Skin Whitening Creams

[pal78]

I'm getting a little tired of the "beautiful white skin" chorus here in Bangkok. Three consecutive TV ads for skin whitening cream products inspired me to find out more about it. I was starting to wonder how these could possibly work in a way that wasn't somehow damaging to the health of those using them.

Didn't take me long to find this article from 2003:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_sc..._can_be_deadly/

I'm sure this has been discussed before on this forum but I can't find the thread. Western girls want to be brown, Thai girls wanna be white. Both are doing themselves serious harm in the process. Wasn't foot-binding banned in China, yet women are continually pressured by society into attempting to change their appearance in ways that are damaging to their health.

Anybody know more about the products being used here in Thailand? Are they using mercurous chloride? If not, what do they use, and are they safe?

[ProThaiExpat]

There was a lot of conclusion jumping in the news article.

Oil of Olay sells a skin whitening cream in Thailand. It has an ingrediant in it that makes the skin appear whiter after application, similar to the effect of makeup, it does not permanently whiten the skin, even after long usage.

Lemon Juice when applied to the hair, lightens it. Perhaps to the skin as well?

My guess is that most of the skin whitening creams in Thailand are of the makeup variety with only a few with benign chemicals that may, but only slightly, cause lightening of the skin. No Michael Jackson cases seen around Thailand to my knowledge.

I doubt seriously that the Thai FDA would permit mecury based products of any kind to be sold for application to Thai skin. The ads on the right of this thread are most instructive.

[Tyree D.]

according to these advertisements, these things have rich vitamins and minerals to give you that fresh, healthy, whiter skin.

as an Afreican, I don't care if these people hate their darker skin. I love myself and that's all that's important.

[Thaipwriter]

I'm getting a little tired of the "beautiful white skin" chorus here in Bangkok.

Tired? too right! the adverts are on every channel all the time. These products are at best sunblock. Nothing wrong with sunblock, in Thailand it is a vital product as skin cancer is a very real risk here.

It's the way the products are marketed and promoted that bothers me. I'm concerned about the underlying racism issue. In Thailand according to the television, to have a brown face is not as good as having a white face.

This i find very offensive. The notion that by having a white face makes you more acceptable in society and respected more is a very dangerous road to go down.

[Ice Maiden]

according to these advertisements, these things have rich vitamins and minerals to give you that fresh, healthy, whiter skin.

as an Afreican, I don't care if these people hate their darker skin.  I love myself and that's all that's important.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats the way to go .

I have naturally fair skin which I was teased for in England when I was younger. I got the whole "Have you seen a ghost?" questions asked when I was little which really upset me about my skin.

But now in Thailand I don't care about the shade of my skin because it's liked here. Eventually in England as I got older and bloomed my skin was accepted.

I think every skin colour is beautiful and should be accepted. Now I've learnt to love my skin colour .

But I think there should be less of the advertising about what skin colour is beautiful.

[khall64au]

I have managed to find a few good "natural" body moisturisers here that do not contain skin -whitening agents.

But one did contain mulberry extract which is a natural skin pigment bleach (not that I realised it on purchase). It works.... I stopped using it after a noticed uneven white blotches on my skin. I just hope it's not permanent!

[Khun Jean]

I'm getting a little tired of the "beautiful white skin" chorus here in Bangkok.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

...

I'm concerned about the underlying racism issue. In Thailand according to the television, to have a brown face is not as good as having a white face.

This i find very offensive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the west people do everything to get a brown skin (People with white skin look a little sick??). Is that also underlying racism or the societies perception of (unobtainable) beauty?

How about all the "lose weight" commercials. Or the fitness machine commercials, etc etc..

It is exactly the same. Trying to sell what people want. (Sometimes this turns around, but that is a great success for the commercial makers)

[Orion76]

A lot of them contain UV blocking agents so they prevent the skin from becoming darker rather than whitening it.

[thohts]

I doubt seriously that the Thai FDA would permit mecury based products of any kind to be sold for application to Thai skin.  The ads on the right of this thread are most instructive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

wow that's funny

When did the Thai government start caring about the health of its citizens?

[Phouston]

there are many whitening products sold over the counter, well all you have to consider is the ingredients of a whitening product before you use it. natural ingredients are really effective, though they are manufactured into creams and may other types, still it is safe for your skin right?? i'm using neucell skin lightener, so far i've been getting the result i wanted at the same time i'm not worried of skin irritation or any other skin problems because neucell is all natural, i recommend you guys to use it as well, refrain from using dangerous ingredients like hydroquinone perhaps, it pays to check the label befrore you use whitening products.

[lomatopo]

"I'm sure this has been discussed before on this forum..."

Ya think? Only about 250 times. In Asia, India, China, Japan light skin is a highly desirable physical attribute more so for perceived status than beauty in and of itself. People have, and will continue to, do many things, some dangerous including surgery, to modify their physical appearance. Not sure why this comes as such a surprise to so many people.

[Nev9021]

I'm very much aware of the growing trend of people whitening their skin (some friends of mine are on the bandwagon). Some though only want to even their skin tone; they just use the skin whitening products to address the problems of dark spots and underarms for instance.

Unfortunately, most skin whitening products out there do more harm than good. People should check the labels and do their research before buying! There are some creams out there that are effective yet free from hydroquinone (such as Whiterderm) and people should keep their eyes peeled for the likes of those. Others resort to natural remedies since they're the safest bet, and I agree.