Beauty for everyone

Brands are becoming accessible even to those with disabilities, medical conditions

- VAISHALI DAR

Inclusivity is becoming a buzzword in the personalized beauty and wellness industry too. For instance, painful medical conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis can make it tough for people to open packages or use products. But a crop of personal beauty brands backed by beauty experts and disability advocates are making adaptive makeup and application tools with easy-to-use products that anyone, regardless of physical ability, can use.

Features like flip-top lids, pumps, and Braille labeling are some changes made to products. Take for instance, Lancôme. The brand has an application of lipstick and mascara in Hapta, a handheld motorized makeup device applicator, for people with limited arm mobility, hand-motion disorders, arthritis, Huntington's Disease, and stroke-related motion challenges. The device harnesses the power of technology to assist those who have difficulty raising their arms due to limited mobility issues, and people with limited grip strength who struggle with precise application.

While consumers demand hyper-personalized and science-backed products, Estée Lauder introduced a voice-enabled makeup assistant (VMA) application, a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence-powered mobile app to help visually impaired users more easily and confidently apply makeup.