicate balance within our bodies. These substances lurk in personal care products, like hair dyes, nail polishes and skincare products. “Women are typically more exposed to endocrine disruptors than men due to their personal use of cosmetics,” Vanessa explains. “But female personal care professionals face an extra layer of exposure in the workplace.”
Martinez’s research goes one step further than past studies, many of which relied on either self-reported data or environmental assessments. Instead, she took a more direct approach by analyzing urine samples from salon workers. “When you’re exposed to these chemicals, your body metabolizes and excretes them, sometimes into specific metabolites that can be used to assess short-term exposure” she says. She then used liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to perform non-targeted analysis, a technique that screens for many compounds. This allowed her to consider not just known endocrine disruptors (like BPA and parabens) but also potential new disruptors that haven’t been studied before.
“Companies advertised ‘healthier’ cigarettes with less nicotine, but users compensated by smoking more, increasing their health risks. That made me question what else are we being misled about.”
Vanessa Martinez
— MSc graduate
The research wasn’t easy. Martinez recalls months of trial and error in the lab: “You read a study, try the method and, sometimes, it doesn’t work how you would like. But each ‘failure’ teaches you something.” Collaborating with Health Canada added another layer of rigour. “They pushed me to be very precise, especially with non-targeted analysis,” she explains. “A mistake here isn’t just a grad student’s error — it could impact public policy in the future.”
Vanessa’s findings could inform future safety guidelines. “Many products replace banned chemicals with similar, untested alternatives,” she notes. “We need to ask, ‘Are we just swapping one problem for another?’”
While Martinez’s research directly benefits personal care professionals, its implications reach far beyond that. By identifying and explaining the risks associated with endocrine disruptors in everyday products, her work can promote:
- safer products — the findings could lead to stricter regulations and encourage the development of safer alternatives in the beauty industry
- informed choices — armed with new knowledge, consumers can make more informed decisions about the products they use, potentially reducing their exposure to harmful chemicals
- public health awareness — Martinez’s research helps raise awareness about the hidden dangers in our environment and the importance of scientific investigation in protecting our health
Her work is a crucial step in ensuring that the pursuit of beauty doesn’t come at the cost of our health. As for her future, she plans to pursue a career in public health or environmental chemistry. And she hopes to continue using science to protect people, especially those who are often overlooked.
Her advice to aspiring scientists is this: “Stay curious. Read endlessly. And don’t fear failure. It’s how discoveries happen.”
As for the rest of us? Maybe it’s time to take a more careful look at our makeup labels.
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