The Cut - Fighting for Beauty Behind Prison Walls

For some people, when it comes to how the criminal legal system consistently denies agency or visibility behind bars, denying access to beauty products for the 191,000 women currently incarcerated in the United States falls to the end of the list. Items like mineral-powder foundation or eyeshadow from brands like CoverGirl and L’Oréal can be found in certain women’s prisons for prices averaging anywhere from $1.50 to $16, but for incarcerated women, many of whom are their families’ primary caretakers and work for exploitative wages inside, there isn’t much money left over after making costly phone calls or purchasing commissary food to replace inadequate nutrition options. And then there are the facility-wide makeup bans, which are increasing as of late — within the Department of Corrections’ rules and regulations, even the most routine commodities can be construed as a threat. Alongside shoulder-length hair mandates, limited menstrual-hygiene products, and uniforms exclusively offered in men’s sizes, restricting access to makeup is a means of control, one that also emphasizes how prisons are historically designed for men.

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