In 2017, Kimberly Wilson was diagnosed with uterine fibroids, which are benign tumors in a woman’s uterus that are common, yet painful condition. During this time, she saw four different physicians in the New York City area all of who were white males. Two completely dismissed her discomfort and the others told her that a hysterectomy was her only option to alleviate the pain. After receiving this disheartening news, Kimberly leaned on the women in her circle who advised her to seek an additional opinion — this time from a Black physician. She listened, but there was one hitch. The closest referral for a Black ob-gyn was more than 200 miles away in Baltimore. 

Sound familiar? Well, you’re not alone. Finding a Black doctor can be challenging considering they only make up 5% of active physicians, while white physicians make up 56%. Unfortunately, this can lead to poor patient outcomes due to the lack of cultural competency, fear, distrust, comfortability and other barriers.    

“If you’re a patient of color, your chances of being misdiagnosed are greater than white patients, and you have higher odds of suffering greater harm from diagnosing errors that occur,” Wilson explains. “My fight really came from being a Black woman having to navigate the healthcare system and voicing my feelings to doctors who really didn’t care about the trauma, the pain, and my lived experiences.” 

More Than Skin Deep  

As a Black woman trying to navigate the healthcare system herself, and all the challenges she faces – even just traveling such a long distance to get an appointment with a Black doctor – Wilson knew that a change needed to be made. With her personal experience exploring the health and technology space, in 2018, she took matters into her own hands and created HUED. This first-of-its-kind platform connects Black and Brown individuals with health and medical professionals who understand diverse patients’ physical, mental and cultural needs. 

Wilson’s groundbreaking company, which boasts more than 400 physicians, recently teamed up with Vaseline to take her vision for healthcare equity even further, launching a website that links patients and communities of color with culturally competent dermatologists who can address their unique skincare needs. It’s at the heart of the legacy skincare brand’s Equitable Skincare For All campaign.  

As the campaign’s official spokesperson, award-winning actor and Vaseline Brand Ambassador Regina King is also passionate about increasing access to healthcare resources for people of color.  

“Black and Brown people have been at a disadvantage for too long,” King said in a press release. “It’s important to shed a light on the inequalities that exist and be part of the solution alongside a brand that does as well.”  

Diversifying The Doctor-Patient Connection 

The highly informative new site — a comprehensive collection of free online resources and guides — is designed to equip people of color with everything they need to know about resolving health inequities. What’s more, it also connects patients with the dermatological care they need and can trust.  

For style maven and veteran beauty expert Tai Beachamp, the campaign doesn’t just strengthen skincare knowledge for people of color, it opens the doors for a critical and long overdue conversation about closing the diversity gap in Dermatology and beyond. 

“It’s not just about our skin in the external sense,” she said in a recent conversation with Wilson. “It’s really about healthcare equity, and I’m super charged up about continuing this conversation.” 

Wilson also aims to amplify this important conversation, furthering Vaseline’s mission to help heal skincare everywhere and to increase access to equal care.  

“This is my purpose and if I can help one person — if I can help 100 people — I’m going to keep doing what I am doing, and I’m just really thankful that Vaseline saw an avenue for partnership with us because the fight for health equity is stronger now than ever before.”  

Want to learn more? Join Vaseline Brand Ambassador Regina King and Kimberly Wilson for the first-ever “Equitable Skincare for All” Zoom chat on March 24th at 3pm EST / 12pm PST. Hosted by Tai Beauchamp, the discussion will give consumers a chance to ask questions and receive first-hand information from Regina King and experts in the field about current inequities Black and Brown people face, the consequences of these inequities, and the importance of properly treating Black and Brown skin. 

Plan to be a part of this monumental conversation, Wednesday, March 24th at 3pm EST / 12pm PST by signing up here. 

If you would like to learn more about Vaseline and how they are helping consumers locate comprehensive, and culturally competent doctors who understand the skincare needs of Black and Brown communities, head over to huedco.com/vaseline or vaseline.com.