We Made A Beauty Tool to Solve The Beauty Industry's Accessibility Problem

In 2025, the beauty industry is still leaving disabled and chronically ill people out

TL;DR (What this article covers):

• The beauty industry has a major accessibility problem
• Most beauty tools are designed for assumed strength, grip, and mobility
• This excludes disabled and chronically ill people, and many others
• Poor packaging design causes real harm and everyday frustration
• ByStorm creates accessible beauty tools designed for all hands
• Inclusive design makes beauty easier, more comfortable, and more joyful for everyone

 

The Beauty Industry Has an Accessibility Problem

We’re all over new formulas, sleek packaging, and the viral tools that flood our feeds. Beauty innovation has never been so exciting. But there’s something lurking beneath the gloss that most of the industry has yet to fully acknowledge.

Beauty tools have long been designed as if every user has perfect grip, endless stamina, and full mobility. That assumption leaves out the huge and overlooked group of people living with chronic illness, disability, ageing hands, tremors, arthritis, or limited dexterity. An assumption like that is making their everyday routines feel unnecessarily hard. 

And let us be clear: this really is a mainstream beauty problem. ByStorm set out to create tools that have an impact that rises above novelty and social media frenzy; our tools have been designed to improve lives every single day.

 

What is Accessible Beauty?

Accessible beauty means beauty tools and packaging that are designed to work for everyone. 

That includes people who:

• Are disabled
• Live with chronic illness or chronic pain
• Have arthritis, tremors, or limited grip
• Are injured or have ageing hands
• Experience fatigue or reduced coordination
  
  

Accessible beauty tools:

• Are easier to hold and control
• Reduce strain, pain, and fatigue
• Don’t rely on strength, precision, or stamina

Why Accessible Beauty Became Personal for Our Founder

After breaking her dominant hand, ByStorm founder, Storm, discovered how ordinary makeup tools suddenly felt completely inaccessible. The frustration was, of course, a practical matter and complicated her daily routines. But it also opened up a deeper conversation. 

Beauty routines aren’t just about getting ready for the day. Any makeup lover will tell you, it's not about just looking pretty it's about creativity, identity, self-expression and joy. Beauty routines are those small moments in the morning that help you feel like you can take on whatever the day throws at you. 

When makeup doesn’t work with your body, the loss is personal. But ByStorm wasn’t created from a place of pity. It came from noticing something most beauty brands missed. 

Makeup tools are designed for perfect hands, not real ones. Once we saw that exclusion was built into design, it was clear that we needed to prove things can be done differently.

The Everyday Barriers in Beauty

Trendy mascara wands, lipsticks, and brushes look chic on a shelf. Even better, they look great on Instagram. But in real life, bodies don’t always work well with aesthetic packaging.

Whether it’s disability, chronic illness, injury, or the effects of ageing, applying makeup can quickly become exhausting. Even without a disability, there are days when hands feel shaky, sore, or tired. But none of that should mean giving up the rituals that help you feel like yourself.

And it’s not a niche issue.

Packaging design causes real harm and frustration:

• 50% of Australians have injured themselves trying to open packaging (Catalyst Research, 2013)
• 42% experienced deep cuts treated at home (Catalyst Research, 2013)

For people with arthritis and chronic pain, the barriers are even more extensive:

• 70% of people with arthritis struggle with products that require twisting or gripping (Arthritis Foundation, 2025)
• 65% of consumers have had to wait for someone else to open packaging for them (Arthritis Foundation, 2025)

Despite this, beauty product design has barely changed.

Twist-off caps, tiny applicators, and delicate tools still assume strength, grip, and precision are givens. These designs sell well to non-disabled consumers, which means the problem often goes unnoticed. But the impact is felt every single day by people whose bodies don’t match those assumptions.

Designing The Accessible Beauty Tools That Didn’t Exist

Early on in the design process, our focus was finding what makes a tool feel stable and intuitive. A key change was reimagining grip and understanding that longer isn’t always better, and slimmer handles aren’t always easier. 

Crucially, prototypes were tested with people who actually live with mobility challenges, tremors, or pain. Honest feedback shaped each tweak. ByStorm founder, Storm, listened closely and iterated until the tool actually worked in all hands. 

But what surprised the team most was how little guidance existed to begin with. There are no established accessibility design standards for beauty tools. Everything had to be built from the ground up.

Testing alongside people with different disabilities quickly showed that accessibility isn’t one-size-fits-all: what eases tremors may reduce fatigue for someone else; what offers stability can significantly lessen pain.

Wider grips proved gentler on joints, better balance meant less strain and weight distribution changed how long tools could be comfortably used. 

Designing with the disability community (rather than assuming) reshaped the entire process. Everybody brought a new perspective and the diversity of testing was what made the design stronger.

It’s a living roadmap too with more accessible tools already in development as ByStorm continues to grow!

Designed for Exclusion but Loved by Everyone

There’s a growing design philosophy known as universal design: create products that work well for the widest range of people possible by starting with those who face the biggest barriers.

What that means in accessible beauty is that a makeup grip tool that supports steadier control and ease of handling isn’t just beneficial for someone with limited dexterity – it’s appreciated by anyone who’s ever multitasked in the mirror at 7AM, or applied mascara in the car, or dealt with tired hands after a long day. Even makeup artists are able to do a better job with these tools. 

Accessible Beauty Isn’t Niche

Around one in five people live with a disability and many more experience mobility limitations as they age or during flare-ups of chronic pain. And brands are beginning to notice. Accessible tools, ergonomic packaging and thoughtful applicators have started to appear on shelves. And, for the first time, not as an afterthought. We’re finally seeing a broader shift in how beauty thinks about who it serves and what “inclusive beauty brand” really means.

A New Standard in Beauty Design

While ByStorm is bringing you accessible beauty tools, we’re also showing the world a different way of thinking. We’re inspiring others to consider how functionality, dignity, and joy matter just as much as aesthetics do.

Really, our brand is an invitation to rethink the handle you grip and the wand you twist. When the beauty essentials you reach for every day have designs that meet people’s needs, you’re choosing a movement where beauty finally designs for everyone.

Shop the grip collection here.

About ByStorm

ByStorm is an Australian accessible beauty brand designing makeup tools that work with all bodies.

ByStorm creates makeup tools for people with disability, chronic illness, arthritis, tremors, injury, ageing hands, and anyone who struggles with grip, twisting, fatigue or control.

Our grip tools make everyday beauty routines easier and more comfortable, without compromising aesthetics or joy.

 

Accessibility support:

We are always looking to improve our accessibility across all of our content. If you need this content in another format or there are issues with accessibility please get in touch with us: hello@bystormbeauty.com