skin lightening
-
Talking Loud and Saying Nothing: Unilever Will Strike ‘Fair’ and ‘Lovely’ From Its Branding—but Will Continue to Sell Skin Lightening Products
Spurred by increased attention to racism and racial justice, brands across all industries have scrambled to do the right thing by Black consumers. Among these companies is Unilever, which recently pledged more than $1 million in donations to social justice organizations. But the multinational conglomerate, which owns Dove, Palmolive, and L’Oreal, has made much, much…
-
Black Lives Matter—but Not Black Skin? Indian Celebs Called Out for Expressing Solidarity After Profiting From Colorism
It’s currently en vogue to declare that black lives matter (and make no mistake: they do), but it’s far less comfortable to discuss how anti-black racism manifests throughout the world. Colorist beauty standards are not only closely correlated to socioeconomic success here in the United States, but are well documented in countries throughout South America,…
-
In Response to a 23,000 Signature Petition, Amazon Agrees to Stop Selling Mercury-Laden Skin Bleaching Products
A major battle was recently won in the war on colorism, with the biggest retailer in the world cracking down on the sale of skin-bleaching products. As reported by the Washington Post, after over a year of lobbying by Minnesota-based nonprofit The Beautywell Project, Amazon has agreed to remove skin-lightening products containing mercury from its…
-
Colorism Isn’t Funny: Japanese Comedy Duo Apologizes for Saying Naomi Osaka Should Bleach Her Skin
It be your own people; that’s what Haitian-Japanese-American tennis champion Naomi Osaka—who proudly plays for Japan, her country of birth—found out yet again while winning her first Pan Pacific Open title on Sunday in her hometown, the aptly named Osaka. According to BBC Sport, Japanese female comedy team A Masso ignored the two-time Grand Slam…
-
Enough: Rwanda Becomes the 3rd African Nation to Ban Skin-Bleaching Ingredients
Rwanda just became the latest country to take aggressive action against the widespread practice of skin bleaching, now enforcing a ban on products that contain ingredients intended to lighten the skin—most commonly, hydroquinone. In December, Rwandan police told national outlet The New Times the move, in which officials are patrolling markets and seizing bleaching products…
-
Earth to Chyna: Hire Real PR, Because Your Mama Ain't It
Fun fact: My mom is a PR person. Actually, she’s a veteran journalist-turned-PR person, with more than two decades in each field. She’s an expert who has worked with some of the most recognizable brands in the world. All that said, I am forever leery of my mom doing my PR, and am constantly editing…
-
Do We Call Her 'Chyna White' Now? Blac Chyna Sells All the Way Out With a Whitenicious Collab
Not like this, Blac Chyna. Not like this. We try not to spontaneously write off everyone with a Kardashian family affiliation, if only because that circle gets larger by the day—and because Kardashians are people, too (or so we hear). But the former Kardashian in-law (and current co-parent) known as Blac Chyna clearly shares the…
-
When America Makes You Hate Your Skin So Much You Shoplift Bottles of Ambi Fade Cream to Get Lighter
I was 13 years old the first time I shoplifted. My sister, at 15, was my lookout. We were at the tiny pharmacy in tiny Newton Falls, Ohio, in the “ethnic” section. There was, as there is now, an array of products. Products for making your hair wet and curly—not so “coarse.” There were products…