Centre for Appearance Research (CAR)

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Centre for Appearance Research (CAR)

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CAR: a centre of excellence in psychological & interdisciplinary research of appearance & body image

24/09/2026

🎙️ Two keynote speakers. Two powerful conversations. One shared commitment to generating real-world impact.

💥 Episodes 112 and 113 feature Phyllida Swift and Dr Zali Yager | Body image expert - our two spectacular keynote speakers from our Appearance Matters 11 conference in June 2026. Each bring their own unique insights and expertise to the ongoing conversations and advocacy around appearance, identity, and wellbeing.

🌟 Phyllida, CEO of Face Equality International - reflects on her career journey and the growth of the organisation under her leadership. She shares key lessons from along the way, from building partnerships with global brands and influencing international policy to advancing the rights and visibility of the facial difference community worldwide.

🌟 Zali, founder and co-director of The Embrace Collective | Formerly - explores how collective action can create lasting impact, drawing on her extensive experience in body image research, health promotion, and community partnerships. She delves into the necessity of collaboration, the importance of translating research into practice, and key directions for the body image research field.

🎧 Listen to both episodes now via the links in our bio … and be prepared to be inspired! 💡

21/09/2026

👗 What happens when the fashion industry doesn’t cater for all bodies? 🩳

🗣️ Episode 111 of Appearance Matters: The Podcast, podcast host, Senior Research Fellow Dr Kat Schneider speaks with Research Fellow Dr Sharon Haywood around research she led in collaboration with researchers from the University of Buenos Aires Guillermina Rutsztein Luz Scappatura & Psicóloga Brenda Murawski and CAR’s Kirsty Garbett

👖 Specifically, they explored clothing size availability and its relationship with body image and eating disorder behaviours among adolescents in Argentina … where 2025 national survey data from AnyBody Argentina revealed that 69% of Argentines struggled to find clothing in their size.

❗️Drawing on both survey data and in-depth interviews, Kat and Sharon’s conversation explores the psychological impact of clothing environments, the role of the fashion industry, and why changes to clothing size availability could have important implications for public health and body image.

🎧 Tune in to listen to the full conversation – visit our bio above for a direct link 🔗

20/08/2026

📢 Are you interested in mindful eating? Check out this 8 week online mindfulness programme all about mindful eating, led by CAR’s own Dr. Christine Ramsey-Wade. If you are interested in finding out more, scan the QR code from the image above!

06/08/2026

🚨New publication alert! 🚨
We’re very happy to share that our evaluation of The Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit has now been published. The toolkit is a self-guided e-book to improve the wellbeing of parents and carers of children with visible differences.
The evaluation indicated that engaging with the toolkit positively impacted parents and carers, increasing their confidence in their parenting skills, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility, and decreasing their anxiety, depression, and parenting stress.
The Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit is available for free at VisibleDifferenceSupportHub.com
and you can access the paper by following the link in the comments 👇

09/07/2026

A bittersweet moment for everyone at the Centre for Appearance Research 💙

Our Director, Professor Beth Daniels, will soon be heading back to the United States to take up an exciting new role as Director of the School of Psychology and Brain Science at the University of New England in southern Maine.

Beth has made an enormous contribution to CAR through her leadership, research, mentorship, and unwavering support for colleagues and students. Her energy, warmth and commitment to advancing research that improves the lives of people affected by appearance-related concerns have had a lasting impact on the Centre and everyone who has had the pleasure of working with her.

We recently took the opportunity to celebrate Beth and, as the photo shows, no CAR celebration would be complete without cake! 🎂

While we are incredibly sad to see her go, we are equally excited for Beth as she begins this next chapter. We know she will bring the same vision, kindness and enthusiasm to her new role in Maine.

Congratulations, Beth, and thank you for everything you have brought to CAR. We will miss you enormously and wish you every success—and plenty of adventures—as you head home to the US. 🇺🇸💙

AppearanceResearch NewBeginnings

08/07/2026

🎙️Ella, Emma, and Mani recently attended the British Association of Dermatologists Annual Meeting in Manchester. 🎤They had a great time catching up with several of the wonderful Appearance Collective charities they work with and presenting their research. Mani shared findings from his PhD about how adults with psoriasis view social media representation and awareness campaigns, and Emma presented findings from an evaluation of Loving ACTion, which is an audio podcast intervention for adults with visible differences focused on intimacy and romantic relationships.

26/06/2026

🏳️‍🌈This pride month, we’re shining a light on some of the unique embodied experiences and appearance. related challenges that LGBTQIA+ people face. Although there’s some fantastic work being done in this space, it’s important to recognise that LGBTQIA+ people remain underrepresented in appearance research and there’s a lot more work to be done to help reduce the health and social inequities they experience.

🤝If you’re interested in the intersection between LGBTQIA + identities and appearance research, Research Fellow has recently set up the International LGBTQIA + Appearance Research Network, which aims to bring people together to share research and knowledge, promote LGBTQIA+ appearance research, and network and build community. You can find out more and join the network here: https://go.uwe.ac.uk/ILARN +

12/06/2026

‼️Final day of AM11!

🔥Yesterday was the last day of AM11, and it was full of talks, a workshop, and a great ignite session to end the day.

🗣️Thank you so much to everyone who attended and contributed, we hope you enjoyed the conference!

📷Here’s some final photos from the last day, and we’ll see you all next time 😁

11/06/2026

AM11 Day 2 ✨

🗣️Yesterday (10th of June) was the second day of Appearance Matters, and it was packed full of engaging presentations and discussions.

🎤We also had our second keynote speaker, Phyllida Swift, before ending the day with a conference dinner at We the Curious!

Here’s some photos from day 2 as the 3rd and final day is set to begin 😁

10/06/2026

📣AM11 is here!

Yesterday (9th June) was the first day of AM11 and it was great to hear so many interesting talks as well as our keynote address from Dr. Zali Yager.

📷Here’s a few snapshots from day 1, as day 2 is getting underway!

Address

Bristol

Website

http://www.uwe.ac.uk/car, https://soundcloud.com/appearance-matters

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