Cult Beauty enable better mental health support for people in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities

Our partner Cult Beauty has been supporting our charity for over a year now, and we caught up with them this Black History Month to hear more about the difference they’ve made so far, their interest in supporting people from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic communities and what they hope to achieve in the future together in partnership.

From the get-go of our partnership together, Cult Beauty has worked hard alongside us to support groups of people who disproportionately experience poor mental health. Alicia Hickey, Head of Sustainability & Social Causes at Cult Beauty explained to us how they partnered with Mental Health UK to “instigate impactful, meaningful initiatives that focus on the communities we care about so profoundly”, namely the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic communities and those experiencing reproductive challenges.
Every Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic person’s experience of mental health will be unique and being part of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities does not automatically mean you will experience a mental illness or poor mental health. However, there are some recent statistics that show that compared to white people:

Black women are more likely to experience a common mental illness such as anxiety disorder or depression.
Older South Asian women are part of an at-risk group for suicide.
Black men are more likely to experience psychosis.
Black people are 4 times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act.

With this knowledge in mind, Cult Beauty were keen to support Mental Health UK in the production of a new advice and information page, which would include resources and contacts for further support for people in need. The page launched last year and so far has helped over 2000 people access resources and tools for their mental health. The page discusses the common barriers that people within these communities might face when trying to access support, and the reasons why people might experience poor mental health in these groups, such as their life experiences and stigma.

Alongside a website page that would enable people to access vital tools and resources, Cult Beauty wanted to forge a space for people to talk and connect. Our peer-to-peer support platform, Clic, is a friendly and moderated space for people to connect virtually. Cult Beauty supported the development of a new Clic forum specifically for people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities. The forum allows people from these communities to talk about challenges they might face and the ways in which they’ve accessed mental health support. Alicia told us how a forum was something they were keen to support as they wanted to “create a safe space for people from those communities to access help themselves and to know that there is support and help available that has been created with their specific needs at the forefront.”

"Cult Beauty is keen to remind people how diversity is a fact but inclusion is a choice. We are not perfect as a company but we strive for continuous learning and improvement, from our recruitment policies to how we select products and brands, to the language that we use to market them.

We see ourselves not only as the home of 'cult' beauty products, but also as changemakers, aiming to push the boundaries of what it means to be a beauty retailer in 2023 and beyond.

Part of this is challenging the status quo on how a black and person of colour experiences beauty., ensuring they are seen and represented in an authentic and meaningful way that encompasses good wellbeing. This is why we so highly value our work with Mental Health UK to support these communities.

– Alicia Hickey, Head of Sustainability & Social Causes at Cult Beauty