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.