Goops, Gels, and Powders with Low Vision Part 1

Did you know that the Velocity line of skin cleansers and moisturizers from Mary Kay uses two different bottle sizes for their standard issue cleanser and moisturizer products? The cleanser is a taller bottle than the moisturizer. Why do you care? Well, if you can see just fine you probably don’t. Why do I care? Because that allows me to tell the difference between the two. The labels on cosmetics and other hygiene bottles are tiny but so long as bottle sizes and colors vary we high partials will be somewhat safe. There’s quite a bit to be said on this topic, surprisingly, so I’m going to break it up into two separate posts. First part will discuss how to tell various products apart, and suggest low-vision labeling techniques for those pesky few bottles and tubes that you just can’t distinguish from each other, and the second will cover low-vision application of goops and powders and gels and sprays of various types and uses.
So here’s Part 1: How do I know which is which?
There are several distinguishing factors between bottles, and if they don’t already exist, you can add your own. The attributes of differentiation are size, contrast, and texture. For example, you have two clear-ish or opaque bottles. One is shampoo, the other is conditioner. But you can’t read the labeling. Here’s a hint: shampoo is usually clear or translucent, conditioner is usually white or creamy (not that we blind folks can tell the difference between white and creamy…). If you have lotions, or hair gels that are in similar clear-ish bottles you can ask a friend which is which, then remember the color of the liquid inside. Or, if the contrast isn’t sharp enough, add a piece of tape or a dot of brightly colored nail polish to one of the bottles.
Bottle size often helps, too. It takes a bit of memorizing, and a first-run asking trip, but if you have two or three bottles you store in close proximity to each other, remember which is taller or fatter than the other. If they’re the same size, use the tape or nail polish to mark one or two of them.
The nail polish trick also works for clear caps, like the ones they put on those little nearly-totally-clear bottles of glasses cleaning sprays or hairsprays. Put a dot of color in the top of the cap, let it dry, and you won’t have such a hard time finding it on the counter when you’re ready to close up the bottle again.
Texture is a good cue as well. Some bottles are metal, some are plastic, and there are even different types of plastic (smooth, glossy, et cetera). These are all good cues for telling products apart.
How well does this work for shopping? Well, first off, you have to know what you want ahead of time. Browsing and experimenting isn’t too practical if you can’t see what you’re doing unless you brought a magnifier to help you read labels, or a very patient and/or knowledgeable friend along. Secondly, hope the company doesn’t change how your bottle looks or feels very often.
I am a fairly low-maintenance person when it comes to appearance. For hair products I use a simple shampoo and conditioner, no specific brands, just whatever’s on sale. So when I hunt for hair products I find the “hair goop” aisle, then watch prices instead of labels. It doesn’t matter to me what I use, so long as it’s not going to break my wallet. But I’m lucky like that. Yay for wash-n-wear hair.
For facial goops, moisturizers and cleansers, I use Mary Kay Velocity. Kind of expensive, usually, but since I have a family member who’s a distributor I get a discount, and so far they haven’t changed their very convenience size-difference in the bottles so I’m fairly happy with that.
Sunscreen can be a fun one. If you need a specific SPF, you’re in luck ‘cause they usually print it as a rather large number with a high-contrast circle background. And for some reason they like to have very bright bottles of widely varying colors. No two brands will use the same color scheme. Again, I just use whatever’s a 30 and on sale, so I’m not picky. But if you need something oil-free or another specialty product I suggest taking a friend along the first time to help you get a good bead on what your bottle looks like, then remember it for when you run out. Those oil-free and other types of labels tend to be a bit smaller.