Hello to all of my beautiful nerds traveling the vast universe! I am back with a new post and something we haven’t thought of.

Ways to Make Beauty Accessible to the Blind!

I know it’s weird to see something like this but hear me out! I watch what’s up in Makeup and they had a story where Herbal Essences is now having something new starting next year and that’s placing special markings on their shampoo and conditioner bottles to help people with visual impairments. It’s hard for me being blind not being able to see a certain item on display or know what shampoo or conditioner I’m using since I tend to use rubber bands but they do break over time and having some things easy to tell what’s what can help and this is how! Brands, I hope you’re reading because you need to take notes!

Putting Special Markings: Like with Herbal essences where they are doing lines for shampoo and dots for conditioner, having that special symbol on your product can help give an idea of what someone is reaching for or what new item would be. Yes, we do use apps to help us out to use UPC scanners but once it’s in the shower or the packaging with the writing on it gets removed then it’s hard to tell. Having some kind of marking system can help give an idea of what it can be like having a star for serums, a circle for leave-in conditioners to expand on the dots aspect, and even have a triangle for dry shampoo on the cap to tell apart from hair spray if those had squares on them. Having this kind of marking system can be beneficial to someone with a visual impairment. Another thing that can be helpful…
Having Braille Imprinted: Besides getting special markings, Braille can also help. When I posted about doing this post on what’s up in Makeup, someone on the group talked about how she ordered a skin product from Brazil and there was Braille imprinted on the packaging. It also calls back to how a salon helped blind women in Sao Paolo by putting Braille dots on the compacts and brushes which this can be something that can help in making beauty accessible. Having the imprinting not only helps but it’s better than having Braille tape to tell you the truth. It feels like nowadays Braille labeling tape is not holding its tackiness like it had been when I first learned, I even asked on my Facebook if anyone else faces this and they do. Having an imprint can help us with knowing what the product is in our hands, what color it is with foundations, lip colors especially where that packaging can be very slippery for a Braille label to stay on and having it on brushes can also help in knowing what kind of brush it is and what it’s used for if it has abbreviations like fnd for foundation or pow for powder for example. The possibilities with imprinting Braille is endless and or anyone who may think its dead it’s actually not. Braille has come a long way since the 1800s where we have Android tech in the note takers.
Having Raised Print On Brushes: What about the people who can’t read Braille? Here’s a nice tip. Some brands tend to have engravings on their products for holiday time and instead of engraving why not raise it? Having raised print on a brush either on the feral or close to the bottom or right on the flat bottoms of some brands’ brushes can give an easier way of identifying the brush. Another thing for brushes…
Creating Different Grooves in the Handles for the Series: Since I talked about Braille and raised print, there is one more thing I have noticed that some brush brands place on their hands and that is a grip like groove on the handle. As you know I am subscribed to Ipsy and there were two brushes in the past I have received that had grooves to act like pencil grips. I know there aren’t really any pencil grips for brushes because they tend to make brushes with a plastic part that is the grip and I got paint brushes with that bit and why not extend it to makeup brushes? I thought the grooves would be easier because they can be carved out as the brush is being made. Plus, it can be changed from big too small or even make it into different groove shapes by making them smaller or wider, etc. I figured this would help since brands love to have different series for their brushes from Pro Series down to the Metal Series and so on and some of these brands include Royal & Langnickle, Morphe, Real Techniques, Luxie, and so many more. Creating that groove can help to tell apart that brush or maybe do what I mentioned…
Creating Plastic Grips For Brushes: I did mention how paint brushes have them for one brand why not keep it going for makeup brushes? Adding on a swirly type grip for one series and a different form of a plastic grip for another can distinguish what that brush is and what series it is. Like with the grooves idea, make sure there is a key or a part of the description on the product page talking about which grip is for what series of that brush it’s from because it can help with difference and knowing the brush to get again too. Unless you make your brushes last by keeping them clean like I do. Still, it does help.
Increase Print Size: Okay, I talked about imprinting, markings, and even how to make brushes accessible, now onto people who need large print. Sorry brands, your print is too tiny even for someone who has pretty good sight. Enlarging the print for people who need it and some people who have a hard time reading it anyway can help out. I know the different cosmetics aren’t as big but just having a small enlarged print can be easily seen whether on the bottom or do it horizontal on the packaging like a lip gloss so it can be turned on its side to view the shade better even a lipstick too. With foundations and powders, it can be easily enlarged with the real estate that a lot of packaging has on the top. Yes people need to see the brand but that it’s usually enlarged anyways and the print for product is smaller and that can be a bit tedious to see so why not add a bit more size to the printing to make it easier on the eyes.

That’s it for this post! There may be more ideas to improve on beauty but these are some ideas I came up with even after watching the latest what’s up in Makeup! I hope more things come up in make beauty products more accessible for people with visual impairments. Not only books have been accessible, newspapers too, now beauty products are starting and hoping to continue here in the states!

What’s next on here? Will be doing a review on the latest book by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff and of course my September and October Favorites for this year and of course Ranger Stop is almost here! So, stay tuned to our Twitter @ Nerdy Shique for any new updates! So, until next time! Stay beautiful while traveling the universe!