Personal care is all about taking care of the body and the mind – this makeup brand focuses on the latter.
In recent years there have been some groundbreaking developments in publicly acknowledging the need to prioritize mental health. Spending a year or more at home thanks to Covid-19 protocols served as a catalyst for conversation, with many people working on depression and anxiety sharing their experiences on social media or at least with a talk therapist.
Conversations about mental health go hand in hand with the concept of “self-care.” Anything you do for your own well-being is considered self-care. According to the commercials, personal care resembles luxurious bubble baths, masks and scented candles. And it can look like those things, as well as nurturing your own emotional well-being.
The act of pampering yourself is often a vehicle to relax, unwind, and take a long break to invest in your own joy. And thanks to the contribution of beauty influencers and lifestyle brands, there is a strong associative link between the beauty industry and all the mental health benefits that personal care activities bring.
This week owned by L’Oreal (LRLCY) Cosmetics brand Maybelline has made a move to flip the script on the connection between self-care and mental health. Through its brave together initiative, the company has joined forces with mental health professionals, in addition to leveraging already established resources, to de-stigmatize anxiety and depression and raise awareness of the importance of mental health.
Maybelline NY brings ‘Brave Talk’ to the next generation
According to Trisha Ayyagari, Global Brand President of Maybelline, the company “has always believed in the power of making things happen in your life, and we know that mental health is fundamental to feeling prepared to do so. We want to use our brand’s global reach to drive this conversation and make support easily accessible.”
Now, Brave Together wants to bring its mission to universities across the US. To do this, it’s partnering with The Jed Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes emotional wellness and suicide prevention in young adults. After losing their son to suicide in 1998, founders Phil and Donna Satow created The Jed Foundation to serve as a model for how schools, children and parents could talk about mental health.
Together, the two organizations are launching Brave Talk, a training program aimed at equipping students with tools to support those around them who may be struggling with mental health issues. Participants will learn the signs that a friend may be struggling and learn how to connect them with skilled care.
The program will begin at New York University later this month. Maybelline plans to expand the Brave Talk training to other institutions in the area and eventually across the country.
Beauty companies that support mental health
Maybelline’s mental health initiatives are rare, but not unheard of. Other companies are also using the connection between beauty and wellness to start proactive conversations about mental health.
coty inc. (COTY) – Get the Class A report from Coty Inc. is the owner of Philosophy, a skin care company that founded the Hope and Grace Foundation, a program that provides grants to pay for mental health services for women and their families. Unilever PLC (UL) – Get the Unilever PLC report Soap brand Dove has also made great strides with the Self Esteem Project, which provides self-esteem education to parents, teachers and youth leaders.
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