How inclusive is the beauty industry? While ‘diversity’ has become a buzzword over the past few years, with many brands striving to ensure their products are suitable for all gender identities, skin tones and body types, this conversation has largely ignored the needs of the disability community. Considering that one in four adults in the US has some type of disability, this is a huge oversight (not to mention a huge missed business opportunity). Now, with the support of beauty experts and disability advocates, a new crop of companies are developing adaptive cosmetics and tools to meet the needs of these largely underserved consumers.
The first problem with traditional beauty options is the availability of the products themselves.
“Depending on your vision, mobility and dexterity, many of us in the disability community need help with things like make-up or our personal care routines. This is simply because the products don’t take our needs into account,” explains Xian Horn , a disability advocate with cerebral palsy herself. (She is also the founder of Give Beauty Wings, a non-profit organisation that runs self-esteem classes for people in marginalised communities.)
Most of us need help to even use cosmetics or cleansers. In the vast majority of cases, beauty and care products and packaging are not simple enough for us to use ourselves. If you get a personal care assistant or family member to help you, you may not have much choice – especially if they have other ideas or are in a hurry,” she adds.
“The disability is usually in the design, not the person,” agrees Terri Bryant, celebrity make-up artist and founder of accessible cosmetics brand Guide Beauty. After working in the beauty industry for 25 years, Kirby was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which caused her dexterity issues and affected her ability to apply makeup at a professional level. “The make-up techniques I could once execute effortlessly felt foreign and stressful. I began to rethink make-up and how we apply it according to the way we are designed,” she recalls.
The experience led Bryant to found Guide Beauty, which also includes Selma Blair (who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018) as its chief creative officer. The brand is one of a handful of start-ups pioneering the concept of universal design in the beauty sector.
