Lucy Edwards, a UK-based blind broadcaster, TikTokker and disability activist, has joined Pantene as its ambassador for the Silky & Glowing product range.
 
The announcement comes as Pantene, a P&G brand, launches a new social code of conduct, to help ensure social content like beauty tutorials are accessible for all. Pantene also commits to bringing Navilens technology in to stores to enhance the product experience for the visually impaired, all with a mission to give more people, more great hair days.
 
Commenting on the announcement, Edwards said, "I love beauty, I love looking good – but there is an assumption that because I can’t see, I don’t care. But of course, it is still important to me how I feel I look! The power of hair and the positive impact of a good hair day on my confidence, self-esteem and identity is just as important to me as it is for anyone else. I just experience it through touch – which is why I love Pantene Silky & Glowing, as it makes my hair feel silky soft.”
 
“From experience, visually impaired people in the UK – including myself – feel overlooked and misunderstood by the hair and beauty industry. I can’t wait to work closely with Pantene on leading the way in creating a more inclusive industry, and society – not only for the visually impaired, but for everyone!" she added.
 

Making The Beauty Industry More Accessible

Pantene conducted research to understand the experience of the beauty industry for the visually impaired and what can be done to make it more accessible. Whilst hair and beauty tutorials have become the norm, inclusivity of the audience is rarely considered in content. Findings showed many felt overlooked on social media with comments including “I want the same access to the product as everyone else. I don’t want to ask someone else for help with hair. I want to be able to do it myself from start to finish.”
 
The qualitative research found that there were five key areas for improvement for social content creation, which has been used to inform and create Pantene’s new social media code of conduct. This includes introducing and describing ourselves, using clear content descriptions and captions, audio describing important elements, using subtitles and simply being aware that content needs to be accessible for everyone to create the best content for all.
 
Sumaria Latif, company accessibility leader at Procter & Gamble (P&G), added: “I am not only P&G’s company accessibility leader – first and foremost I am a blind consumer. I know from personal experience just how important a role brands have to play in making me feel more confident. Our partnership with Lucy Edwards is an incredibly exciting, and important, step forward – not just for Pantene, but for the hair and beauty industry as a whole; demonstrating that the power of a good hair day extends far beyond what you can see.”
 
To further their commitment to accelerate beauty industry accessibility and promote greater inclusion, Pantene will be introducing NaviLens to point of sale and product, a unique technology for visibility impaired people who have difficulty using traditional signage and therefore cannot be autonomous in unfamiliar environments.