There’s no doubt that our melanin deserves praise and admiration. Unfortunately, the reality has long been that our skin care needs– be it hyperpigmentation or eczema– often haven’t been prioritized in the beauty industry. With this in mind, Vaseline is here to help close the gap with their new Mended Murals Campaign.
The initiative aims to remind people that, much like a neglected mural, something that is beautiful by nature, and meant to be nurtured, can lose its luster if overlooked. Which is a shame, because, as Kevin Tolson–Unilever’s Head of North America Strategy and Chief of Staff, Personal Care– shares with ESSENCE, “murals are really a representation of culture, art, and the people that live there.” That said, the brand is working with local artists in cities like Baltimore, Brooklyn, and Hartford to restore murals. And for each city where murals are restored, Vaseline is pledging to donate $250,000 to local health clinics.
“It was an easy decision to partner with Vaseline, who is not a stranger to my community,” Baltimore muralist Ernest Shaw Jr., who is helping Vaseline resurrect the murals, tells ESSENCE. “Mended Murals is providing the opportunity for a synergetic experience,” Shaw adds before mentioning that there is a QR code attached to each mural leading viewers to information on how to achieve better skin health. “Hopefully, the work itself can draw viewers to the QR code and their journey to better skin healthcare can begin, if needed.”
And this isn’t Vaseline’s first time prioritizing Black skin care needs, either. Mended Murals is truly the artistic manifestation of their SeeMySkin platform, which debuted in 2022 and was designed to help Black patients find information about various skin care conditions and connect with physicians who understand their unique skin care needs. Afterall, as Tolson states, “when you take care of skin, you give it the unique treatment that it needs. And everyone deserves the right to have healthy skin so that they can live without limits.”
You can now visit SeeMySkin to access skin health resources, learn about the clinics Vaseline is supporting in your local communities, and submit your neighborhood mural for restoration.