The beauty industry is making strides to be more inclusive by creating products that meet the needs of all skin tones.

But when it comes to seeking information about how to treat certain skin care conditions, people of color are often met with less than adequate solutions and their skin tones are almost never seen in image-based results. Research published by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that fewer than 6% of image-based search results show conditions on skin of color. A partnership between skin care brand Vaseline and digital health company HUED, and medical informatics company VisualDx has addressed this gap to improve the quality of care for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous populations.

Their combined effort has yielded See My Skin, the only online database designed to search skin conditions for people of color and then connect users with proper care. See My Skin, which launched in April 2022, offers education, access, and visual data to reduce healthcare bias by improving clinical decisions through visualization.

“People of color are negatively impacted by healthcare inequities that can lead to worse

Kevin Tolson

health outcomes, including how to care for their skin.  Whether it’s looking for answers in search, on social media, or even in textbooks – the results that resemble skin of color are scarce, which can leave us feeling unseen and underrepresented,” said Kevin Tolson, Brand Director of U.S. Skin Care at Unilever. “We created See My Skin so that people with melanin-rich skin could finally see skin conditions on themselves. Our goal is to provide solutions that ensure communities are equipped to get the care that everyone deserves. This is a step in that direction.”

Through the search experience, See My Skin provides users with access to quality and impartial skin care via a robust database of board-certified dermatologists, as well as the ability to book appointments directly.

The platform also offers educational resources that provide expert recommendations on how to treat and monitor skin at home, when to seek out a dermatologist, and how to best prepare for an appointment with the right questions. The community is invited not just to search for resources, but also to submit their own.

Content on the platform is independently evaluated for accuracy and relevance by Vaseline’s Dermatology Review Board. “We need to move the needle on equitable care for all,” said review board member Dr. Caroline Robinson, MD, FAAD, and Founder of Tone Dermatology. “Thinking about things from a patient perspective, it’s really difficult to recognize the lack of representation for skin of color. We are becoming a more and more diverse nation, and resources like textbooks and image databases need to evolve with the changing society,” she added.

Through Vaseline’s broader Equitable Skin Care for All efforts, See My Skin helps contribute to the brand’s mission to create 15 million more equitable skin care experiences by 2025. A partnership with Medscape, the leading online global destination for physicians and healthcare professionals worldwide, has allowed Vaseline to provide funding to support the development of continuing medical education to equip dermatologists and medical practitioners to better treat, diagnose and care for skin of color. These learning modules cover treatment for common skin conditions such as acne and scarring, seborrheic dermatitis, and atopic dermatitis specific to skin of color.

Since its launch, the See My Skin campaign has garnered 952 million impressions, garnered more than 490 earned placements, and received two Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022 Awards.

“We helped people at the moment they were actively trying to self-diagnose, with 59% of organic views coming from users searching for a specific skin image or skin-related concern. Forty-eight percent of those who searched on the site were empowered to advocate for themselves and take action.” Kevin said.

Retailers and dermatologists also have avenues to get involved, said Kevin. “Vaseline Brand’s most iconic product packaging is transformed to celebrate Vaseline’s dedication to ensuring that all shades of skin have access to healing skin care,” he explained. “In an effort to highlight Vaseline’s Equitable Skincare for All efforts, the artwork on pack this year will illustrate the importance of equitable care through the patient and physician relationship. Each pack includes a QR code linking to the Vaseline’s skin care resources on SeeMySkin.com.”

Dermatologists who are specialized to treat skin of color or have taken the Medscape Skin of Color learning module have the opportunity to sign up to be identified as a resource by the HUED Finder tool, and expand the existing database, he said.