{"id":68112,"date":"2020-07-27T21:00:49","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T01:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&#038;p=68112"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:21","slug":"rebranded-skin-whitening-creams","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/rebranded-skin-whitening-creams\/","title":{"rendered":"What you need to know about rebranded skin-whitening creams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-max  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n                    \n                    \n            \n    <div class=\"cu-wideimage relative flex items-center justify-center mx-auto px-8 overflow-hidden md:px-16 rounded-xl not-prose  my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 bg-opacity-50 bg-cover bg-cu-black-50 pt-24 pb-32 md:pt-28 md:pb-44 lg:pt-36 lg:pb-60 xl:pt-48 xl:pb-72\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/conversation-skin-whitening-1200w-1.jpg); background-position: 50% 50%;\">\n\n                    <div class=\"absolute top-0 w-full h-screen\" style=\"background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.600);\"><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"relative z-[2] max-w-4xl w-full flex flex-col items-center gap-2 cu-wideimage-image cu-zero-first-last\">\n            <header class=\"mx-auto mb-6 text-center text-white cu-pageheader cu-component-updated cu-pageheader--center md:mb-12\">\n\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold mb-2 text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] cu-pageheader--center text-center mx-auto after:left-px\">\n                        What you need to know about rebranded skin-whitening creams\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                            <\/header>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"absolute bottom-0 w-full z-[1]\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 1280 312\">\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M26.412 315.608c-.602-.268-6.655-2.412-13.524-4.769a1943.84 1943.84 0 0 1-14.682-5.144l-2.276-.858v-5.358c0-4.876.086-5.358.773-5.09 1.674.643 21.38 5.84 34.646 9.109 14.682 3.59 28.935 6.858 45.936 10.449l9.874 2.089H57.322c-16.4 0-30.31-.16-30.91-.428ZM460.019 315.233c42.974-10.074 75.602-19.88 132.443-39.867 76.16-26.791 152.063-57.709 222.385-90.663 16.7-7.823 21.336-10.074 44.262-21.273 85.004-41.688 134.719-64.193 195.291-88.413 66.55-26.577 145.2-53.584 194.27-66.765C1258.5 5.626 1281.34 0 1282.24 0c.17 0 .34 27.596.34 61.3v61.299l-2.23.375c-84.7 13.718-165.93 35.955-310.736 84.931-46.494 15.753-65.427 22.076-96.166 32.15-9.102 3-24.814 8.198-34.989 11.574-107.543 35.954-153.008 50.422-196.626 62.639l-6.74 1.876-89.126-.054c-78.135-.054-88.782-.161-85.948-.857ZM729.628 312.875c33.229-10.985 69.248-23.523 127.506-44.207 118.705-42.223 164.596-57.709 217.446-73.302 2.62-.75 8.29-2.465 12.67-3.751 56.19-16.772 126.94-33.597 184.17-43.671 5.07-.91 9.66-1.768 10.22-1.875l.94-.161v170.236l-281.28-.054H719.968l9.66-3.215ZM246.864 313.411c-65.041-2.251-143.047-12.11-208.432-26.256-18.375-3.965-41.73-9.538-42.202-10.074-.171-.214-.257-21.38-.214-47.046l.129-46.618 6.654 3.697c57.313 32.043 118.491 56.531 197.699 79.143 40.313 11.521 83.459 18.058 138.669 21.059 15.584.857 65.685.857 81.14 0 33.744-1.876 61.306-4.93 88.396-9.806 6.396-1.126 11.634-1.983 11.722-1.929.255.375-20.48 7.769-30.999 11.038-28.592 8.948-59.288 15.646-91.873 20.147-26.36 3.59-50.015 5.627-78.35 6.698-15.584.59-55.209.59-72.339-.053Z\"><\/path>\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M-3.066 295.067 32.06 304.1v9.033H-3.066v-18.066Z\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n\n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<p>Corporations like Unilever, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/business\/l-oreal-joins-movement-to-remove-words-like-whitening-and-fairness-from-skin-products-1.5002674\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">L\u2019Or\u00e9al<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/2020\/06\/johnson-and-johnson-skin-whitening-creams.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Johnson &amp; Johnson<\/a> recently announced  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/first-person\/2020\/6\/30\/21308257\/skin-lightening-colorism-whitening-bleaching\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they will no longer sell products that mention \u201cskin whitening.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These companies will now adjust how they market their products, especially on social media. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jemimamcevoy\/2020\/06\/26\/loreal-unilever-reassess-skin-lightening-products-but-wont-quit-the-multi-billion-dollar-market\/#270fdc48223a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they will continue to promote creams and serums formulated for skin-whitening effects<\/a>. These companies have already developed other terms besides \u201cskin whitening\u201d to promote their products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure>\n            <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"680\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Cjzvvgmg1NU?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Skin whitening has proven to be damaging, physically and mentally. But sales are booming. Experts predict the market will be worth US$31.2 billion by 2024.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The multi-billion-dollar market for skin whitening products is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/15\/health\/banning-bleaching-products-in-africa\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an enduring sign of commodity racism<\/a>. Skin whitening is at once an old and emerging globalizing industry. Women (and some men) whiten their skin by using products that reduce or suppress melanin biosynthesis and function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Products are also marketed to white women with the promise of making white women\u2019s aging skin and faces appear smooth, wrinkle-free and younger looking. As an anti-aging care, skin whitening is formulated to bleach out visible signs of aging such as age spots.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So actually, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.in-cosmetics.com\/2015\/10\/19\/whitening-worldwide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">skin-whitening products have already been marketed<\/a> under different labels such as <a href=\"https:\/\/news.in-cosmetics.com\/2014\/06\/02\/skin-whitening-products-a-brighter-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">skin brighteners for at least the past 20 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"transformation-from-whiteness-to-wellness\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Transformation from whiteness to wellness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medical sounding terms such as <em>cosmeceutical<\/em> and <em>skinceutical<\/em> have long been used to market skin-whitening products to white women to fight age spots, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com\/Product-innovations\/Clear-Complexion-SymWhite-R-377-now-also-for-China\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dull skin<\/a>, hyperpigmentation, etc. These coded words widely promote the message that good skin is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com\/Product-innovations\/Are-your-brightening-solutions-covering-all-angles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">youthful looking and glowing<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the marketing of skin-whitening products, lighter skin embodies whiteness not only as a sign of racial difference but also as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com\/Product-innovations\/Living-in-the-city-Preserving-Skin-Radiance-Naturally\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a signifier of class privilege<\/a>. The rebranding and niche marketing of skin-whitening products is made easier by the fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com\/Article\/2014\/07\/30\/Whitening-product-innovation-sees-new-focus-on-melanogenesis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">these are often melanin-suppressing products<\/a> with pharmaceutical properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image align-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/348998\/original\/file-20200722-36-fqgbo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"What you need to know about rebranded skin-whitening creams\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\n              <span class=\"caption\">An ad for a Vichy Laboratoire skincare product shows fairer skin as the desired result. <span class=\"source\">(Amina Mire)<\/span>, <span class=\"license\">Author provided<\/span><\/span><br>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Increasingly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/business\/fair-whitening-and-lightening-among-terms-unilever-s-dropping-from-beauty-products-1.4999709\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">advertising for skin-whitening cosmetics uses terms that can be substituted with whiteness<\/a>: glowing, radiant, translucent, bright and clear. These terms frame skin whitening as a source of recuperative wellness and youthful femininity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, there is no clearly defined regulatory framework for these products. This makes it easier for endless rebranding and niche marketing of skin whitening products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"the-banner-of-anti-aging\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The banner of anti-aging<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Skin whitening has been marketed as part of a fight against aging, which means it has also come to be seen as a legitimate way to take care of one\u2019s skin. Women are told over and over that getting and keeping glowing skin at all ages is a standard requirement for femininity and beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When corporations promote skin whitening under the banner of anti-aging wellness to aging middle class white women, the practice is often defended, both by consumers and the cosmetics industry, as a legitimate way of regenerating the aging white female body and shielding it from environmental deterioration, modern stress, air pollution and more. In this way, advertisements for anti-aging skin whiteners are supposedly formulated to promote wellness by restoring, regenerating and protecting white women\u2019s skin from the harmful effects of sun damage and other environmentally induced signs of aging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea that increased pigmentation represents an unhealthy process of premature aging has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Wellness-in-Whiteness-Open-Access-Biomedicalisation-and-the-Promotion\/Mire\/p\/book\/9780815377443\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">facilitated the promotion of skin whitening products to both white women and women of colour<\/a>. The symbolic association of whiteness with youthful appearance and anti-aging wellness has driven the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nutraceuticalsworld.com\/issues\/Beauty-IO-2014\/view_features\/formulating-cosmeceuticals-nutraceuticals-for-skin-care\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">research and development and mass marketing of high technology-based skin whitening products with anti-aging claims<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, the industry invites all women, regardless of ethnicity, race and or nationality, to seek smooth, radiant and youthful-looking skin, which is free from age spots and hyperpigmentation, by consuming skin-whitening products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image align-left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/349000\/original\/file-20200722-30-g3t0nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"An advertisement for Stillman's Skin Bleach Cream with a small green container of cream. \"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\n              <span class=\"caption\">Although skincare companies are using less explicit language about skin whitening, their products continue to promote a desire for whiteness. <span class=\"source\">(Amina Mire)<\/span>, <span class=\"license\">Author provided<\/span><\/span><br>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"the-misguided-desire-for-whiteness\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The misguided desire for whiteness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past two decades, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com\/Hot-topics\/Anti-Aging-Skin-Whitening\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">skin-whitening products have been promoted<\/a> in glossy magazines, online shops, upscale health spas, wellness boutiques, department stores and websites run by cosmetics firms. It is pertinent to stress that the globalization of skin whitening depends on more than a misguided desire for whiteness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cosmetics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries will continue to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sustainable-business\/blog\/skin-whitening-cream-dark-side-beauty-industry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">invest in skin-whitening products<\/a> by using terms which convey that a good skin is youthful looking \u2014 and white. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The leading cosmetics and pharmaceutical firms have declared that they will no longer mention skin whitening. <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/india\/1072367\/skin-lightening-the-dangerous-obsession-thats-worth-billions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yet they will continue to promote products that produce skin-whitening effects<\/a>. This lack of real change reveals how deeply the intersection of race, gender, femininity and ageism continues to shape the globalization, normalization and mainstreaming of the skin-whitening industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/carleton-university-900\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Carleton University is a member of this unique digital journalism platform that launched in June 2017 to boost visibility of Canada\u2019s academic faculty and researchers. Interested in writing a piece? Please contact <a href=\"mailto:steven.reid3@carleton.ca\">Steven Reid<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/become-an-author\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sign up to become an author<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All photos provided by The Conversation from various sources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8212;<br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/\">Carleton Newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/143049\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Corporations like Unilever, L\u2019Or\u00e9al and Johnson &amp; Johnson recently announced they will no longer sell products that mention \u201cskin whitening.\u201d These companies will now adjust how they market their products, especially on social media. However, they will continue to promote creams and serums formulated for skin-whitening effects. These companies have already developed other terms besides [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":68113,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[1623],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-68112","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-expert-perspectives"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/68112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/68112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68115,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/68112\/revisions\/68115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=68112"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=68112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}