Fair skin as a beauty ideal underpins the global bleach cream industry – valued at $8.6 billion. There is a nascent backlash against the practice, which endangers health and can perpetuate racism.
Cosmetics companies have agreed to remove racially offensive language from their skin products - but history, in Kenya and South Africa, shows they’ve done the same before.
The longing for lighter skin remains a taboo topic in African-American communities.
In India, a light complexion is associated with power, status and beauty, fueling an innovative and growing market of skin-bleaching products.
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