As a child, I was no stranger to the occasional scrape, bump and bruise thanks to my adventurous nature. My parents basically kept a box of bandages and Neosporin on standby whenever I played outside. And even though I’ve traded playgrounds for coffee shops and scooters for a subway, my slight clumsiness still means I end up with the occasional random scratch on my body.
But two things that I’ve become hyper-aware in recent years, after multiple instances of violence and discrimination against my community, are representation and inclusion. And despite bandages being such a minuscule aspect of everyday life, putting on one that actually matches my skin tone means more to me than I ever thought it would.
Having a tiny object that most people will wear at some point during their lives come in colors other than the “default” beige makes me feel seen (literally) and allows me to deter attention from wounds like bandages are meant to do.
Though we still have a way to go with more inclusive bandages becoming available to match everyone’s skin tone, especially in doctors’ offices, I’m excited about the ones that exist already online. Brands like Tru-Colour, Band-Aid and BioSwiss all make bandages in various shades of brown (even deep brown!) so that children, teens and adults of all skin tones can have experience a real “nude” bandage. Check them out below.
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