The Stool Chart Receives Beautiful Makeovers To Inspire Healthy Conversations

By Mikelle Leow, 15 Feb 2022

Contrary to what poop jokes have taught people to believe, talking about bowel movements shouldn’t make you feel crappy.

For 25 years, the Bristol Stool Chart has served as a universal guide for evaluating gut health with its visual representations of seven types of stools. In spite of how helpful this anatomically-accurate chart is, it might have a repellent effect as a victim of poop stigma.

UK health product retailer Holland & Barrett is hoping to flush out the embarrassment tied to talking about gut health, and it’s starting with the stool chart, which has relatively stayed the same since 1997. The brand has enlisted three Bristol-based artists and illustrators to give the scale a modern doo-over in a project called Beautiful Stool Chart.

The creatives tapped to retool the chart in their own styles are Rose Blake (daughter of English pop artist Sir Peter Blake), Yee Poon, and Coco Lom. In place of the anatomically-correct structures and colors, Blake introduced pastels to her chart, Poon turned stools into characters, while Lom envisioned poop in abstract textures.

Holland & Barrett says the project came about following research revealing that 60% of adults in the UK are too embarrassed to discuss gut health.

“Whilst talking about poo is a taboo subject for many people, we’re hoping that making it beautiful will prompt people to think about their gut health, identify if they have any issues, and consider how best to manage them,” details Dr Subashini M, director of science, health and wellness at Holland & Barrett.

The Beautiful Stool Charts can all be downloaded for free for the public’s perusal. To kickstart conversations about gut health, Holland & Barrett is also offering one-to-one 15-minute online consultations with health advisors.

Image by Yee Poon for Holland & Barrett