The Cosmetic and Beauty Products Manufacturing industry in the United States is worth a whopping 48.2 billion dollars, but how much of that industry is accessible? From packaging to applicators, it seems that the industry serves non-disabled consumers only – that is, until now.
L’Oreal, a cosmetics giant, unveiled HAPTA on January 3rd, 2023. HAPTA is a handheld lipstick applicator designed for users with limited hand and/or arm mobility. It is touted as one of the world’s first such devices, marking L’Oreal as one of the first cosmetic companies to put accessibility innovation at the forefront. What does this mean for the future of makeup?
About HAPTA
HAPTA is L’Oreal’s first accessible cosmetic applicator, specifically designed for lipstick and lip products. Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO of Research, Innovation and Technology at L’Oréal, said: “Inclusivity is at the heart of our innovation and beauty tech strategy.” L’Oreal aimed to open up the cosmetics world to the 50 million people globally with fine motor skill problems like dyspraxia.
HAPTA uses magnets to hold the lipstick in place and batteries to create a steadying feature to counteract tremors or coordination impairments. It will first pilot with Lancome, a L’Oreal brand, in 2023.
What does it mean?
Because L’Oreal is such a huge company – its profits were 5.4 billion dollars in 2022, and it owns more than 30 brands – it’s safe to say that many eyes are on them for innovations and potential futures in the cosmetics world. In the past, YSL, their Beauty, Science, & Technology division, has brought forth diverse, innovative cosmetic tools like Skin Screen, a skin analysis service, and Rouge Sur Mesure, an at-home lipstick creator.
L’Oreal may be the first company to create a product like this, but it seems the tides are turning. Selma Blair, an actress and accessibility activist with Multiple Sclerosis, has recently joined GUIDE Beauty as its Chief Creative Officer. GUIDE Beauty is a company that creates ergonomic and accessible makeup and makeup tools, one of the first of its kind. Although it is a fairly well-known brand, it is not as well understood as it could be, like many brands designed exclusively for accessibility. Often, brands like GUIDE are ‘othered’ or simply set aside as brands for people with disabilities alone and not worthy of further attention.
L’Oreal’s release of HAPTA may help change that. L’Oreal is a brand everyone knows and one that has “something for everyone,” as the saying goes. For a brand as large, well-known, and mainstream as L’Oreal to spend time, energy, and money creating an accessible product shows that accessibility is something the cosmetic world – and the rest of the world – should be taken seriously.
Why does it matter?
1.3 billion people live globally (1 in 6) with a disability. With those numbers, it’s almost a guarantee that everyone knows someone who has a disability, whether that person is open about their disability or not. People with disabilities face barriers in employment, healthcare, and leisure activities, even with laws like the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) protecting them.
Developing accessible cosmetics and cosmetic tools is important for the same reason buildings must be accessible: it is a human right to an equitable experience for everyone. Some people might not view cosmetics as important or on the same level as things like healthcare access, but judging what people with disabilities “deserve” access to is morally wrong and illegal.
Cosmetics are a part of human life, so people with disabilities should be able to access them. It is as simple as that. More tools like HAPTA should be developed to enable people with disabilities to enjoy makeup and cosmetics just like people without disabilities do. Now that L’Oreal has introduced HAPTA let's hope other cosmetic companies follow suit and develop their products to open up access to all cosmetic users, regardless of physical abilities.
Conclusion
L’Oreal’s new makeup tool HAPTA was developed as a lipstick applicator for people with fine motor skill impairments or limited hand/arm mobility. It uses magnets and batteries to enable lipstick to be applied regardless of physical ability. It is the first tool of its kind to be developed and will hopefully pave the way for more like it because the cosmetic world is long overdue for an accessibility overhaul.
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