5 Women In Science And Tech Revolutionizing Our Beauty Routines

Fewer than 30% of scientific researchers are women globally, only 28% are engineering graduates, and 40% are computer science/IT graduates worldwide. Many of the women who have graduated, however, are making innovative strides in both science and tech within the beauty industry.

From 3D-printed makeup to cosmetic chemist learning kits, we’ve tapped in to find a few powerful, successful businesses and innovations led by women.  Read on to see who’s leading the brands and consumers into the future, and how this could impact the current way we view beauty and skincare as we know it.

Kristin Wells-Collins is a Dallas-based scientist, who is bridging the gap between the beauty and science industries with young girls in mind. While she has an educational background in organic chemistry, it wasn’t until she learned of a severe citrus allergy that led her into wanting to develop her own skincare products and educate consumers on ingredients included in skincare products.

She also recognized that there was a decline in the interest of science in young girls. To blend the two interests together,  she launched Black to the Lab, a STEM educational learning toy to teach young girls the scientific background in the cosmetics industry. Wells-Collins told D Magazine that she wants Black to the Lab “to be a foundation of interest” in STEM. The products offered are also set to teach girls about business planning early on in their education.

Erica Douglas is the voice behind Sister Scientist, an online platform that highlights facts about skincare and helps to educate the beauty industry to better serve the Black community. She was a cosmetic chemist in the multicultural and clean beauty field for over 15 years. Douglas, who earned a chemical engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, also helps entrepreneurs create and develop their own beauty brands, and she offers private label manufacturing.

“I have always been a person who has had a very technical mind and skillset, but also loves basking in my creativity. Cosmetic science is the best of both worlds,” she told Skincare.com. “The foundation of developing any formulation is rooted in scientific properties, but the creativity of making a formula that caters to the unique needs of different consumer groups is where the creativity comes in, and it allows for infinite ways to redefine, recreate and reimagine the same type of product over and over.”

Daisy Kalnina is the CEO of The Gel Bottle, a gel nail polish brand that offers gel builder systems. Her brand became the first official nail supplier for London Fashion Week. She is studying for her bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She told The Daily Mail, “I never became a painter, but I love that nail art really is a creative form of expression.”

Alice Chang is the founder of Perfect Corp, a tech company in the beauty industry creating augmented reality solutions such as color shade experimentations. This will allow customers to virtually try on makeup before making a purchase.

Chang holds a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and business and an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles. Perfect Corp received a silver award in the 33rd annual Edison Awards in outstanding AI beauty.

According to the brand’s website, Perfect Corp offers innovations that “pioneer sustainable, high-touch, AI and AR-powered omnichannel beauty and fashion tech solutions that empower brands to enrich their relationships with customers.” The technology used in Perfect Corp’s apps were also developed by CyberLink, a tech company founded by Chang and her husband in 1996.

Grace Choi is the designer behind your favorite TikTok filters, according to Refinery 29, and has founded the first makeup 3D printer for Mink Beauty. All you have to do is send a photo of a makeup look or shade you want, send it to the printer, and you have yourself a printed picture of wearable makeup you can remove right off the sheet.  

In fact, she told Refinery 29 that it was her passion for skincare and beauty led her to go into the tech industry. “If it wasn’t for beauty, I wouldn’t really be doing tech. [For me], beauty is the gateway to tech.” Choi has won several awards, including the WWD Disruptor of the Year award in 2016.