At its core, occupational therapy, or OT for short, is all about helping people access what activities are most meaningful to them in their daily life. As OTs, we work with people across the lifespan to identify strengths and barriers and just figure out how to help them be more independent and supported in their daily life.
~Kailey Waskall
Editor’s Note
We are thrilled to introduce Kailey Waskall as Bold Blind Beauty’s April Cane EnAbled featured guest! Kailey’s unique blend of expertise as an occupational therapist, content creator, and beauty brand accessibility consultant makes her a true champion for inclusion in the beauty industry. Driven by her firsthand experience with the inaccessibility of beauty products, Kailey founded “Occupation Beauty LLC” to help brands create more accessible and inclusive products for everyone.
In this month’s feature, Kailey shares her top 10 ways to adapt makeup products for individuals with low vision or vision impairments. Her innovative tips demonstrate how to embrace makeup with ease and confidence while navigating different challenges. Kailey’s commitment to making accessibility the norm in the beauty world is an inspiration to us all, and we are proud to showcase her journey. Let’s join Kailey in her mission to make the beauty industry more inclusive and welcoming for everyone.
Watch Kailely’s video or, for those who prefer reading, find the transcript below. Enjoy!
Stephanae McCoy
Editor-in-Chief, Bold Blind Beauty
Beyond Sight Magazine Cover
YouTube Video
Introduction to Occupational Therapy
Hi, I’m Kailey Waskall. I am a content creator, occupational therapist, and beauty brand accessibility consultant. I’m here to tell you my top 10 ways to adapt makeup products to help people with low vision or vision impairments.
First, we’re going to talk a little bit about what occupational therapy is. At its core, occupational therapy, or OT for short, is all about helping people access what activities are most meaningful to them in their daily life. As OTs, we work with people across the lifespan to identify strengths and barriers and just figure out how to help them be more independent and supported in their daily life.
As occupational therapists, we believe that meaningful participation in daily life activities promotes optimal health outcomes. I’ve taken my knowledge as an occupational therapist to create a beauty brand accessibility consultancy where I work with brands to help promote product design to make it more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.
Kailey’s Beauty Brand Accessibility Consultancy
I also run a social media account called Occupation Beauty where I review makeup through the lens of accessibility so that people can be more confident in their next makeup purchase. With that being said, here are my top beauty modification tips for people with low vision or vision impairment. And just as a disclaimer, this is not medical advice. If you think you’d benefit from occupational therapy services, I really encourage you to seek out a provider in your own area.
Top Makeup Tips for Low Vision or Visually Impaired Individuals
Reducing Glare & Enhancing High Contrast
Number one, pick products that are going to reduce glare. A lot of makeup products that have mirrored surfaces can cause glare, which is not great if you are someone with low vision.
High contrast is always better. So looking for products with really high contrasting colors, big, bold text. And if you want to make a product more high contrasting, you can use duct tape in crazy colors or washi tape and put it around the edge of where the opening is. So it’s a little bit better and easier to find it.
Adding Tactile Markers for Differentiation
Also adding a little bit of tactile. So adding a sticker, adding a marker. Adding something to the product to differentiate, especially if you have like five lip tube glosses and they’re all the same product size, right? And they’re all the same feel. If you can add stickers or something that can help you differentiate them.
If you have a product that has like one of these flimsy closures at the top, you can always punch a hole in it and add a little charm so that you can really differentiate in a fun, exciting way.
Choosing Unique Shapes & Sizes
Along that line, try choosing products that are cool shapes or that are different shapes. So if you can find makeup products that are a little bit innovative in their shape, that’s going to also be easier to differentiate two different products when they feel the same.
Organizing Your Makeup Vanity
On the discussion of being able to find things, really reducing that clutter on your vanity is going to be really important. Try to avoid busy patterns or busy vanities or cluttered countertops because that’s going to make it a lot harder to kind of find those different products. So having your products really organized and set out in the same way every day is going to make it just a lot easier.
Utilizing Magnification & Anti-Roll Features
If you have a handheld magnifier, sometimes that can help read the fine print on products. Also try to choose products that won’t roll away if you accidentally drop them so that they’re easier to find.
Optimal Vanity Positioning & Lighting
When you’re trying to figure out your positioning of your vanity or your countertop where you’re going to do your makeup, try to make it parallel to a light source instead of perpendicular. Instead of having a vanity and the light source directly behind it, try having the vanity and then the light source, like, along the side.
Leveraging Talking Labelers for Accessibility
A talking labeler is a cooler, higher tech thing that you could potentially try, is if you have stickers. You can stick them on and then record your voice saying what the product is. I think that could also be really helpful in cosmetics where a lot of the products are the same.
Using Cooler Cosmetics for Better Application
And finally, cooler cosmetics can help differentiate where you’ve applied them. So if you keep your cosmetics, your nail polish, In the refrigerator, if it’s safe to do so, when you apply them, you’ll be able to feel where that product has gone a little bit better. For example, nail polish, if it’s cooler, when you’re applying it, you can really feel where on the nail it’s going so that it’s easier to get that nice full coverage.
Final Thoughts & Connecting with Kailey Waskall
Everyone deserves to easily access products that make them feel the most beautiful. So please let me know, find me on TikTok, on Instagram, shoot me an email of your favorite accessibility tips and tricks.
And thanks for having me on.
Kailey Waskall’s Bio:
Kailey Waskall is an occupational therapist, content creator, and beauty brand accessibility consultant. As a practicing occupational therapist, Kailey realized how inaccessible beauty products can be, and how little adaptive technology currently exists to support independence in grooming routines. Spurred by this realization, Kailey
started “Occupation Beauty LLC” a beauty brand accessibility consultancy where she assists brands in designing more inclusive beauty products. Kailey also shares accessibility tips/tricks and reviews makeup products through the lens of accessibility on her social media accounts. Kailey is on a mission to make accessibility the standard, not the exception in the beauty industry.
Connecting With Kailey
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/occupationbeauty/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@occupationbeauty
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kailey-waskall-mot-otr-l-0838852ab/
Connecting With Bold Blind Beauty
Like what you’ve read and want to chat about it? Join us in the Bold Blind Beauty Facebook group.
Image descriptions:
- The header photo is identical to the image used on the Beyond Sight Magazine cover and YouTube Thumbnail. A headshot of Kailey, a white woman with long wavy blonde hair is smiling directly at the camera is on the magazine cover. The text reads “April 2024 | Cane EnAbled | Kailey Waskall”
- A gallery of two photos of Kailey. 1) Kailey is smiling and looking over her shoulder towards the camera. Her long hair is down and she has on eyeglasses and wearing a long-sleeved top and jeans. She is carrying a shoulder bag. The setting appears to be a residential street with brick buildings, trees, and parked cars. 2) Kailey is sitting on grass with the sea and sky in the background. She is wearing sunglasses, smiling, and has her left arm stretched out and upward toward the sea.
- YouTube video description: In the video, Kailey is speaking in a cozy room decorated with framed art, a large mirror and a chest of drawers.