Whiteout for Face and Body Skin Whitening
The Truth Beneath the Skin Color Whitening Trend Among Asians
Apr 25, 2009
In China, India, and Japan including Thailand, white skin symbolizes aristocratic heritage and class allegiance. In Europe's beaches, fair-skinned people sunbathe to darken their skin. But at home in Asia, where beautiful tan and olive skin prevails, skin care for face and body whitening are the top demands of a good number of Asians according to survey conducted by Synovate AsiaBUS in 2004.
The same study revealed that 38% of Chinese, Indian and Japanese women are paying hundreds of dollars for skin care to dermatologists like Dr. Hseih Ya Ju who works at MacKay Memorial Hospital in Hsingchu, where she sees about 25 patients a day to make their skin white, skin tight, and skin bright. Dr. Hsieh says that skin whitening treatments can cost anywhere from $300 to $500 US dollars per session. "Sometimes we suggest the intake of skin superwhitening pills like Transamine to help whiten dark skin fast. In some cases, surgery becomes necessary to correct certain typical characteristics based on the Western’s small, straight nose, straight soft hair, big blue eyes and rosy fair-skin," the doctor added.
Mixed-Up Perception of Beauty Cause Skin Color Whitening Phenomenon
Tarun Khanna of the Harvard Business School and author of the book Billions of Entrepreneurs said, “Many Indians believe that a whiter skin color is the key to finding a wealthy partner. Whiter skin is a big deal in the marriage market. It is an attribute that the market values. Thus, many regard a porcelain perfect skin as an advantage.
Face and body skin whitening product packaging makes use of faces so white, almost transparent, staring from the labels of skin color cosmetics in supermarket beauty aisles. The packaging or label design is a part of a billion dollar Asia-wide strategy, which pressures women to respond to the call of white skin. Ad campaigns strongly imply that a girl with whiter skin color has a greater chance of nabbing the big promotion, becoming a movie star, flattering the society and keeping well-placed friends. Adjectives such as 'fair', 'perfect', 'natural', 'whiter skin', 'luminous', and 'beautiful' set the tone in product ad campaigns against descriptions such as 'dark', 'dull', 'brown', 'blemished' and 'problematic'.
Should this be seen as a new level of discrimination or simply a successful attempt by the health and beauty companies to rake in more millions of dollars?
One of the hundreds of skin-whitening products on sale in Indonesia promotes white skin as a key opportunity enhancer and a social indicator of status, power, wealth, and beauty. The beauty slogan emphasizes that silky white skin tone makes women beautiful, powerful and wealthy.
Along this line, the message is clear. Dark skin color is inferior and ugly.
Beijing-based author Lijia Zang knows this firsthand. In her recent memoir 'Socialism Is Great', she wrote: "I was often called a "peasant girl" by my sister. “My father does not like me very much because I was dark-skinned. He even repeated many times that I am not his natural daughter “, she added.
Asian’s long held views about class superiority can help explain this huge attraction to white skin. One hundred and ninety two men and women in the streets of Beijing said that to have white silky smooth skin is their ultimate goal. In the land of super-fads, most Japanese women strive to have a porcelain-pale complexion, which is a color too pale to regards as natural.
Ad Campaigns for Natural Beauty are Here to Change the Skin Whitening Rage
Newspapers and magazines tread very carefully when writing about appreciation for dark skin tone because they dread the idea of losing valuable ad space bought by many skin whitening products.
However, ad campaigns promoting natural beauty have been redefining the meaning of beauty. Using tri-media, campaigns for real beauty bombard the public with images of home-grown women, consequently, changing mindsets the world over. The success of a similar campaign in Japan confirms that Asians are now starting to see beauty in a new light.
Beautiful Skin of Color is the Friendlier Choice
Scientifically, skin color is a reflection of the amount and distribution of the pigment melanin in the skin, which protects humans against the damaging ultraviolet rays.
In earlier societies, mercury and lead compounds were used to whiten the faces of the higher class. Today, skin whitening cosmetics and treatments make use of hydroquinone, mercury, or steroids. Similarly, skin peels and Microdermabrasion procedures are strong enough to cause first degree burn and skin scarring.
The latest offering in skin whitening treatments promises to tackle the effects of ageing within three weeks of use. But, like most skin whiteners currently on the market, the cosmetic contains the active lightening agent hydroquinone set to interfere with the production of skin melanin. In so doing, dark pigmentation is reduced, consequently, producing a brighter, whiter, skin tone with finer texture.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with someone wanting to look better for as long as it is safe. However, think twice and wise because there is something uniquely beautiful in un-retouched skin. Beauty glows in every natural skin color—porcelain-perfect, satiny bronze, or dazzling chocolate tones.
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