Beautiful

Diversity:
Meeting the needs of
people of all skin tones
The rise of inclusive
beauty
Inclusivity has become one of the most important concepts
in the beauty, skincare and personal care industries. In
March 2021, Unilever announced that it was dropping
the word “normal” from its branding and packaging
in order to “champion a new era of beauty which is
equitable and inclusive.”1 “Beauty for all” was identified
by CosmeticsDesign Europe as one of the top five beauty
trends for 2021.2 Even skeptical commentators “sense an
exciting shift,” with diversity and inclusivity “at the top of
every agenda.”3
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Of course, it wasn’t always like this. For many decades, the
beauty industries catered disproportionately to the needs of
people with the lightest skin colorings, with “foundation and
concealer only available in a limited shade range of light
and tan tones.”4 Funmi Fetto, a contributing editor at UK
Vogue, remembers how hard it used to be to find products
for her skin tone: “I moved towards the foundations and
chose the darkest shade. It was called ‘Biscuit’. I looked like
I had white chalk on my skin… It was like I had turned up to a
party to which I was not invited.”5
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Changing the face of the
industry: Fenty and #BLM

Two cataclysmic events in particular have driven

inclusivity to the top of the beauty agenda.

One took place in September 2017, when global megastar
Rihanna launched the Fenty Beauty range. In deliberate
contrast to companies that fail to cater to all skin types,
Fenty puts inclusivity front and center – its concealers,
for example, are available in 50 different shades.6 This has
had a huge impact on the rest of the industry because
“any brands now launching with fewer than 40 shades
of foundation are seen to be slacking.” 7 Noting that the
launch of Fenty “blew the conversation wide open,”
Fetto points out that “brands are still desperately trying
to outdo one another, launching 50, 60 and even 100
foundation shades.”8
However, it is clear that there is still a huge amount to do,
with some feeling that “beauty brands are still turning
a blind eye to their sheer lack of inclusivity, even after
they assured us they wouldn’t.” They question how much
real progress has been made: “More often than not, the
shade ranges are disappointing – and predictable… Either
the shade is too light or too dark, or there’s hardly any
choice.” 11

Three years later, many companies in the beauty and

skincare spaces instigated wholesale rethinks of their
approaches to inclusivity in response to the Black Lives
Matter movement. Many expressed solidarity on social
media by posting black squares, while others took
practical steps to broaden their shade ranges, offer
more diverse brands, or represent all skin tones in their
branding.9 Others went even further: Lush, for example,
created a 100-day plan to embed anti-racism into its
business.10

“Beauty brands are still turning

a blind eye to their sheer lack
of inclusivity, even after they
assured us they wouldn’t.”

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The business case for inclusivity

Embracing inclusivity makes sense from a commercial

perspective as well as a moral one.

According to the Vogue Business Index, six in ten

consumers consider diversity and inclusion important
when making a luxury business purchase, so “brands
who are not meeting consumers’ social and ethical
expectations risk being left behind.” 12

In 2017, African American consumers spent an estimated

$127 million on grooming aids and $465 million on skin
care.13

As Fetto puts it:

“Every savvy brand – and not just those in the beauty

industry – is aware that without an inclusivity
strategy, they have no growth strategy.”14

6 in 10
consumers consider diversity and inclusion important when making a luxury
business purchase

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New research insights
from Lycored

But what do consumers think about the choice of

products available and the efforts of the industry to up
its game? And how do their perceptions differ based on
their skin tone?

To gain new insights for our partners in the worlds of

beauty and skincare, Lycored surveyed 1,285 consumers
(760 in the UK and 525 in the US) online between 5th
and 10th August 2021.

We asked them to define their skin tone in one of five

categories based on the Fitzpatrick scale (“dark brown
or black,” “brown,” “light brown,” “white – darker,” and
“white – pale or fair”), surveying equal numbers in each
category in both the US and the UK. All had purchased a
product for their skin over the past 12 months.

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Different skin tones, different priorities…

We asked: “When you use products for your skin, which

I prioritise a healthy glow/radiance when I use
of the following goals do you want to achieve?” and
products for my skin.
found that consumers needs and preferences vary
considerably according to their skin tone.

In both the US and the UK, for example, consumers with 51%
the darkest skin tones were the most likely to prioritize Pale or fair
healthy glow/radiance. This was a goal for 67% of skin
Americans with dark brown skin, compared to just 51%
of those with pale or fair skin.

By contrast, avoiding redness was a goal for 24% of the

UK respondents with white skin, compared to 9% of
those with dark brown or black skin. Consumers with
the lightest skin tones were also the most likely to seek 67%
protection from UV light (a goal for 34% with pale or fair Dark brown
skin compared to 17% with dark brown or black skin). skin

…and different challenges

Possibly reflecting the fact that skincare markets have

historically defaulted to their needs, people with white
of respondents with
or fair skin were much less likely to have purchased

73%
a product designed specifically for their skin tone. In
dark brown or black skin
the UK, 33% had done so, compared to 56% of those tones have purchased a
with light brown skin and 54% with brown skin. In the product targeting their
US, consumers in all groups were more likely than particular skin tone.
their British counterparts to have purchased a product
targeting their particular skin tone. However, this was
significantly more likely to be the case for those with
dark brown or black skin tones (73% compared to 59%
of people with pale or fair skin).

Our findings also suggest the possibility that many

consumers with lighter skin tones are unaware of the of respondents with
challenges facing those with darker skin tones. In the dark brown or black
UK, nearly three quarters (74%) of respondents with
dark brown or black skin believed that it was harder for
people with darker skin tones to find the right products,
74% skin believed that it was
harder for people with
darker skin tones to find
but among those with white skin, that figure was as low the right products.
as 26%.

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Proportional representation?

There were also major differences when it came to

perceptions of how inclusive the beauty industry is. In of people with dark
the UK, 64% of people with dark brown or black skin brown or black skin

64%
did not believe that the industry does enough to meet did not believe that the
the needs of people of all skin tones, but among white industry does enough
people that figure fell to 24%.
to meet the needs of
However, there is a widespread perception that things people of all skin tones
are improving. In the UK, 56% of respondents thought
the beauty industry had got better at meeting the
needs of people of all skin tones in recent years, and
this figure was similar across all groups. In the US,
perceptions were even more positive, with 62% of
all respondents believing the beauty industry has
improved, although this figure was significantly higher
among people with pale or fair skin (68% compared to
60% of those with light brown, brown, dark brown or
black skin).

Another common criticism relates to representation

– both on boards and in marketing output. “By only
featuring white women in their campaigns, they also
assume their audience and consumer is white,” says
Fetto. “At the majority of the big beauty companies,
all the key decision-makers are white, which invariably
informs what ends up on advertising material.” 15

However, 55% of the consumers we surveyed in the UK

and 54% of those in the US thought the beauty industry
does enough to represent people of all skin tones, for
example in their choice of models.

55%
“The beauty industry
does enough to
represent people of
all skin tones…”

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Ingestible skincare: A
platform for inclusivity?
Of course, many of the issues that have resulted in
inequalities in the skincare industry do not apply to
products that are ingested rather than applied topically.
Nutraceuticals for beauty do not come in different
shades and only “see” us at the cellular level.
This may create opportunities for more inclusive
approaches. Indeed, two thirds of the consumers we
surveyed in the US (66%) and three quarters (73%) of
those in the UK agreed with the statement: “Products
that provide the same benefits for people of all skin
tones offer a platform for inclusivity.” Furthermore,
consumers with darker skin tones were significantly
more likely to agree with the statement than those who
defined themselves as white.
73% of consumers in the UK
said products that provide the
same benefits for people of all
skin tones offer a platform
for inclusivity.
Lycored
On the question of whether demand for ingestible
products is greater among people with particular skin
tones, our research presents a more complex picture.
In the US, people with lighter skin tones were more
likely to say they found ingestible skincare appealing.
However, those who defined their skin tone as brown
or black were slightly more likely to have purchased a
supplement for their skin over the past year.
In the UK, people with brown skin were the most likely
to find ingestible skincare appealing (68% compared
to 42% of those with pale or fair skin). The group most
likely to have purchased an ingestible product were
those who defined their skin tone as “white – darker”
(30%).
68% of people in the
UK with brown skin would
find ingestible skincare
appealing.
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Changing habits or
comfortable in their skin?

Other research has indicated that COVID has

“accelerated many pre-existing trends in beauty, most
notably taking the rise of e-commerce to astonishing 45% of UK consumers
new heights.” 16 Our survey revealed that 54% of said the pandemic had
consumers in the UK and 57% in the US still prefer to made them more likely
buy products for their skin in a store, compared to 20% to buy skincare products
and 16% who prefer to buy them online. However, 45% online.
in the UK and 40% in the US said the pandemic had
made them more likely to buy skincare products online.

We then asked which sources of information might

affect purchases of skincare products. In both the US
and the UK, by far the biggest influencers of purchasing Do social media or online influencers affect
behavior were friends, family members and doctors or purchases of skincare products?
other healthcare professionals. There were also some
interesting variations by skin tone. For example, in

38%
the UK, among people who defined their skin tone as
brown, 38% said they trusted social media or online ‘Brown’ skin tone
influencers, compared to just 6% of those with pale
or fair skin. In both countries, consumers with darker
skin tones were also more likely to list “it is made from
natural ingredients” as a factor that would influence
6% ‘Pale’ skin tone
them to purchase a particular skincare product.

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Lycored: A commitment
to inclusivity

Lycored has a proud track record of initiatives to

foster more inclusive attitudes. Launched in 2016,
and partly inspired by the fact that ingestible skincare
does not “see” skin color, race, gender or age,
our #rethinkbeautiful campaign aims to challenge
perceptions about the nature of beauty. It has included
short films such as ‘Beauty Is What You Make It,’ in which
people of all skin tones discuss what beauty means to
them, and collaborations with partners in the fashion
industry. For example, in 2018, we worked with the make-
up team for the Eckhaus Latta Fashion Show to create a
“lit-from-within glow” look for an event featuring models
of diverse backgrounds, races and ages.

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Diverse solutions for
diverse needs

As our new research shows, consumers of all skin tones There is still a long way to travel, but
are not only interested in ingestible skincare but also
recognize its potential to contribute to a more inclusive it is clear that major change is taking
version of skincare and beauty. place in the beauty and skincare
The Lycored range of natural, scientifically substantiated industries. While the growing interest
ingredients for beauty-from-within products was born of in beauty from within is only a tiny
the belief that healthy, beautiful skin starts on the inside –
and that everyone has a right to it. element of the journey, Lycored is
Lycoderm™, our flagship nutrient complex for skincare
proud to play a part in providing a
supplements, offers optimal concentrations of lycopene, platform for greater inclusivity.
phytoene, phytofluene and rosemary extract, helping
balance the skin’s response to environmental stress. Its
benefits have been supported by a series of studies,
including a recent placebo-controlled trial demonstrating
a very real effect on visible beauty parameters. After 16
weeks, the Lycoderm group saw a significant reduction in
wrinkle severity and fine lines, and 81% reported that their
skin felt smoother.17

Our portfolio also includes Lumenato™, a groundbreaking

extract sourced from an exotic breed of golden
tomatoes. The natural tomato carotenoids it contains
are carefully calibrated to work synergistically and offer
proven benefits for beauty and skin wellness, including
defense against collagen-3 damage.18 The latest addition
to the Lycored skincare range is LycoAsta.™ Created
from Haematococcus pluvialis algae and loaded with
free radical-fighting astaxanthin, it’s ideal for softgel
applications.

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Let’s chat
Find out how we can help you create
your next product: info@lycored.com
References
1. Unilever Press Release ‘Unilever says no to ‘normal’ with new positive
beauty vision’ 9 March 2021
2. Culliney, K ‘15 global beauty trends to watch in 2021: From
CosmeticsDesign’s Editors’ CosmeticsDesign Europe, 16-Dec-2020
3. Fetto, Funmi ‘The beauty industry is still failing black women’ Guardian, 29
September, 2019
4. Werle, Adrienne, “Beyond Light, Medium, and Dark: Diversity and Inclusivity
in the Makeup and Beauty Industries” Mahurin Honors College Capstone
Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 831, December 16, 2019
5. Fetto, Funmi ‘The beauty industry is still failing black women’
6. Wikipedia ‘Fenty Beauty’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenty_Beauty,
Accessed 11 Oct 2021
7. Fetto, Funmi ‘The beauty industry is still failing black women’
8. Fetto, Funmi ‘How Fenty beauty changed the state of play in the industry’,
Vogue Britain, 6 April, 2020
9. Maddix, V ‘Since the BLM protests, have beauty brands made any real
strides towards diversity?’, Refinery 29 1 June 2021
10. Lush ‘Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Beyond The 100 Day Plan’, 28 Apr 2021
11. Maddix, V ‘Since the BLM protests, have beauty brands made any real
strides towards diversity?’, Refinery 29 1 June 2021
12. Shoaib, M ‘Beauty weak spot: Inclusive luxury colour cosmetics’, Vogue
Business, 25 June 2021
13. Holmes, TE ‘The Industry That Black Women Built’, Essence December 6,
2020
14. Fetto, Funmi ‘How Fenty beauty changed the state of play in the industry’,
Vogue Britain, 6 April, 2020
15. Fetto, Funmi ‘The beauty industry is still failing black women’
16. Culliney K ‘COVID-19 one year on: The pandemic has created a digital
beauty space ‘on steroids’, says expert’ Cosmetics Design Europe, 26 April
2021
17. Tarshish, E., Hermoni, K. & Schwartz, S.R. ‘Effect of oral supplement
“Lycopene” on reducing the signs of skin ageing’ Clinical Pharmacology
and Biopharmaceutics (2020)
18. Solomonov Y, Hadad N, Pikovsky O, Levy R. Lumenato protects normal
human dermal fibroblasts from neutrophil-induced collagen-3 damage in
co-cultures. PLoS One. 2021 Mar 17;16(3):e0248183