University psychology students host conversation on colorism in the makeup industry
Students in the Psychology of Women course at the University of Maryland hosted a conversation regarding colorism in the makeup industry this past Friday where students had to do a gender empowerment project according to Kimi Hsiao, a junior psychology major.
The event was co-sponsored by Body+, a student-run organization that promotes discussions about body positivity.
The discussion was focused on the effects of colorism in the makeup industry and how that translates into how skin products are made readily available for some while others have issues finding ones that match their skin tone and aren’t damaging to their skin.
Junior psychology major Jonathan Booker launched the talk by providing definitions for the key concepts.
“Colorism is defined as the prejudice against people with darker skin tones, and also the privileges applied to people with more Eurocentric skin tones… [while] skin modification refers to products… containing traces of mercury that people use…to alter their appearance,” Booker said.
Booker doesn’t wear makeup but acknowledges that colorism also extends into the world of skincare.
“Everybody breaks out, right? But we want to have some sort of way to alleviate it,” Booker said. “In some cases… it gives us a sense of self-control over our image and how we look.”
Senior psychology major Savannah Suber shared her experience with brands that were not inclusive of darker skin tones.
“One of the articles that we found…talked about the importance of having diversity in companies like Indian brands, because different products have different effects on different ethnicities and skin tones,” Suber said.
The influence of social media— especially TikTok—, in helping people find beauty products that work for them has been impactful. Senior computer science major Khushi Bhansali shared how TikTok assisted her in a search for brands that better suited her while helping her find a community of people with similar concerns.
In this community, she found people that had achieved her goals through certain products which was better than “walking into the store and getting color matched.”
“[It] always felt like they were trying to market themselves, not because it was going to work for me,” Bhansali said.
Siqi Wu, a junior chemistry major, spoke out about the capitalist nature of the makeup industry and its influence over how certain products are falsely marketed making the industry incredibly expensive to participate in.
“Inclusivity comes with affordability. They must be affordable to have a larger range of people purchasing them,” Wu said.
Some of the inclusive brands owned by women of color that were brought to attention by Wu were Juvia’s Place, The Crayon Case, IMAN Cosmetics, Mented Cosmetics, Beauty Bakerie, and The Lip Bar.