Why disability remains the beauty industry’s next inclusivity frontier.
In the last few years, the beauty industry has got better at starting conversations about products made for those with disabilities, but all too often these projects never go beyond talk.
With the constant influx of new beauty products released every day, you would think shopping for products would be a breeze. However, for the 1.3 billion people diagnosed with various forms of disability, the experience is entirely different. From hard-to-open lids and brushes with no grip, to unidentifiable products in aisles, the design of a product holds a huge weight when it comes to usability and many products are inaccessible to those with disabilities. In the last few years, the concept of accessibility in beauty has come far in terms of getting the conversation started, but how much have these discussions translated into change? In the UK alone, the spending power of people with disabilities is £274 billion annually, yet very few beauty brands have developed specific strategies to cater to this consumer group. Consequently, the experience of shopping and using personal care and grooming products can be a daily challenge.
“Shopping for beauty products as a blind person can be near impossible,” says Halima Ahmed, who was diagnosed with late-onset blindness at the age of 24. “Not simply being able to pick up a shampoo for your hair type is frustrating.” Ahmed says that when more brands started engaging with people with disabilities, she was initially enthusiastic. “There were beauty campaigns with people with disabilities, with visual disabilities and the brands were beginning to talk about accessibility for people like me but I don’t know how much further it has gone beyond this point.”
It’s one thing to initiate conversation and another thing to understand and implement change. In the last few years, a number of mainstream brands have launched projects and products that promise more accessibility in the beauty space, yet many remain a speaking point. Lancôme introduced HAPTA, a first of its kind computerized make-up applicator created for anyone with hand-motion disorders and stroke-related motion challenges last year. It was named TIME Best Inventions 2023 under the accessibility category, despite some criticism from the disabled community over its £199 price tag. Originally marketed for release by the end of 2023, as we enter 2024 no concrete plans for an official launch date have been announced.
This is not a one-off occurrence. In 2021, Unilever revealed the “world’s first inclusive” deodorant specifically designed for people with limited arm mobility and sight. Beyond receiving multiple awards for design, innovation and marketing, the prototype never made it beyond testing and onto the shelves to make a difference for the people it was designed for. After some negative feedback from test users, in 2022 the brand said it was going back to the drawing board.
Outside of heritage and corporate companies, there are a few indie brands working to create accessible beauty products. Celebrity make-up artist Terri Bryant founded Guide Beauty in 2020 after Parkinson’s impacted her ability to apply make-up and the brand has become one of the trailblazers modernizing inclusive beauty. There’s also Human Beauty, founded by Millie Flemington-Clare, which aims to fill the gap in the industry. “I founded Human Beauty out of the frustration most disabled beauty lovers face, that my products weren’t accessible, and I never saw anyone like me in the campaigns (I was tube fed until the age of 18),” she says. Human Beauty actively involves disabled individuals in testing and designing products to ensure inclusivity is at the core of the brand. Kohl Kreatives, meanwhile, creates make-up brushes designed to support those with motor disabilities.
These niche indie brands are pushing to make change, but there’s still a long way to go especially in mainstream beauty. “While progress has been made, there’s still much work to be done,” as Flemington-Clare says. For content creator Eliza Rain, this will come from including people with disabilities – and therefore an understanding of how it impacts one’s life – in the room. “[What’s needed is] including more disabled people in the design of the products and ensuring those people are intersectional disabled people with a variety of different needs,” they say.
In 2021, Procter & Gamble brought on content creator Lucy Edwards, who is blind, as an ambassador for Pantene, and the company has also been working with Sumaira Latif for many years. Latif, diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa – a rare genetic condition affecting vision – works behind the scenes to help evolve product design to ensure usability for individuals with cognitive, sensory, and physical disabilities. Projects that she has been a part of include Olay’s Easy Open Lids for individuals with mobility difficulties. For blind and low-vision consumers, there’s Herbal Essences’ raised dots and strips, while the Clearblue Be My Eyes app allows users to have their pregnancy results read aloud.
Elsewhere, brands such as Bioderma, Humanrace, L’Occitane and Dr. Jart have begun adding braille to their packaging. Too Faced recently introduced QR codes to their packaging to help with identification of products. “You can’t imagine the difference the introduction of Braille and QR codes on packaging has made,” says Ahmed. “It’s been a long while since I went out shopping for beauty products on my own. I can’t believe I am able to do something as simple as pick up a cleanser for my skin type on my own.”
Ultimately, everyone agrees that progress is being made, it’s just not enough yet. “One token disabled people isn’t inclusion, products aren’t accessible if they’re not affordable” says Rachel Charlton-Dailey, journalist, author and campaigner. Accessibility can’t be approached as if it were one dimensional – a one size fits all solutions.
“True inclusivity in the beauty industry requires a holistic 360 approach. Brands need to go beyond token representation and actively involve the disabled community in product development, marketing and decision-making processes,” stresses Flemington-Clare. “By involving the disabled community during decision-making processes brands can avoid brand-damaging situations.”
Sometimes small changes can have big impacts: a facial designed to take into account light and sound sensitivities or adding alternative text to social media posts or products with handles designed for better grip for more control. Making the beauty industry a more inclusive space may sound like a hefty task on paper, but it’s no small pay-off when it significantly impacts 1.3 billion people across the globe.