Breaking Barriers: Brands Revolutionising Beauty Inclusivity & Accessibility
Let’s be honest, there’s a lot that can be improved within the beauty industry. One of the biggest things I can’t get over is the lack of inclusivity — a wholly avoidable, yet persistent challenge that even some of the biggest brands face.
For too long, beauty products and services have been designed with the able-bodied and neurotypical in mind, leaving people with disabilities feeling excluded. We can see this in everything from the lack of products accessible to people with mobility issues to the teeny-tiny beauty labels that even someone without visual impairments would struggle to read.
Of course, some (and I need to stress some) steps have been taken to address this inclusivity within this industry. Several brands have started trying to factor inclusivity into their marketing, for instance. Fenty and Gucci Beauty have both used disabled models in their campaigns at some point. But, this also may be problematic when it just turns out to be a one-off.
The thing is, inclusivity should be so much more than featuring a disabled model as a campaign. That's certainly a step in the right direction, but it's not enough. True inclusivity means making beauty products and services accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities. So today I’m looking into the brands that are actually creating products that can benefit people that have disability or impairments. Brands make a real difference that you can support regardless of your abilities because you know, inclusivity.
Guide Beauty enhances mobility
Boasting the tagline, artistry made easy, Guide Beauty is the first brand on our list of accessibility champions. Terri Bryant, a makeup artist and founder of Guide Beauty was inspired to kick-start the brand following her own diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
Determined to continue with her love of beauty and makeup, Terri joined forces with actor Selma Blair (who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis) and launched Guide Beauty in order to help those that struggle with mobility issues. Having listened to the grievances of those that struggle to apply their makeup, the brand released several designs and makeup applicators that help to guide your hand. Um..amazing! This included things like applicators with built-in stability points so you can rest them on your face when drawing your eyeliner. Other amazing products included Guide Beauty brushes that feature easy-to-grip designs for those with less hand mobility.
“Our goal is to democratize makeup by making even the trickiest looks easy and accessible to everyone,” Bryant said about their mission for the brand. We’re here for it. And, it proves that just a few tweaks to a product’s design can go a long way in enhancing inclusivity.
Humanrace is just giving us everything we need
I’m all about Pharell Williams’ skincare and clothing brand, Humanrace. Not only is the product packaging made from recycled plastic, but it’s also full of good ingredients that are kind to the planet and you can get refillables that come in a paper carton. Most importantly, the packing of these products also features braille writing. This is obviously a huge step for the beauty industry, as it makes beauty products more accessible to people with visual impairments.
Braille is a writing system that allows people who are blind or have low vision to read via raised dots. It’s also not the first time that Human Race has shown its dedication to the impaired community, as they previously also released a line of clothing specifically designed for people with disabilities. They’re certainly doing something special in the inclusivity and accessibility narrative.
Kohl Kreatives makes everyone feel included
Kohl Kreatives is changing the world, one brush at a time. Founded by Trish Daswaney, the British startup launched in 2018 with its Flex Collection of five bendy, easy-to-grip makeup brushes for customers affected by motor function issues.
But what’s more the brand’s inclusivity commitment also extends beyond just mobility issues. Daswaney and her team are also working on products that unlock the beauty industry for the transgender community as well as people that have been diagnosed with cancer. They do this by facilitating workshops for people transitioning from one gender to another, as well as people that have been diagnosed with various conditions. The brand’s commitment to the wider community and really making everyone feel like they deserve to feel and look good is something that we should all champion and applaud.
I just LOVE the videos Kohl Kreative share.
Victoria Land breaks barriers with low-vision products
Victoria Land Beauty, founded by Victoria Watts, is yet another brand that’s redefining beauty norms by helping people with visual impairments get greater access to skincare. When her youngest son was born with a visual impairment, Victoria quickly began to learn how he interacted with the world through other senses such as touch.
“When my youngest son Cyrus was born with a visual impairment, I knew I needed to do more than feel sad about his situation. I needed to help him on his journey,” she explained.
As a powerhouse in the beauty and skincare industry already, the interactions she had with her son made her reassess what was important in her packaging. The thing is, not all visually impaired people read Braille. So she wanted to develop a system that people could understand that didn’t just rely on dots. Instead, she came up with a collection of universal symbols (named the Cyrus System after her son) that beauty users could understand when trying to identify products. As well as her identification system, Victoria Land products include a raised QR code that leads to an audio file that will read out information about the product.
the bottom line
And there we have it folks, four beauty industry brands and the people behind them that I’m most impressed with for their commitments to accessibility. Could I have mentioned a few more? Sure. There are several brands that are following a similar strain and sharing their commitment to a beauty industry that’s open to all. But this still forms a small proportion of a wider industry that is in desperate need of change. I can only hope these brands can become pioneers that inspire other brands to do the same.
WHATS UP NEXT …
