Vaseline Restores City Murals to Promote Skin Health Equity

Skin health for people of color has long been overlooked due to systemic racism and health inequities, which can lead to worse outcomes with skin cancer. With this in mind, Vaseline has launched its “Mended Murals” project to raise awareness of the issue through street art.

The multi-city initiative taps into the talents of local artists to restore city murals, showing the difference a little upkeep can make–both in art and in skin care.

The brand has partnered with muralists including Ernest Shaw Jr., Robert Vargas and Cory Pane in densely populated areas such as Brooklyn, NY, Baltimore, MD and Hartford, CT. The artists applied their talents to neglected city murals to make them pop again.

Select murals feature a QR code encouraging passersby to access skin health resources via SeeMySkin.com.

Skin care for a better world

Alongside the restoration project, Vaseline is donating $250,000 across local health clinics in the communities where the murals are being restored. The brand is also inviting consumers to submit an impactful local mural of their own for a chance at having it restored by its original artist.

“I’ve always wanted to create art where people of color can find their humanity in the imagery,” Ernest Shaw Jr. said in a statement. “I’m honored to work with Vaseline and be part of an initiative that will have a positive impact on peoples’ mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing, which is huge.” 

This is a continuation of Vaseline’s “See My Skin,” which launched in 2022. The platform intends to increase awareness of the importance of skin health, emphasizing melanin-rich skin and physicians that can help.

“Mended Murals is a continuation of Vaseline’s long-standing commitment to enable 15 million people of color to access more equitable skin health care by 2025,” said Kathleen Dunlop, CMO of Unilever Beauty and Wellbeing, North America. “We explored murals all over the country, contacting their original artists to bring our vision to life. Every mural restoration project helps encourage community members access to skin health resources.”

In support of the new campaign, Vaseline is partnering with the three-day festival, Black Future House, in Austin, TX, as its exclusive skin care sponsor. The event begins on March 8, celebrating Black futures via panels, discussions and entertainment.