Inclusive beauty refers to beauty which caters to all, regardless of gender, age, skin tone, skin type, religion, or race.
Everything from beauty product formulations (e.g. halal-certified ingredients) and make-up tools designed for individuals with motor disabilities to the models featured in advertising and the brands carried in retail stores contribute to make beauty more accessible.
A pivotal moment was the 2017 launch of Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics brand from Rihanna. Fenty launched with a then unprecedented 40 foundation shades, enabling a wide range of skin tones to find the right shade. Fenty subsequently went beyond foundation by releasing a liquid concealer in 50 shades. The brand answered a widespread consumer need for individuals who donât normally see themselves in beauty products or advertising. Fentyâs success sparked a shift â helping make-up brands realise that diversity should be a priority rather than an afterthought.
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In 2020, the Black Lives Matter protests saw a broader shift towards social purpose and inclusion. The protests not only heightened awareness of racial inequalities but also placed pressure on beauty and personal care companies to widen non-Eurocentric perceptions of beauty. Other trends â such as growing support for LGBT individuals, evolving gender norms, and the body positivity movement â have also changed the landscape.
As a result, inclusive beauty has gathered traction. Beauty brands which donât promote inclusivity risk losing out on a new generation of consumers â especially as a growing crop of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands emerge to fill the gaps.
Foundation shades are important â but beauty for different skin tones goes beyond that. For example, darker skin reacts differently to skin conditions such as acne and eczema and is more susceptible to hyperpigmentation because of higher amounts of melanin. But traditionally, many products have been tested on lighter skin tones, ignoring their efficacy for people with different skin tones. More diversity within dermatology would help â in the US, itâs estimated that only 3% of dermatologists are Black (in a country where African-Americans make up 15% of the population).
However, since Fentyâs launch and the BLM protests, there has been progress:
In haircare, the industry has moved away from the term âethnic hairâ â with its connotations of Otherness â towards the term âtextured hairâ, to capture a wider spectrum of hair types. The industry is widening its product offerings for textured hair including:
When Rihanna launched Fenty Skin in 2020, she tweeted, âWhoever told you skincare has a gender LIED to you!â As with the Fenty launch three years earlier, she was onto something.
With younger consumers embracing the idea that gender is a spectrum, gender-neutral make-up lines are gaining prominence. Itâs estimated that over 50% of Gen Z â those born between 1997 and 2012 â shop outside their gender in beauty categories, prompting some in the industry to think beyond the gender binary. This is a big shift: traditionally, most skin care and beauty has been targeted towards feminine-presenting women. Now, there are more gender non-conforming ad campaigns and gender-neutral products aimed at a more broadly defined beauty customer.
Take the brand Fluide. While many brands feign inclusivity during Pride Month, few are committed to gender inclusivity to the extent Fluide is. The brandâs stated mission is to amplify queer and gender-expansive identities, and it does this by celebrating non-conformity through its products and messaging. Itâs not just about rainbow-hued products which are great for creating bold and experimental make-up looks â the brand also donates a proportion of its profits to LGBT support organisations.
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Other examples include:
In the hair category, there is a similar push toward gender inclusivity, as the idea that short hair is for men whilst long hair is for women continues to erode. In 2021, Queer Eye beauty guru Jonathan Van Ness launched his 10 product, gender-neutral hair care line, JVN Hair, which includes an oil that can either be used on the beard or hair lengths.
That said, genderless products and marketing in beauty isnât entirely new. Are you old enough to remember the stir caused by Calvin Kleinâs unisex fragrance, CK One, when it launched in 1994?
Whilst beauty inclusivity has come a long way in terms of skin tones and gender, there remains a gap when it comes to creating products for people with disabilities. One billion people worldwide have a disability, yet product development for consumers with disabilities remains niche in the personal care category. Over half of adults in the US agree that the beauty industry should be more inclusive and over four in ten UK adults agree that beauty brands ignore people with disabilities.
From adapting product design for different hand grips to making products more readable for the visually impaired, there are ways that beauty brands can become more inclusive. Examples include:
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Traditionally, the beauty industry has tended to focus on adults aged 18 to 35 â but there is significant opportunity in age groups beyond that.
Older consumers
More brands are looking to cater to older consumers, such as Gen Xers or baby boomers. For example, perimenopausal concerns have seen increasing attention in skincare, including:
In 2020, Ilia Beauty launched a marketing campaign featuring women between the ages of 20 and 70. Other companies are catering to aging adults by making their product packaging and design easier to use, with larger fonts, pumps, and ridged tops.
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Babies and children
At the other end of the spectrum, beauty brands are also looking to babies and children to maximise opportunities, with examples like:
Up-market skincare brands such as Pai Skincare, Dr Barbara Sturm and others have also expanded into childrenâs and baby skincare products.
Clearly, parents who purchase skincare products for their children are very concerned with safety as well as efficacy â which is why, for companies entering this category, ingredient transparency is key.
Gen Z or teenagers
Gen Z-focused brands such as UK-based Plenaire and Bubble have seen increasing traction. Meanwhile, traditional category leaders like Chanel, YSL, and others are revamping their products and marketing strategies to appeal to a younger audience.
Social media is a key channel for teenagers to discover products in line with their needs â what might be called âedutainmentâ for beauty and skincare products, led by so-called âskinfluencersâ. TikTok is a massive brand opportunity, reshaping consumer preferences and driving viral sales. Two thirds of TikTokâs one billion users are Gen Z â their number 1 skincare demand is clean beauty, so they research product ingredients, care about sustainability, and expect brands to be transparent.
In the last few decades, male grooming has expanded beyond the basics (face washes and moisturisers etc) to include eye creams, sunscreen, face masks, make-up and more.
South Korea has been a trendsetter in this category, with South Korean men accounting for a fifth of global spend on menâs skincare in 2018 â a trend often attributed to the popularity of K-pop idols.
Chinaâs male grooming market is growing at 13% per year or double the global average. Its male skincare market was more than twice the size of South Koreaâs and more than three times the size of the US market in 2021.
In Asia, menâs skincare and makeup has been a rising trend for years, with the West catching up only recently. Many of todayâs brands, such as Stryx, Shakeup Cosmetics, and War Paint, are employing D2C distribution to attract a new generation of male consumers.
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Inclusive beauty is here to stay. In the near term, as the inclusive beauty and clean beauty movements intersect, expect to see more emphasis on ingredient transparency. As the global beauty landscape becomes more connected and accessible, expect to see more brands looking to Asia for inspiration â especially in male personal care.
For any brand which takes a stand on socio-political issues, itâs important that communication between the consumer and the brand is a two-way process, and that you involve the community you are catering to. Brands should listen to their audiences in different markets around the world and respond accordingly.
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