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Skin ‘whitening’ risks: why you shouldn’t use lightening creams and what you can try instead

  • Skin lightening creams often contain mercury, which can damage the kidneys, brain and nervous system, as two Hong Kong women recently learned
  • A doctor warns of the risks of using such products, and describes solutions medical professionals can prescribe that will deliver the desired results safely

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Skin lightening products are popular, but may contain harmful ingredients such as mercury. Choose a safe alternative instead, such as medically supervised peels to lighten dark spots on your skin. Photo: Shutterstock

Skin lightening – using cosmetic products to make the skin appear paler by reducing the amount of pigmentation – is a multibillion-dollar industry.

According to market researchers Global Industry Analysts, it was worth about US$8 billion in 2020 and is expected to hit US$12.6 billion by 2027.

It is also highly controversial and fuelled by colourism, where lighter skin has been associated with wealth and status. In Asia, dark skin has long been associated with poverty and working in the fields, while pale skin reflects a more comfortable life indoors and out of the sun.

In China, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea, the practice is rooted in unrealistic beauty ideals.

An advert in the Philippines for a whitening cream. Photo: GlutaMAX
An advert in the Philippines for a whitening cream. Photo: GlutaMAX

It is not just the ugly side of the beauty industry, where fairer or “brighter” skin is sought after, that is worrying – there are also serious health issues.

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