FERUARY 28, 2025
AI & Personalisation: Showing your commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusivity in beauty
The beauty industry is changing faster than ever, and at the
forefront of this shift is the need for inclusivity. In recent years, consumers
have become more vocal about wanting products that cater to diverse skin tones,
textures, and needs. Beauty business owners are realising that inclusivity
isn't just a trend—it’s a vital part of their brand's future. Enter artificial
intelligence (AI) and personalisation. These technological innovations are
helping brands offer more inclusive beauty products, making it easier for
businesses to meet the unique needs of every customer, no matter their
background.
If you’re a beauty business owner looking to tap into the
growing demand for inclusivity, you might be wondering how you can make your
products more accessible and tailored to a diverse range of consumers. In this
post, we’ll dive into how AI and personalisation are changing the game for
beauty brands and how you can incorporate these technologies into your
offerings to better serve your multicultural customer base.
Understanding the Need for Inclusivity in Beauty
For decades, the beauty industry was known for its narrow
beauty standards, with products primarily aimed at a specific demographic. It
wasn’t uncommon to find makeup lines with just a handful of foundation shades,
leaving many people with darker or unique skin tones frustrated and overlooked.
However, things have started to change. Brands like Fenty
Beauty and MAC Cosmetics were game-changers, launching inclusive collections
that recognised the importance of catering to all skin tones. As beauty becomes
more global and diverse, it’s essential that beauty business owners take the
initiative to provide products that celebrate the full spectrum of beauty.
But how do you, as a beauty entrepreneur, stay ahead of the
curve and ensure that your products are genuinely inclusive? AI and
personalisation offer a powerful way to ensure your products cater to a broad
range of customers.
AI-Powered Tools: The Key to Personalisation
One of the most exciting ways AI can help your business
offer more inclusive beauty products is through personalisation. By using AI
tools, you can offer products that cater to the specific needs of each
customer, whether that’s finding the perfect foundation shade or recommending
skincare based on individual skin concerns.
AI tools for shade matching are already revolutionising how
beauty brands operate. Instead of relying on customers to guess their perfect
shade or buy multiple products to try at home, AI can analyse a customer’s skin
tone using just a photo. Tools like Sephora’s Virtual Artist and L’Oreal’s Skin
Genius allow users to upload a selfie, and the AI suggests makeup shades or
skincare routines tailored to their unique complexion.
As a beauty business owner, investing in these technologies
allows you to offer a seamless shopping experience that meets the diverse needs
of your customer base. It also helps customers feel seen, as they don’t have to
worry about finding products that match their skin tone—AI has done the hard
work for them.
Personalised Skincare for All Skin Types
While makeup is often the first product that comes to mind
when we think about inclusivity, skincare is just as important, if not more so.
Different people have different skincare needs depending on their skin type,
concerns, and environmental factors. AI can help you offer personalised
skincare products that are specifically tailored to each individual’s needs.
Platforms like Curology and Proactiv use AI to
assess a person’s skin concerns (acne, pigmentation, dryness, etc.) and provide
a customised skincare routine. By gathering data from a simple quiz or photo
upload, AI can recommend the right ingredients and products for each customer,
ensuring they get the best results possible.
As a business owner, offering such personalised skincare
solutions means you’re providing your customers with products that will
actually work for them, rather than a generic, one-size-fits-all approach. It
shows your commitment to catering to the diverse needs of your customer base,
particularly when people from various cultural backgrounds may have unique skin
concerns based on climate, diet, and lifestyle.
Expanding Inclusivity Through Data
AI doesn’t just help with personalisation—it also allows you
to gather valuable data on your customers, which can be used to improve your
product offerings. With AI, you can collect insights into the skincare needs,
preferences, and buying habits of customers from different ethnic backgrounds,
ensuring that you’re meeting the needs of a multicultural audience.
For example, AI can help you identify patterns in how
different skin tones react to certain ingredients or what shades are most
popular in specific regions. This data-driven approach can guide you in
creating products that cater to your customers’ specific demands. It also helps
you avoid the pitfall of relying on outdated beauty standards, instead
fostering a more inclusive, customer-centric business model.
Virtual Try-Ons: Making Beauty More Accessible
One of the challenges faced by beauty business owners when
it comes to offering inclusive products is the physical barrier that many
customers face—whether it's a lack of stores nearby, difficulty in testing
products due to skin tone misrepresentation, or personal preferences. Virtual
try-on technology is a great solution to these problems, allowing customers to
experiment with products from the comfort of their own homes.
Virtual try-ons powered by AI can give users the chance to
see how different makeup products will look on their skin without the need to
visit a store or purchase multiple products. Brands like Charlotte Tilbury and L’Oreal
have already incorporated virtual try-ons into their e-commerce platforms,
giving customers a more interactive, inclusive shopping experience.
If you run a beauty business, implementing virtual try-on
technology can help make your products more accessible to a wider audience,
including those who may not have the time or ability to visit a physical store.
It also enables customers to confidently choose shades that complement their
skin tone, further enhancing the inclusivity of your brand.
Overcoming Challenges and Ensuring Ethical AI
Of course, while AI offers incredible opportunities for
creating inclusive beauty products, it’s important to be mindful of the
potential challenges. Bias in AI algorithms is a real concern, especially if
the data used to train the AI is not diverse enough. For example, if an AI tool
is trained primarily on images of lighter skin tones, it may not provide
accurate recommendations for darker skin tones.
To avoid this, it’s crucial to ensure that the data used to
power your AI tools is inclusive of a wide range of skin tones, hair types, and
ethnic backgrounds. By working with diverse datasets and continuously testing
and improving your AI models, you can ensure that your recommendations are
truly inclusive and don’t perpetuate bias.
Conclusion: Inclusivity Is the Future of Beauty
The demand for inclusive beauty is only going to grow, and
AI and personalisation are the tools that will allow beauty business owners to
meet this demand. By integrating AI-powered tools, offering personalised
products, and gathering valuable customer data, you can ensure that your beauty
business is not just meeting trends but setting a new standard for inclusivity.
Investing in AI and personalisation isn’t just about staying
competitive; it’s about showing your commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusivity in beauty. By creating products that cater to all skin tones,
concerns, and preferences, you’re building a brand that truly represents the
beautiful diversity of your customers. The future of beauty is inclusive, and
with AI on your side, your business can lead the way.