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  • 7/31/2019 GLAM - Mirror Mirror on the Wall

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    JANUARY 2012 / 1

  • 7/31/2019 GLAM - Mirror Mirror on the Wall

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    30 / JANUARY 2012

    eauty trends have their

    ebb and fow. There

    is no raging debate on

    our preerences or the

    choices we make be it

    the shape o our eyebrows, shade o our lipstick

    shades, nail art or hair lengths. Talk skin colouron the other hand, and ammunition at the ready,

    both sides are ready to re.

    Skin whitening is a sensitive issue that oten

    sparks strong opinions. There are psychologi-

    cal, social and political undertones attributed

    to who people crave a lighter complexion: Is it

    airytale hangover rom reading o Snow White

    as a child? Maybe an echo o racial discrimina-

    tion? Or that most ashion icons we see are air

    skinned beauties? A marketing ploy that eeds

    on insecurities, perhaps?

    Women tend to stand divided, believing

    strongly against or or the quest o airer skin,

    but the pursuit o the latter seems to be gaining

    the upper hand as the beauty industry increas-

    ingly churns out more products that relate to

    skin whitening.

    More than just the simple act o achieving air

    skin, the desire to be airer and whiter is drivenby social and racial implications as we continue

    to be mesmerised by visuals o air women in

    the media. I am sure we have all seen TV adver-

    tisements (in Asia, Arica and the Arab world)

    where an olive-skinned girl was duly ignored

    by the boy o her dreams. Several weeks later,

    when she reappeared with airer skin ater us-

    ing the advertised skin whitening lotion, her

    boy crush then becomes smitten by her newskin tone. What kind o message exactly are we

    sending to the young women out there?

    The tone and message is repeatedly used in so

    many similar products, we have either become

    immune to how oensive it is. Not just in ad-

    vertisements, but every day, in various media

    channels, we are subversively being ed the idea

    that only Snow White will be successul and

    happy in lie. Ever notice how the antagonists

    in TV shows and movies are usually o a darker

    colour? Ever notice how out o 12 covers o any

    given magazine, less than three are adorned by

    women o darker skin tones?

    Lighten the diversity, please!The big hoo-hah in the entertainment and ash-

    ion industry to be more inclusive and diverseremains, just that-a hoo-hah. Somalian super-

    model Iman is celebrated as a beautiul Arican

    beauty, yet, magazines airbrush her skin colour

    to a lighter tone to be worthy o their covers.

    While thousands o other aspiring young A-

    rican girls who look to Iman as a source o in-

    spiration, are bound to question their own skin

    colour. Perhaps it would be easier or them to

    emulate Iman i they had a lighter skin tone and

    thus spark the insatiable demand or skin-whit-

    ening products and treatment regardless o the

    side eects that may occur.

    Two o the biggest pop stars today are beauti-

    ul coloured women like Beyonce and Rihanna.

    The duo are also strong advocates o embracing

    their own diverse ethnicity; especially Rihanna

    who comes rom Barbados. But exactly how e-ective is their voice in empowering women i

    photos o these stars become increasingly light-

    ened over time?

    In India, which is a huge market or skin-

    whitening products, powerhouse actresses in-

    cluding ormer Miss World Aishwariya Rai and

    Kareena Kapoor are also much celebrated or

    their airer complexion (more than their acting

    prowess) which symbolises beauty and success.

    As this message trickles down to the billion-plus

    population, all that is let is the constant quest to

    be the airest o them all, because only women

    who are air will achieve happiness in lie.

    mirrormirror

    on

    thewall,WHoS

    THe fAireSTof uS ALL?

    by dEbrIna alIyaH

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    JANUARY 2012 / 31

    glam feature

    The Arab fixThe notion that white skin represents a supe-

    rior race and ultimate beauty is very much pres-ent in this region as large majority o women

    continue to seek out skin whitening treatments.

    Not only do they use over-the-counter skin-

    whitening products that are oered by almost

    all beauty brands, they go to great lengths seek-

    ing both invasive and non-invasive surgeries to

    lighten their skin.

    About 90 percent o my patients who have

    come in seeking other treatments will eventual-

    ly enquire about skin-whitening treatments and

    most o them do it or vanity and beauty reasons

    rather than or medical conditions like black

    spots or birth marks, dermatologist Dr Sanaa

    Mustapha rom the Dr Hassan Dermatology &

    Venereology Centre explains. While most o us

    dream o a Prince Charming that will accept us

    or all our faws, skin colour included, it seemsthat this is no longer a legit dream.

    Most o the women here view white skin as

    the absolute symbol o beauty and the men pre-

    er women with whiter skin too. It is especially

    important to women who are going to be mar-

    ried because they want airer complexion or

    their wedding celebrations, she says.

    Whats that on your skin?The treatments oered as non-invasive pro-

    cedures include the usage o topical cream

    and chemical peels. The main active unction

    in most non-invasive procedures is to reduce

    and prevent the amount o melanin produc-

    tion which is the substance responsible or our

    natural skin colour. The latest non-invasive

    procedure that is gaining popularity is the non-

    ablitave laser resuracing which targets the mi-

    croscopic zones o the epidermis and dermis to

    result in airer complexion.

    Controversial invasive procedures that have

    made headlines or causing adverse side eects

    include dermabrasion and ablitave laser treat-

    ment. Dermabrasion involves the abrasion o the

    upper layers o the skin akin to using sandpaperto wood and the procedure requires local anaes-

    thetic. The ablitave laser treatment is based on

    the same concept o upper layer skin removal by

    directing brie intense burst o laser energy on

    the skin. The energy heats water within the sur-

    ace layers o the skin and turns both water and

    tissue to vapour. Both procedures will result in

    the skin being sore and raw ater the treatment

    and requires long periods o time to heal withdelicate care.

    Non-invasive procedures are what we would

    usually recommend to patients seeking skin

    lightening treatments or cosmetic reasons.

    Invasive procedures are only used to treat pa-

    tients with medical skin conditions. The ad-

    verse eects o invasive procedures are just not

    justied or cosmetic purposes considering that

    it may result in hyper pigmentation, scarring,

    white head ormation, erythema, inection and

    post infammatory hyper pigmentation. These

    complications are especially common in dark

    skin individuals, Dr Sanaa explains.

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    glam feature

    Risky beautyDespite the risks o irreversible skin damage and

    hyper pigmentation, women continue to fock to

    dermatologists demanding or these procedures

    hoping or instant gratication and not thinking

    about the long-term eects on their skin.

    48-year-old Nurliza Shareen who underwenta dermabrasion treatment says she had to stay

    at home or close to two weeks because her skin

    was sore and she just could not bear to meet

    people during the period with her red ace.

    When she nally let home, she had to wear a

    visor cap or close to a month to protect her ace

    rom the sun.

    However, not all women who seek skin light-

    ening treatments are looking or the porcelainperect airness but are just trying to improve

    skin conditions including black spots, uneven

    skin tones and birth marks. These can usu-

    ally be remedied with over-the-counter beauty

    creams which are available at beauty spas and

    pharmacies. Although this method may not pro-

    duce immediate results, the long-term usage o

    these products will allow the skin to slowly ab-

    sorb and adapt to the active ingredients in the

    cream ormulas.

    Women in particular suer rom pigmenta-

    tion and spots on their ace due to changes in

    hormones at dierent phases o their lives espe-

    cially during menstruation and pregnancy.

    For simple cases like these, women preer to

    use creams rather than undergo surgeries be-

    cause it is saer, uss-ree, aordable and can be

    done in the comort o their own homes, says

    Carla Coetzee, Manager o Dados Beauty and

    Spa. The beauty centre uses the Nu Skin skin-brightening range which helps minimise dark

    spot and prevents new discolouration.

    A skin whitening cream an Danieli Louzen,

    says that the reason she uses these products

    is to help maintain a lighter skin tone which

    makes it easier or her to experiment with di-

    erent makeup colours.

    I have a slightly tanned complexion and I rea-

    lised that only bright palette o make-up colourslike blue or pink would standout on my skin. I

    started using skin-whitening skin care products

    and creams to help get a airer and clearer com-

    plexion so that I can use other makeup colours

    including brown and grey which can help create

    a sexy and sultry look.

    While these may seem remarkably saer than

    surgical procedures, a lot o consumers may

    not realise the long-term eects o certain skin

    lightening creams that contain chemicals in-

    cluding hydroquinone that act to prevent the

    natural production o melanin in the skin. Mela-

    nin acts as a natural protection against the sun

    and without it, we become more susceptible to

    skin cancer. The US Food and Drug Administra-

    tion has even issued a warning that over-the-

    counter skin bleaching drug products are not

    generally recognised as sae and eective.

    Rather than resorting to surgeries or using

    skin lightening creams, Dr Sanaa believes thatpreventive measure is the most important step

    to preserving a healthy skin colour.

    Try to avoid sun exposure as much as pos-

    sible especially with the harsh weather in this

    region. Unless it is absolutely necessary, try not

    to go under the sun between 9am to 3pm in Qa-

    tars weather. Even woman who wears the niqab

    must apply sunscreen on their ace because the

    abric does not serve as sucient protectionrom the sun! Always apply the sunscreen at

    least 15 minutes beore you head out to allow

    the skin to absorb the lotion and remember to

    reapply the sunscreen every ew hours! she ad-

    vises.

    But ultimately, the most important concern at

    hand is not the dangerous and painul methods

    that women go through to achieve airness but

    the complex issues o sel acceptance towards

    their own natural skin colour. I we all truly

    embraced diversity and inclusiveness, perhaps

    then we will no longer have to endure shallow

    advertising that perpetuates a airy tale.