Skin lightening is a common practice in several Middle Eastern countries, particularly among women. [3] The use of skin lightening products among Middle Eastern women has been attributed to the perceived association between light skin and beauty, [2] as well as marriage and employment opportunities. [1] Furthermore, the portrayal of light skin as the beauty ideal in popular media has contributed to the use of skin lightening products among Middle Eastern women. [4]
Palestinian scholar Sonia Nimr has stated that the preference for lighter skin can be found in old Arabic and pre-Islamic poetry, stating: [4]
For centuries there’s been an image that if you’re pale or whiter, it means you’re a lady. You don’t have to go out of the tent to do hard work.
In a 2010 study conducted among 318 Jordanian women at selected pharmacy stores, 60.7% of the women reported using skin lightening products at some point in their lives. [1]
In 2009, a correspondent from The Christian Science Monitor investigated the use of skin lightening products among women in the city of Ramallah, by interviewing users of skin lightening products, as well as businesses which sold these products. [4]
When interviewed, an employee at a beauty salon expressed the following sentiment: [4]
Palestinians believe that white skin is beautiful. In the West, they sunbathe to get darker skin, but here, people like to lighten their skin and they hide from the sun at all costs.
A 2023 study found that Palestinian women from urban areas and those with a bachelor's degree were more likely to use skin lightening products. [5]
Skin lightening is prevalent among Saudi women, as indicated by several studies.
A 2019 study conducted among 760 Saudi female students found that 56.2% of the participants had used skin lightening products at some point in their lives. [6] Women with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to use skin lightening products. [6]
In another 2019 study, 605 Saudi women were asked about their use of skin lightening products. 63.1% of the participants reported using skin lightening products at some point in their lives. [2]
The portrayal of light skin as the beauty ideal in Middle Eastern popular media has contributed to the use of skin lightening products among Middle Eastern women. An investigation by a correspondent from The Christian Science Monitor conducted in the Palestinian city of Ramallah found that Lebanese singers with European features, including Haifa Wehbe and Nancy Ajram are widely considered beauty icons. [4] Furthermore, Sudanese-born writer Nesrine Malik stated [4]
Lebanese standards of beauty and complexion have taken the Arab world by storm since the resurgence of the Lebanese in media ... further limiting the accepted definition of beauty as light-skinned, catty-eyed and slim-nosed.
Discrimination based on skin tone, also known as colorism or shadeism, is a form of prejudice and discrimination in which people of certain ethnic groups, or people who are perceived as belonging to a different-skinned racial group, are treated differently based on their different skin tone.
Clobetasol propionate is a corticosteroid used to treat skin conditions such as eczema, contact dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, steroid responsive dermatosis, and psoriasis.
Hyperpigmentation is the darkening of an area of skin or nails caused by increased melanin.
Periorbital dark circles are dark blemishes around the eyes. There are many causes of this symptom, including heredity and bruising.
Anal bleaching is the process of lightening the color of the skin around the anus. It is done for cosmetic purposes, to make the color of the anus more uniform with the surrounding area. Some treatments are applied in an office or salon by a cosmetic technician and others are sold as cream that can be applied at home.
Ochronosis is a syndrome caused by the accumulation of homogentisic acid in connective tissues. The condition was named after the yellowish (ocher-like) discoloration of the tissue seen on microscopic examination. Macroscopically, though, the affected tissues appear bluish-grey because of a light-scattering phenomenon known as the Tyndall effect. The condition is most often associated with alkaptonuria, but can occur from exogenous administration of phenol complexes such as hydroquinone. It was first described by Rudolf Virchow in 1865.
Liver spots are blemishes on the skin associated with aging and exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. They range in color from light brown to red or black and are located in areas most often exposed to the sun, particularly the hands, face, shoulders, arms and forehead, and the scalp if bald.
Skin whitening, also known as skin lightening and skin bleaching, is the practice of using chemical substances in an attempt to lighten the skin or provide an even skin color by reducing the melanin concentration in the skin. Several chemicals have been shown to be effective in skin whitening, while some have proven to be toxic or have questionable safety profiles. This includes mercury compounds which may cause neurological problems and kidney problems.
The history of cosmetics spans at least 7,000 years and is present in almost every society on earth. Cosmetic body art is argued to have been the earliest form of a ritual in human culture. The evidence for this comes in the form of utilised red mineral pigments including crayons associated with the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa. Cosmetics are mentioned in the Old Testament—2 Kings 9:30 where Jezebel painted her eyelids—approximately 840 BC—and the book of Esther describes various beauty treatments as well.
Depigmentation is the lightening of the skin or loss of pigment. Depigmentation of the skin can be caused by a number of local and systemic conditions. The pigment loss can be partial or complete. It can be temporary or permanent.
Foundation is a liquid, cream, or powder makeup applied to the face and neck to create an even, uniform color to the complexion, cover flaws and, sometimes, to change the natural skin tone. Some foundations also function as a moisturizer, sunscreen, astringent or base layer for more complex cosmetics. Foundation applied to the body is generally referred to as "body painting" or "body makeup".
Bihaku is a Japanese term coined in the 1990s with the emergence of skin whitening products and cosmetics.
BB cream is a marketing term that stands for blemish balm, blemish base, beblesh balm, and in Western markets, beauty balm, beauty blend... Products marketed as BB creams are generally designed to serve as a foundation, moisturizer, and sunscreen all at once.
Whitewashing in beauty is a phenomenon in the intersection of the fashion industry, digital photography, mass media, marketing and advertising. It describes a situation in which the skin tone of non-white people – when depicted in magazine covers, advertisements, commercials, music videos, etc. – is digitally retouched or physically modified to appear whiter. Whitewashing can also present itself in the alteration of hair texture to resemble Eurocentric beauty ideals of straight hair. Whitewashing can be seen in the form of skin whitening, either digitally or with harmful skin bleaching products, or by chemically relaxing textured hair to make it conform to Eurocentric beauty standards. Additionally, plastic surgery can be used to alter features to make them appear more European, such as double eyelid surgery.
The feminine beauty ideal is a specific set of beauty standards regarding traits that are ingrained in women throughout their lives and from a young age to increase their perceived physical attractiveness. It is experienced by many women in the world, though the traits change over time and vary in country and culture.
The cosmetic industry describes the industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products. These include colour cosmetics, like foundation and mascara, skincare such as moisturisers and cleansers, haircare such as shampoos, conditioners and hair colours, and toiletries such as bubble bath and soap. The manufacturing industry is dominated by a small number of multinational corporations that originated in the early 20th century, but the distribution and sale of cosmetics is spread among a wide range of different businesses. Cosmetics must be safe when customers use them in accordance with the label's instructions or in the conventional or expected manner. One measure a producer may take to guarantee the safety of a cosmetic product is product testing. FDA occasionally does testing as part of its research program or when looking into potential safety issues with a product. Both the cosmetics business and consumers can benefit from the FDA's resources on product testing.
Cosmetics have been used in Korea since antiquity. Today, cosmetics are an important industry in South Korea.
Glow & Lovely is an Indian skin-lightening cosmetic product of Hindustan Unilever introduced to the market in India in 1975. Glow & Lovely is available in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Mauritius and other parts of Asia and is also exported to other parts of the world, such as the West, where it is sold in Asian supermarkets.
Colorism in the Caribbean describes discrimination based on skin tone, or colorism, in the Caribbean.
