Catching up with House of Cheatham

IBA Member Spotlight – Dr. KeShawn Haynes with House of Cheatham. Celebrating Black History Month. 

Dr. KeShawn Haynes is the Regulatory and Compliance Manager with House of Cheatham, a Georgia-based company offering multiple hair care products for African Americans.

The House of Cheatham was established in 1924 and began selling ethnic hair care products in the ’80s. Dr. Haynes has over 25 years of experience as a chemist, has worked for smaller companies, and was often responsible for formulations and regulatory compliance. Dr. Haynes joined the House of Cheatham in 2018, adding her wealth of knowledge and expertise.

Now, Dr. Haynes’s focus is regulatory, working with sales and foreign distributors to ensure the House of Cheatham products are in compliance with good manufacturing practices and country-specific regulations. She oversees their Certificates of Analysis, Safety Status Sheets, Export Certificates and communicates with her co-workers to make sure they understand and incorporate the latest regulatory requirements into their formulae and processes.

Dr. Haynes said that math and chemistry were her favorite subjects in school. Thanks to encouragement from some insightful teachers, she has made a career that combines both. Before the pandemic, she volunteered with a group that mentored young girls in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics). Even though that group is gone, she is considering forming a new non-profit to do that very thing: Attract and mentor young girls on a STEM path.