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Still interested in making lightening creams?
“The L’Oréal Group has decided to remove the words white/whitening, fair/fairness, light/lightening from all its skin evening products,” the cosmetics company said in a statement on Saturday.
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19 Replies
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J&J was getting out of the business and Unilever was revamping their Fair & Lovely brand too. I wonder whether these moves will decrease the desire to purchase these products. Or it could just lead to a black market of more dangerous products.
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The issue of hyperpigmentation is still a huge problem. Women cry about acne scars and other areas of hyperpigmentation.
The demand for anti melanogenic products will still persist as long as there are advertisements for smooth clear skin.They are only changing names due to the over sensitivity of the BLM movement and I’m saying this as a individual of color.
Personally my struggles to remove hyperpigmentation is a mark to improve my self esteem, being proud that I have blemish free skin that I can boast of.It’s my primary focus on my research as I personally know more than hundreds of individuals who have spent thousands trying to achieve the ever elusive mark free skin. -
I agree with @Anuli, hyperpigmentation is a real problem.
It will probably just be a marketing change. There won’t be any more “whitening” products. But rather products marketed to treat hyperpigmentation, and sun damage. Would that make them OTC? -
@letsalcido it’s definitely going to be a marketing change.
The demand for skin lightening products is too incredible.It’s what lead me here. I’ve been a lurker for years but due to googling, it led me to @Perry’s page and pushed me to enroll at the University of Cincinnati Masters in Pharmacology in Cosmetic Science.I finished one full year and transferred to a Nurse Practitioner program- as I believe being a dermatology provider would give me better leverage in marketing and running my own dermatology clinic with the products created. Kinda like Dr Murad but for individuals of color.I find it disheartening to see a post seemingly cheering about anti hyperpigmentation products being pulled, and reading the article - it’s very misleading, it’s only removing the name.Again like I said before - hyperpigmentation is a serious issue that won’t go away. Maybe due to genetics , you don’t experience it- you don’t see the need for lightening products , but there is a need.2 weeks ago I was approached by a colleague about what I am doing with my skin to keep it blemish free. She complained that she worries that her daughter won’t “find a man” or “settle down” because of her tremendous acne scars. I gave her my recommendations and she bought every single one.I’m West African, my colleague is Indian.Maybe one should check their insights on a billion dollar industry.❤️ -
If you are from West Africa then you must be well aware of the enormous damage done by skin bleaching products. I am. Fela Kuti recorded an album about the problem, it is called “Yellow Fever“.
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Yes . I am well aware.
Due to colorism there is a drive that being lighter is seen as more beautiful and more attractive.I can write a thesis on it but I don’t want to detract from the main focus.The act of depigmentation vs correcting hyperpigmentation .I do not support removing your original color. I do not support depigmentation. Please don’t ascribe to the belief that every African foreigner is looking to create a dangerous depigmentation product.I am endeavoring to change that viewpoint and I am happy that more darker shades of melanin are being placed in media worldwide.With that being said, hyperpigmentation still is a big issue. I respect your contributions but please be open minded to believe that there are those who wish to simply have blemish free skin. -
I wish they focused on more serious problems such as sun damage. People are the same everywhere: in some countries being white is a sign of belonging to upper class, in others being the same colour as grilled chicken in the middle of winter is a sign of belonging to upper class. The industry can remove the word but they cannot (and should not because it’s not a task of the business) remove the desire to change skin color one way or another.
Totally support the comments above. Hyperpigmentation is a big issue.
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ngarayeva001 said:…The industry can remove the word but they cannot (and should not because it’s not a task of the business) remove the desire to change skin color one way or another…Sure about that? I honestly doubt that they couldn’t change it because they were the ones who pushed the original believe of bright being better (at least in India) to the point where the requirement for getting hiring (or married) got the following decreasing order: having fair skin > looking beautiful > what-was-it-again? ah, yea, having an appropriate education for the respective field and probably also being actually good in it.Not just that some fear that their daughters won’t find a husband or a job because of scars but it’s a common phenomenon in India that many have the same real fear because of naturally darker skin.Cosmetic industries (most of all the big western multinationals) heavily contribute to and intensify that stupidity, just see how aggressive their marketing is, like vultures over dead horses. Sure, they originally didn’t kill the first horse but that doesn’t justify what they are doing. Given the huge market there, I don’t think they really plan on dropping that feast. And if they do, then there will be even more dangerous products by small uncontrolled manufacturers. IMHO they have the obligation to change marketing to keep mostly the young people from (ab-)using such products… would be great if they did!As a side note: Here in Switzerland, bleaching products are long over their peak. Such products and advertisements therefore have become scarce and the concentration of bleaching ingredients in OTC products have gone down. We have a max of 5% benzoylperoxide, azelaic acid is a prescription drug and so is hydroquinone though with no available product, and kojic acid is not even approved. People with hyperpigmentation or other similar issues go to the dermatologist to get treatments and/or products on prescription. -
Products should be available for those who wish to use them. Everyone should have a right to make their skin lighter or darker depending on their preferences. The same way as everyone should have a right to get plastic surgery if they wish to get one. The human race has been attempting to modify their bodies one way or another for not hundreds but thousands of years. In early Tudor England only rich people had access to refined sugar and they had bad teeth, so guess what low-class people did? They blacken their teeth to look rich. There is no reason to fight with human nature. It is much more important to focus on safety and make sure that there is no market for skin bleaching products with 20% of hydroquinone or mercury or other nonsense. It is the same way important to inform people that excessive sun exposure is very dangerous. Businesses sell what customers want, not the other way around.
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I don’t agree. I have seen the terrible damage done, I spent years in Africa where such products are peddled.
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@Belassi, my point is that if large multinational companies like Unilever remove skin lightening creams from those markets they would open pandora’s box, because with demand being still in place black market will pick up rather quickly. It’s much better to have shelves filled with products of a known brand who has reputation to lose. I would have more trust in a large multinational company when it comes to lightening products. It’s like banning alcohol, people would find a way and that way would be more dangerous. These products must be easily available, inexpensive and quality controlled.
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We saw people here on this very forum asking how to formulate with mercury and formaldehyde. And although none of them got the answer those are the people who would fill the gap. So I hope large companies just rename their products from brightening to ‘tone refreshing’ or whatever term they come up with and keep their safe products on the market.
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Belassi said:I don’t agree. I have seen the terrible damage done, I spent years in Africa where such products are peddled.
You might have lived in Africa but you do not share the same experience as an African.
Why are you a cosmetic formulator? To only serve those who look like yourself and the issues or concerns they might have?I gather that you believe that every person of color has psychological issues and wishes to become “white”Are you going to tell women not to get Botox because they should love their wrinkles?Not to get cosmetic surgery to fix their crook in their already straight noses because of their insecurities?People everyday are Extreme dieting because of dissatisfaction in how they appear presently.Just like you may or may not formulate products to improve on whatever you chose, people should be able to choose to do what they desire and not be shamed for it.My point is - is it safe? Does it pose a risk? What is the bigger picture?Supposed hyperpigmentation is only seen by a dermatologist- fine- but when the market gets flooded by damage causing materials then who benefits?You have less clients and more people earning from illicit means.I’m sure you’ll probably ignore this- but there are plenty of African women who are proud of the melanin they are blessed with.Maybe you need to spend some time again. Not everyone is there to bleach their skin. -
ngarayeva001 said:@Belassi, my point is that if large multinational companies like Unilever remove skin lightening creams from those markets they would open pandora’s box, because with demand being still in place black market will pick up rather quickly. It’s much better to have shelves filled with products of a known brand who has reputation to lose. I would have more trust in a large multinational company when it comes to lightening products. It’s like banning alcohol, people would find a way and that way would be more dangerous. These products must be easily available, inexpensive and quality controlled.
I thought it was like banning alcohol as well.
Alcoholism causes liver cirrhosis, liver cancer , death and automobile accidents.Smoking causes asthma, lung cancer, leads to early death.We all have known and seen the effects.Alcohol isn’t banned and neither is smoking, yet the ICUS steadily get patients who because of these habits need life saving treatment.I worked in a Liver ICU, coding patients left and right, am I NOW going to start making statements that alcohol should be banned?I don’t drink but those who do- I advocate to do it safely.The point here is to advocate for safety and reinforce that beauty comes in ALL shades and not just “white” .Hyperpigmentation is an issue that women of color have to battle. Those who seek to be even toned should not be shamed for it. -
Pharma said: IMHO they have the obligation to change marketing to keep mostly the young people from (ab-)using such products… would be great if they did!
This is key 🔑 .
It’s not about banning all products but changing the marketing and advertising. And advocating for safe use. -
ngarayeva001 said:@Belassi, my point is that if large multinational companies like Unilever remove skin lightening creams from those markets they would open pandora’s box, because with demand being still in place black marketThey will come with another marketing Gimmicks Like HD glow..
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Also, many people can’t afford to go to a dermatologist for their hyperpigmentation. Buying cream is easier. This “cream” should be both effective and safe. When people would have let’s say 2% hydroquinone that is made by a trustworthy manufacturer they would opt for that. When the 2% hydroquinone isn’t available they would get whatever is there. It’s ok to want to have lighter or darker skin. It’s ok to want to be skinnier or younger. What is not ok is jumping from one extreme to another and I have a feeling that this is what is going on right now.
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It’s got to be related that we’ve recently had clients who sell on amazon getting push back from the site that any products claiming ‘lightening’ must have two test results from separate ISO accredited labs confirming no mercury.
All of our newer products never say lightening, only brightening or tone evening. Marketing will adjust. Once you’ve shown people lightening products I think it will be hard to take away without creating black market crop-up. I’d agree regulated products are better than outright bans, but there are still so many unregulated products that sneak through already so how do you effectively implement change?
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I don’t know how this discussion swung from an announced change in marketing langauge by L’Oreal to products being banned … that’s not at all what L’Oreal is saying.
They are announcing that they will no longer use certain words in their product description and marketing … that is simply a response to a new-found sensitivity to those words implying that being “lighter and whiter” is better and is the end objective. Actually lightening the skin tone (bleaching) is indeed the objective of a wide swath of consumers and their objectives go well beyond evening skin tone or hyperpigmentation.
This is, in part, for cosmetic considerations, but more driven by cultural phenomena and it is unfortunately, real. Some people go to crazy extremes like L-Glutathione drips and other such nonsense that are downright dangerous and scary.
Kudos to L’Oreal for realizing that their marketing language feeds this phenomenon, but I think it is so culturally ingrained in certain societies, Asia in particular, that it will take decades to change the public perception that having “whiter” skin is more desirable.
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