Skin health for people of color has long been an afterthought in the medical community. Only 3% of all dermatologists in the United States are black and 47% of other dermatologists say they are not properly trained to treat or diagnose conditions on skin of color. Access to skin care in many communities is also quite limited. All of this leads to untreated conditions and a 25% higher mortality rate, particularly as it pertains to skin cancer.
We found that in the communities where people of color live, the number of black dermatologists was even lower than this national average – in Hartford, CT and Baltimore, MD, there are 0 black dermatologists; in Austin, TX there are 3; and Brooklyn, NY there are 4.
Vaseline believes everybody deserves the right to healthy skin and is committed to providing equitable skincare for all.
This campaign intends to reach people of color in medically underserved communities to provide access to skin health resources and connect them with medical professionals.
With its Equitable Skincare for All brand purpose, Vaseline created See My Skin, a website designed to help people of color understand and identify skin disorders on darker skin, along with connecting them with medical professionals trained to care for skin of color. We needed to increase awareness of this vital resource to give underserved communities access to the skin health care they need.
We located four murals across the country that had experienced serious damage due to environmental factors and graffiti.
The original artists were commissioned to restore and repair their beautiful works, and the skin of the different characters and icons featured. On each mural was a QR code that drove directly to the See My Skin website, where members of the community could access skincare resources and book appointments at the Vaseline-partner clinic. Vaseline made a donation to these local clinics, to fund dermatologist clinics.
Dermatologists have expressed how these resources have positively impacted their ability to educate patients on the importance of taking care of their skin. One dermatologist stated, "We have screened five patients this morning. Most have grown up in the islands or Africa. No one routinely wears sunscreen. No one has had a yearly skin check. What a gift this has been to our patients!"
We not only restored the murals and brought beauty back to the neighborhoods, but also used the murals to bring skin health resources to the community.
Vaseline’s Mended Mural initiative aimed to give people access to equitable skin care by directing them to Vaseline’s See My Skin website, which gives people access to resources like a database to search for skin conditions on skin of color, blogs about skin conditions, and dermatology guides.
Since our launch, local clinic partners have seen over 160 patients directly attributed to the Mended Murals initiative. Vaseline's donation allowed for the training of approximately 50 volunteers in basic dermatology screenings, dermatology care, and patient education and counseling.
Vaseline Murals in 4 communities drove:
60,716 active users to the See My Skin website (in the first 2 months).
+267% increase in people seeking dermatology care in the first 2 months and a +300% increase in the first month, the highest since the launch of See My Skin.
290M impressions, with almost no media spend behind it.
Another notable outcome by those impacted by this initiative have said “Never had a skin check (age 50). The clinic has helped because now I’m aware of what is going on with my body. It’s a matter of safety and being healthy.”
Through these resources dermatologists were able to identify one definite case of skin cancer and ease the minds of others “I had Ewings Sarcoma at the age of 15. That was the last time I had a skin exam. I have been concerned about cancer since then. This exam has given me reassurance. “(Age 34)
