Skin health for people of color has long been an afterthought in the medical community. Only 3% of all dermatologists in the United States are black and 47% of other dermatologists say they are not properly trained to treat or diagnose conditions on skin of color. Access to skin care in many communities is also quite limited. All leading to untreated conditions and a 25% higher mortality rate, particularly as it pertains to skin cancer.

Vaseline is committed to providing equitable skincare for all. They created See My Skin, a website designed to help people of color understand and identify skin disorders on darker skin, along with connecting them with medical professionals trained to care for skin of color. We needed to increase awareness to this vital resource to give underserved communities access to the skin health care they need.

Murals represent a culture’s strength. They are a way for diverse communities and their icons to be seen, to be celebrated, to be represented. But street art fades, chips and weathers. What was once rich beautiful skin is neglected. Damaged. Ignored. Art imitates life.

Mended Murals is a program to restore the beautiful skin on community wall and building murals. As well as the skin of those who live in these neighborhoods.

This campaign was created to reach people of color in underserved medical communities who don’t always have access to skin health resources. We wanted to find a way to ensure our message would resonate and feel authentic to that audience. The use of murals built upon an already-incorporated and appreciated asset within that community. The local people who live near each mural were grateful to see their local art restored, and supportive of the original artists to do the restoration. This allowed them to be open and receptive to our skin health messaging.

The original artists were commissioned to restore and repair their beautiful works and the skin of the different characters and icons featured. On each mural was a QR code that drove directly to the See My Skin Website where members of the community could access free skin care resources and appointments with doctors at clinics nearby, who know how to treat skin of color. Vaseline made a donation to these local clinics, making this possible.

Vaseline murals in 4 communities drove:

- 60,716 active users to the See My Skin website (in the first 2 months).

- Resulting in a +267% increase in people seeking dermatology care in the first 2 months and a +300% increase in the first month, the highest since the launch of See My Skin.

- 290M impressions, with almost no media spend behind it.

- 273 visits to the /mended-murals/clinics.htm between February 21-April 25th.