Systemic racism and deep-rooted healthcare inequities in the U.S. lead to misdiagnosis and untreated conditions. This can be attributed to the lack of imagery available of conditions on Black and Brown skin. Research published by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that less than 6% of image-based search results show skin conditions on people of color. And when Black and Hispanic people don’t feel seen in search, they’re less likely to be seen by a dermatologist – leading to 25% higher mortality rates for life-threatening conditions like skin cancer. As the brand that exists to give everybody healthy skin, Vaseline® needed to double down on its purpose. We committed to raising awareness of the racially biased systems that impact algorithmic search, providing proper representation and access to equal care, and most of all, helping these communities be seen.

The proportion of people of color in the U.S. living below the federal poverty level is more than double that of whites. It’s no surprise that those with lower socioeconomic status face more barriers to quality healthcare – one of the most prevalent problems for Blacks and Hispanics in America. The disproportionate effects of the pandemic on people of color have shed further light on these grave disparities. Racial inequities were only amplified through the social justice movements. People everywhere were calling for justice, healing, and change. And they demanded that the brands they love take part. Vaseline®, as the brand that’s been championing true equity for Black and Brown skin since 2016, knew this was a moment to expand our efforts by addressing the disparities in dermatology and meaningfully contributing to closing the gap in care.

See My Skin is the only database designed to search conditions on skin of color. We aggregated thousands of images of hundreds of conditions on Black and Brown skin, building the world’s most diverse medical image library. Each image was independently evaluated for accuracy and relevance by a board of certified dermatologists. Alongside VisualDx, software that enhances diagnostic accuracy in skin of color, we enabled people of color to see only themselves in search – for the first time ever. With HUED, a platform that connects patients with culturally competent providers, we referred them to dermatologists who understand their skin. Then, we galvanized our community to build the database by uploading an image of their skin conditions. Together, we broke down barriers to equitable care and did what search engines and the industry have failed to do: address the long-standing bias and exclusion of people of color in skin care.

Vaseline® wanted to engage and serve its primary audience, Black and Hispanic people ages 25-44. To better understand this target’s pain points on their quest for skin treatment, we set out on a discovery journey leveraging social listening and search analytics to map out their entire journey from condition exploration to diagnosis. Through our research, we audited over 100 of our target’s most searched conditions on Google, as well as the percentage of results that were culturally relevant. We also discovered that our audience was looking to other sources (like personal acquaintances, discussion forums and beauty influencers) for advice and informal diagnosis to compensate for the limited resources in mainstream channels. This information defined the needs our platform had to meet. The strategic objective of See My Skin was to take the guess work out of our audience’s discovery by providing unbiased, culturally competent resources along the path to diagnosis.

In joining forces with VisualDx and HUED, Vaseline® developed an unparalleled search experience for people of color. Cataloguing the world’s most diverse medical image library was a true expert collaboration between a robust network of dermatologists, medical librarians, software engineers and imaging specialists. From inception to development, it took nearly three years to create. Now, See My Skin lives online as the only database designed to search conditions on skin of color and connect users directly to dermatologists for treatment. Through paid search and social, it continues to reach and serve Black and Brown communities nationwide. As part of a continued effort for greater representation, we built an upload tool allowing visitors to add an image of their diagnosed skin condition in real-time, to be vetted and added to the growing database.

The campaign launched on April 14, sparking a nationwide conversation about skin health inequalities in the U.S. and how Vaseline® is combatting it. We garnered over 900 million impressions to date. Within the first two weeks, See My Skin organically earned visibility for over 50 unique key words and generated more than 6,000 visits. 48% of those who searched on the site felt empowered to advocate for themselves and take action, representing an increase of 1,430% in people seeking dermatological care. Not only did we address the discriminatory practice of bias in search, we continue to promote the inclusion of all, irrespective of skin color. So far, Vaseline®’s efforts have created 3.1 million equitable skin care experiences through inclusive imagery and resources, access to care, and education for dermatologists – contributing to the goal of reducing inequalities within and among countries.