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ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. — Vaseline shares the belief that all skin deserves to be celebrated and seen. However, skin health care for people of color has long been an afterthought due to systemic racism and healthcare inequities, leading to worse outcomes and increased mortality rates for skin cancer.
As part of the brand’s continued efforts to achieve skin health equity, Vaseline is proud to launch Mended Murals, a multi-city initiative that uses art restoration as a method to shed light on the importance of caring for skin of color and underscores the need for increased access to skin health resources for underrepresented communities.
Following the 2022 launch of SeeMySkin.com, a first-of-its-kind platform designed to search conditions on skin of color and connect patients with physicians who understand their skincare needs, Mended Murals contributes to Vaseline’s long-standing efforts to make skin health care more accessible.
The Mended Murals initiative was created to showcase that without proper care or resources, murals that were once a vibrant reflection of the culture and people in their communities can often fade over time. Through partnerships with artists of diverse backgrounds across the country, Vaseline® is helping restore their murals and support local clinics in those cities that provide accessible health care in surrounding neighborhoods.
To date, Vaseline has committed to commissioning mural restorations with artists based in Baltimore, MD, Brooklyn, NY, and Hartford, CT. Select murals display a QR code driving community members to SeeMySkin.com, where they can access skin health care resources. Vaseline has also committed to donating a total of $250,000 across local charitable health clinics in each U.S. city where murals are restored.
The commitment to create access to skin health doesn’t stop there. Vaseline invites you to submit a mural that’s important to your community for a chance to have it restored by the original artist. With every mural restored, we will provide funds to support a local health clinic in your city.
“Mended Murals is a continuation of Vaseline’s long-standing commitment to enable 15 million people of color to access more equitable skin health care by 2025, said Kathleen Dunlop, CMO of Unilever Beauty and Wellbeing, North America. “We explored murals all over the country, contacting their original artists to bring our vision to life. Vaseline® is helping to restore local murals and support clinics that provide accessible health care to community members. Every mural restoration project helps encourage community members access to skin health resources.”
To celebrate the work being done through Mended Murals and further raise awareness in the next community that will be supported through this initiative, Vaseline® will show up in Austin, TX to partner with Black Future House. This immersive multi-day event brings founders, creators, builders, connectors, and disruptors to shape a better Black Future.
As the exclusive skincare sponsor, Vaseline will be hosting a panel on Saturday, March 9 to discuss the importance of representation and skin health equity. The panel will be moderated by award-winning journalist and NYT bestselling author, Elaine Welteroth and feature Baltimore-based muralist ErnestShaw Jr., Austin-based board-certified dermatologist Dr. Adewole “Ade” Adamson, Unilever’s Beauty & Wellbeing Senior R&D Director, Tiffany Yizar, and Unilever’s Head of North America Strategy and Chief of Staff for the Personal Care Division, Kevin Tolson. To attend, you can register for free at blackfuturehouse.com.
“I’ve always wanted to create art where people of color can find their humanity in the imagery,” said Baltimore muralist, Ernest Shaw Jr. “The impact of these murals goes far beyond just their aesthetic value. On my mural, there is a QR code that community members can scan to utilize accessible skin health resources. I’m honored to work with Vaseline and be part of an initiative that will have a positive impact on peoples’ mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing, which is huge.”
To find more information, visit SeeMySkin.com/MendedMurals to access skin health resources, learn about clinics Vaseline is supporting in local communities, and to submit your neighborhood mural for the chance to be restored. For an overview of the initiative, watch the campaign video here.
