Hollywood A-lister and beauty mogul Selena Gomez has disclosed that she has developed arthritis as a result of her lupus treatment which has influenced the design of her beauty brand, ‘Rare Beauty’.

At 33, Gomez has been living with lupus erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune disease, since 2013. She underwent chemotherapy and received a kidney transplant from her friend Francia Raisa in 2017.

In a recent interview, she opened up about her ongoing struggles with arthritis, prompting her to create more accessible packaging for her products. “I have arthritis in my fingers and that’s due to my lupus”, Gomez shared.

“Before launching the brand, I remember trying to open a water bottle and it hurt really badly before I was on the right medication”.

She explained that the design of her products was intentionally made easy to open, catering to those with dexterity issues. “We realised they kind of have to be that way, so we started making every product with the intention of being accessible to anyone with dexterity problems”, she added.

Gomez emphasised the importance of this design choice, stating “I know that might seem like a little thing, but it’s really not because it’s actually so helpful for anyone at any age to be able to use the products”.

Rare Beauty named after her third studio album was founded in September 2020, three years after her kidney transplant.