Unilever have announced in a monumental move that they will be eliminating the word 'normal' from all their beauty and persona care brands' packaging and advertising. The announcement comes as part of the brand's new Positive Beauty manifesto, which is aimed at driving inclusivity, sustainability and do more for both people and the planet. Unilever's President of Beauty and Personal Care, Sunny Jain, had this to say:
'With one billion people using our beauty and personal care products every day, and even more seeing our advertising, our brands have the power to make a real difference to people’s lives. As part of this, we are committed to tackling harmful norms and stereotypes and shaping a broader, far more inclusive definition of beauty. We know that removing "normal" from our products and packaging will not fix the problem alone, but it is an important step forward. It’s just one of a number of actions we are taking as part of our Positive Beauty vision, which aims not only to do less harm, but more good for both people and the planet.' Sunny Jain added, 'We believe that Positive Beauty will make us a stronger, and more successful business.'
READ MORE: 2021 Is The Year To Get Real About Beauty And These Celebs Are Leading The Way
Unilever have also committed to not digitally altering a person's body shape, size, proportion or skin colour in its brand advertising, while promising to increase the number of advertisements portraying people from diverse groups who are currently under-represented.
Yes, we may sit here and think, 'how did we ever think putting "normal" slap bang in the middle of big name beauty labels was ok?' but it takes big brands like Unilever taking milestone steps like this one to make us take a step back and realise that mindset. The more brands like Unilever take the initiative to change heretofore unquestioned standards, the more the beauty landscape as a whole will change for the better. We can't wait to see more standout progress like this.
6 Times Celebrities Got Real About Beauty And Helped Endorse Beauty Honesty
Celebrities Getting Real About Beauty 2021
1 of 7Hailey Bieber
In December 2020 Hailey Bieber took to her Instagram stories to explain her struggle with perioral dermatitis, which is a minor skin condition that involves areas of inflammation and breakouts.
2 of 7Eva Longoria
Remember when Eva Longoria showcased her roots on Instagram this year? Eva pointed to a neat regrowth of greys along her parting and normalised that everyday hair concern in the process. Eva used the video to demonstrate the effectiveness of L'Oreal's Magic Retouch root spray, and it struck a chord with a nation collectively deprived of their hairdressers in lockdown.
3 of 7Matilda de Angelis
Matilda de Angelis shot to fame in this year's hit TV series The Undoing, but she really won our hearts when she posted a selfie and drew attention to her acne. In the picture's caption she wrote 'There are much bigger problems in life, I am aware of that, but I wanted to share this little truth perhaps to feel stronger, perhaps to accept myself better. Our fears can paralyze us or they can become a great force, it is up to us to choose the path.'
4 of 7Lili Reinhart
Riverdale star Lili Reinhart took to her Instagram stories to share an evening spent tackling cystic acne, and we love her for it.
5 of 7Cardi B
Cardi B took to Instagram in February 2021 to showcase her makeup free face, blemishes and all, and we're here for it.
6 of 7Maura Higgins
Maura Higgins took to Instagram in February 2021 with the caption 'RAW ... like many of us, there are so many times I stop to read the nasty comments in my DM's or online & every single time I can't help but think of the younger generation stepping on the social media bandwagon! Us women especially get criticised day in and day out about our body's, hair, makeup, skin...I could go on forever. I am very lucky to be confident inside & out and I want to empower woman to do the same. We don't need to use filters or apps, being yourself is more than enough although a minority of the online community sometimes try and convince us otherwise. Everyone preaches to be kind to others when really we need to also preach how important it is to be kind to ourselves; be comfortable and proud in your own skin.'
7 of 7Molly-Mae Hague
When Molly-Mae Hague took to her Instagram stories to talk about getting her composite bonds removed from her teeth she touched on the wider journey she'd been on too: 'I want to finish by saying that I think I've taken all the steps I want to take now to reverse all the mistakes I made with fillers, getting things done that I didn't necessarily need to get done, that I didn't really think through at the time.'. Molly-Mae captioned that post with the sentence 'Please don't make the same mistakes I did' before continuing, 'I got the composite bonds put on two days before I went on Love Island and I don't regret it but it wasn't a necessary thing to do. I was just young. I think when you get older you want to look younger and when you're younger you want to look older. If you're a slightly younger follower of mine just take my advice and wait. Wait a good few years until your face matures, wait to get older to make decisions about cosmetic work.' While we're of the opinion that nobody should feel under pressure to detail their procedures or procedure reversals publicly Molly-Mae's decision to do so is admirable.