This story about Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s endorsement of a skin lightening product demonstrates 
just how controversial a cosmetic product can be. Khan, who’s been described as the Tom Cruise of Bollywood, is being criticized for reinforcing prejudices and stereotypes. The product he’s pitching is called Fair and Handsome and it’s supposed to make users lighter-skinned and confident. You can see the video here.
Their website lists the 4 key ingredients as Peptide, Licorice, Vetiver and Aloe Vera. These aren’t likely to give any skin lightening effect. It is more likely they are using technology similar to Meladerm since hydroquinone is banned in some EU countries. They don’t have the same labeling requirements as the US so the actual active ingredients couldn’t be found.
Cosmetic Irony
It’s always seemed ironic that we all seem to want what we don’t have. People who are dark skinned want lighter skin. People who are pale want tanned skin. Women with straight hair get perms, those with curly hair get it relaxed. For cosmetic companies, this is good. There will always be a need for products to fix some perceived problem. Unfortunately, I’m just not sure if reinforcing stereotypes and making people feel bad about their natural beauty is good for humanity.
-MidBrain
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blah Says:
Beauty standards always seem to promote attributes which are less prevalent in society and there appears to be an aversion to a broad definition of beauty. Perhaps this is due to economic reasons. If economic resources for women were doled out based on beauty (as in olden times), a narrow definition provides more guidance as to how to divide these scarce resources and the effort required to adhere to the beauty standard reflects upon the discipline and training of the girl. Or if beauty is used as an indicator of economic status (as it is now), then the beautiful traits must be selective enough so that they must be maintained through the use of time and money.
Janis Says:
I have to admit, the skin lightening stuff creeps me out big time. I agree that everyone seems to want to be whatever is rarest, but in a country with a history of imperialism frmo the West, like India, it’s got baggage for pete’s sake. There’s just no getting around it. I may be biased myself though — I’m the dark end of white (olive skin), and I’d love to be darker. I can’t imagine having all that lovely dark skin and messing it up.
I can’t imagine being pale and using tanning lotion, though. There’s SO many different ways to be beautiful, and flattening it all out like this just seems to ruin it. It’s so much more fun and more interesting to see many different types of people, not for PC reasons, but just because it’s so fun to see different types of people isntead of everyone looking the same.
I can’t even tell most of the big-name celebrities apart anymore. Seriously — take a quick one-second look at a magazine cover, just flash your eyes past it, and then tell me if it was a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Richie, or Cameron Diaz. You won’t be able to.
Mikaella Says:
I don’t know whether the skincare product Fair and Handsome make users lighter-skinned and confident. But I’m sure having Shah Rukh Khan in their product ad will create a hype for the product in the market.
skin care Says:
yea fair and handsome is being popular among the youngster… and might be also due to KIng Khan ads..
MizzJ Says:
Well, they have similar products here, only they’re called “skin brightners” instead. I think westerners are too quick to think that if an Asian person wants lighter skin, then that means they are aspiring to be held against Caucasian standards of beauty. There are many native Indians who have naturally pale skin, perhaps it is to that standard of beauty they are aspiring.
YouAreWrong Says:
Wrong! People do NOT “always want what someone else has instead of what they have”. NOONE wants the curly thin hair my family inherited - get yourselves over that platitude. Have you ever seen anyone revered for their beauty in the media, who has thin curly hair? NOPE! Take your old wive’s tail of “wanting what you don’t have” and toss it where it belongs - the trash.