With names like “Skin So White,” “White Perfect,” and “White and Lovely,” skin bleaching creams are becoming a popular — and controversial — part of many women’s beauty routines. While skin lighteners may be used by different people for different reasons, this clip from the documentary “Light Girls,” which premiered on OWN, focuses on women who apply a chemical agent over their entire face and body in hopes of going from a dark skin tone to a lighter one.
Dr. Margaret Hunter, head of the Sociology Department at Mills College, has seen the popularity of bleaching creams surge in recent years. “Skin bleaching is a growing phenomenon around the world and it’s becoming a bigger business,” she says. “Now it’s a multi-billion dollar business and all the biggest cosmetic companies sell products that are supposed to lighten your skin.”
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More: Light-skinned African American women on feeling they’re “not black enough.”
