On the porch of her childhood home in Beaumont, Kristen Wells-Collins used to line up her cousins and siblings as students.
It was her way of turning playtime into lesson plans.
“I would come home excited to play teacher,” she recalled. “Even on my porch, we had a school desk that I would set up like the classroom… I was always eager to share.”
That is where her passion to become a teacher began.
Now, Wells-Collins is a chemist and the founder of Black to the Lab, a hands-on STEM program that has introduced more than 3,000 girls to the science behind everyday beauty products.
Through workshops where students mix lip gloss and lotions, she uses cosmetics as an entry point into STEM.
In the 1960s, cosmetic chemistry research was male-dominated. Today, 48.1% of cosmetic chemists in the country are women, and only 8% are Black.
Wells-Collins is trying to change that demographic to be more inclusive, she said.
Is science fun?
Growing up, she did not initially see science as a distinct calling.
But when she got to the fifth grade, her math teacher challenged her thinking, often asking students to solve problems on the board.
“It was there that I realized that I’m really good at this,” Wells-Collins said.
Science took a firmer shape in high school, when teachers urged her into a medical magnet program.
With a mother who was a nurse, she began to imagine a future in health care and set her sights on becoming a pharmacist.
Journey to Houston
Wells-Collins carried that ambition to Prairie View A&M University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and later a master’s in community development.
At the HBCU, she found more than academics.
“It shaped my own confidence as a leader, which is a lot of what shows up in how we pioneer STEM education, particularly with Black to the Lab,” she said. “It allowed me to gain a really deep connection and network to not only my peers, but also my professors. PVAMU has a very, very rich community of support and passion that allows us to keep Black students at the forefront of what we do.”
A citrus allergy that led to entrepreneurship
Wells-Collins did not immediately connect science to beauty.
That realization came later, sparked by a citrus allergy.
It led her to formulate her own beauty products.
In 2020, Kristen Wells-Collins launched Black to the Lab, an educational program that created a significant level of exposure to STEM careers for children & young adults. #ForwardImpact presented by @StateFarm. Read more here: https://t.co/ddOLi67aTZ pic.twitter.com/Srfen73EqZ
— EBONY (@EBONY) June 19, 2024
As Wells-Collins experimented in her kitchen and shared products with friends and family, she began asking bigger questions.
Why had no one explicitly shown her that cosmetics were chemistry?
“It was at that moment in my kitchen that I made the connection,” she said, recognizing “the absence of that connection for someone who had studied science.”
Kristen’s journey
Before Black to the Lab, she launched a small business called The Chemistry Of, which paired skincare products with information cards that explained the ingredients.
But the more she reflected on her late discovery, the more she felt called to reach young people earlier.
“I wanted to create something that serves as an early introduction for young people to understand the connection between STEM and the beauty space. I did not know how it was going to actualize in that moment, but I planted that seed, and I continue to water that seed as I work with young people.”
Kristen Wells-Collins
“I wanted to create something that serves as an early introduction for young people to understand the connection between STEM and the beauty space,” Wells-Collins explained. “I did not know how it was going to actualize in that moment, but I planted that seed, and I continue to water that seed as I work with young people.”
That seed grew into Black to the Lab.
Children break down what the cosmetic industry encompasses in her workshops.
“That is beyond just makeup,” she said, pointing to products like shampoo and lotions.
By shifting the focus from vanity to function, she encourages girls to see cosmetics as tools for innovation and problem-solving.
“For us, having something fun and culturally relevant and exciting, it sparks that curiosity,” Wells-Collins added. “It sparks the desire to know more and to learn more, and to connect with different people and resources that allow you to gain a deeper understanding. We want to keep at the forefront of how we engage girls to think of themselves within an industry where they often feel underrepresented.”
Carlisha Bradley, whose daughter used a Black to the Lab kit, said it helped her child regain interest in science.
“Camille was riding in the car last night and said ‘I’m a scientist, Mom, I can teach you how to make lip gloss,’” Bradley recalled. “I was already a believer in you and your work but that one hit home and touched my whole heart!”
Her footprint
Her work has expanded across Texas and beyond, including the Jennifer Hudson Show and AfroTech.
“I love that you’re changing it [representation] and making such a difference. And now there would be so many more people of color in that,” Hudson said.
But Houston remains a meaningful touchpoint.
One of the earliest Black to the Lab experiences took place there, when a friend asked her to bring kits to a child’s birthday party.
Since then, the program has grown into school and community partnerships.
Her vision manifested into a physical home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Black to the Lab was part of Tulsa Beauty Collective, a storefront popup with a STEM Beauty Bar and classroom that ended in February.
The location carries personal and historical meaning. Being in Tulsa, she said, “felt like a full circle moment,” especially considering her husband’s family ties and the city’s legacy of Black entrepreneurship.
Each Saturday, she works with students there, helping them explore scientific concepts.
“Learning isn’t mastery, learning is curiosity,” she said as her message to young Black students looking for their footing in STEM.
She urged students to “stay curious” and to always be a “student at heart.”
