'Whitening' creams undergo a makeover but colorism persists

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Hey, did you hear about those big cosmetics companies selling a fairy tale in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East? They're saying if your love life is falling apart, your career's a mess, and nobody values your talents, just use their skin lightening cream, and bam! Your life will magically turn around. Unbelievable, right?

Unilever's Fair & Lovely brand is the champion of this message. They make millions selling those tubes of cream in India for as low as $2 a pop. Crazy, right? They rake in over $500 million in India alone! But here's the kicker: they're finally changing their approach due to all the protests and conversations about racial injustice.

Unilever's ditching words like "fair," "white," and "light" from their marketing and packaging, trying to be more inclusive. They're now calling it "Glow & Lovely." L'Oreal's following suit, and Johnson & Johnson's getting out of the fairness and skin-whitening game entirely.

It's about time, to be honest. Activists have been fighting against this biased marketing for years. One woman started the "Dark is Beautiful" campaign in India to challenge the idea that lighter skin is better. And you know what? Many folks, especially in Africa, still feel the pressure to be fairer because society's obsessed with it.

In places like India, even matrimonial ads mention the bride or groom's skin tone as if it's crucial information. And don't even get me started on the ancient caste system and how it contributed to this bias.

It's not just Unilever and L'Oreal though; other countries like Japan and South Korea have their fair share of skin-lightening products too. Some of them use different names for the US market, pretending to be all about "brightening," but domestically, they stick to the old "mibaek" stuff.

Thankfully, some companies are starting to change, but we're not sure if it's just lip service or a genuine shift in their narrative. They're replacing the "fair," "white," and "light" words with phrases like "glow" and "even tone," but only time will tell if they're serious about breaking these beauty stereotypes.

Let's hope they walk the talk and bring some real change. Meanwhile, keep an eye on NBC Asian America's updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The world's changing, and it's about time!

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