Skin bleaching is the lightening of the skin via cosmetic means, sometimes used to help even out hyperpigmentation or simply to lighten one’s entire skin tone. However, the term is most commonly used to refer to the practice of completely changing one’s complexion.
This practice has been around for hundreds of years and holds a place in numerous societies’ cultures and customs. There are two primary belief systems that contribute towards promoting skin bleaching as a positive practice: racism and colourism.
While the two terms are often confused for each other, they're not actually interchangeable and have different meanings. According to Medical News Today, the term racism can be described as framing “white as superior to all other races and ethnicities,” with ‘white’ here mainly referring to people of Caucasian and European descent. Colourism is the preference for individuals with lighter skin tones over those with darker skin tones. The difference between the two lies in the fact that racist beliefs see the white ethnicity as superior to all other races and ethnicities, while colourism occurs both within and across ethnicities and races. However, both ideologies promote the harmful culture of skin bleaching.
According to the International Journal of Dermatology, many products which claim to lighten skin color are unsafe, often containing traces of mercury. Mercury is a heavy metal that emits toxic fumes, and as a result, is very dangerous to both to the user and to those around them. Most products containing this illicit substance claim to help remove wrinkles, freckles, blemishes and age spots; almost none of them inform users of the associated risks with their use. Skin-lightening and anti-aging creams with ingredients like ‘mercuric’ and ‘calomel’ should be disposed of immediately as they pose serious threats to one’s health. Exposing mercury to the skin can cause many behavioral and neurological disorders, such as neuromuscular issues, tremors, and insomnia.
Skin-lightening creams and similar products have grown in notoriety and are quite common in Asian and African societies in particular, where there is a strong preference towards those with less melanin. Globalization and cultural practices are both to blame in equal measure for these trends, as well as colonialism to a lesser extent. Beauty companies have monopolized these despicable beauty trends and have promoted this culture through advertisements that depict people achieving success (like a job or promotion) after applying their skin-lightening product. This further perpetuates the idea that fair skin makes you more likely and deserving to succeed and insinuates that those with darker complexions don’t! It is also important to consider the mental strain those with darker complexions face, particularly youth who have to grow up with their media and society telling them they are less deserving of happiness or success because of the color of their skin. These individuals go on to enter their adult life with that sense of inferiority looming over them, and their self-confidence will inevitably take a major hit. The beauty industry as a whole owes it to the young people of the world to do better; they must stop this toxic beauty trend of skin bleaching. While not wholly at fault, the industry perpetuates this impossible standard to their audience and must take responsibility.
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Published August 15, 2022
Written by Karena Dindial ~ Edited by Sasha Thomas ~ Graphics by Ramya Shah
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