Accessible beauty products are a must in our society. All genders, ages, and people with different abilities deserve to feel good about their appearance.
Although loving the skin you are in is most important, many of us love a self-care day with our favorite beauty products. But what happens when the products aren’t accessible?
Abled body people may take for granted being able to use their favorite mascara every day or wash their hair with their high-end shampoo. However, for people with a disability, this may not be their reality.
When companies make overly complex packaging or heavy and robust beauty products, it can exclude a whole group of people from being able to use them.
So, if you want to buy disabled-friendly products this Christmas or support brands that support people with disabilities, here are some of the best.
Why do we need accessible packaging?
Accessible packaging on our favorite beauty products is necessary for people with disabilities.
In the rise of TikTok and Instagram, how visually appealing a beauty product looks is just as important as how well it works. We all love things that look beautiful, but these over-the-top designs or trendy ‘clean girl’ packaging can be a nightmare for those with disabilities.
Disabilities that present in the hands and arms, such as arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, can make opening beauty products challenging or even dangerous.
People with disabilities have been talking about this problem for a while now and brands are finally starting to catch on.
Rare Beauty
Rare Beauty is a brand known for its inclusive and accessible beauty products. Actress and musician Selena Gomez started the brand in 2019, and it has been a big hit ever since.
Selena and the Rare Beauty team have created a cap design that allows for products to be easily opened and closed. This also allows the consumer to have a tight grip on the product.
These designs can be found on Rare beauty’s:
- Soft Pinch liquid blush
- Soft Pinch Tinted lip oil
- Positive Light liquid luminizer
- Liquid Touch Brightening concealer
- Positive Light Tinted Moisturizer
- Liquid Touch weightless foundation
- Kind Words matte lipstick
Praise has been given to Selena for keeping people with disabilities in mind when perfecting her brand. It is also an issue that seems close to Selena’s heart as she suffers from Lupus. This condition is a chronic auto-immune disease that causes inflammation and swelling throughout the body, which can cause a great amount of pain.
Human Beauty
The brand, Human Beauty is another great example of a disabled-owned brand making great accessible products.
Millie, owner of Human Beauty, has an extremely rare condition called Cystinosis, which has affected her life massively. Throughout her life, she used make-up as a form of expression and therapy and has now gone on to create her brand.
My brand is called Human Beauty because I believe that every human being is beautiful.
Millie, Owner of Human Beauty on Youtube
The makeup palettes produced by Human Beauty all feature a QR code on the back. When the code is scanned, a verbal walkthrough of each shade plays to the user. This assists people who are visually impaired or blind and allows them to have the same accessibility to makeup.
The Liquid Confidence Mascara also features a design that makes it easy for those with mobility issues to use as it can be applied horizontally and vertically.
All products have an ‘anti-roll’ design, making sure your make-up stays put on your desk or wherever you do your makeup.
Although Human Beauty is based in the UK, their website is up to date with website accessibility guidelines and also gives many options to buy in other countries.
E.L.F
E.L.F Cosmetics is an affordable drugstore brand with high-end results. The brand is reliable and is now making ways to be accessible for all.
In the summer of this year, the brand announced they would be partnering with world champion blind swimmer Anastasia ‘Tas’ Pagonis. Their partnership will see E.L.F. create new packaging that will make the brand more accessible for visually impaired and blind people.
These products will contain a QR code that will link to a description of the product by Pagonis:
- Big Mood Waterproof Mascara
- Glossy Lip Stain in Power Mauves
- SKIN Suntouchable Whoa Glow SPF 30 in Sunbeam
This release of accessible products is hopefully one of many in the future. The brand has taken this release as an opportunity to continue to be more inclusive in the future.
Brands that need to get on board
Unfortunately, not every brand is accessible or is making the changes towards accessibility.
The disabled community continues to raise awareness around this issue as many brand owners don’t know this problem exists.
The cost to make accessible products can be higher than non-accessible. Smaller brands may need time to make accessibility a reality. However, celebrities and bigger brands have no excuse.
Certain brands have come under fire recently for their lack of accessibility.
Blake Lively’s hair care brand, Blake Brown, is just one of the brands that have faced this issue.
All their products are different shapes, making it easier for blind and visually impaired people to differentiate between products. The problem lies in being accessible to people with mobility issues.
The products come in large hexagon-shaped containers. These look visually appealing and follow an aesthetic theme but just aren’t practical.
The weight and shape of these containers make it hard for a non-abled body person to use in a shower. This puts people with disabilities at a disadvantage.
Hopefully, in the future, Blake will make the necessary changes to her brand and the packaging to make it available for everyone as by all counts the results of this hair care brand are good.
