Quest for fair complexion the dark side of cosmetics

Quest for fair complexion the dark side of cosmetics

By Ingrid Maack

JAKARTA (JP): While many Western women slather tanning lotions
over their body for an exotic, dark-skinned look, their
Indonesian cousins turn to skin-lightening products. They apply
chemical concoctions to their faces and necks in the hope of
achieving a fairer complexion.

"Using a skin-lightening product is a woman's personal choice.
It's all about making people feel better and to look more
beautiful," George Lorz, director of L'Oreal Consumer Goods
Division, said here recently at the launching of its skin-
lightening product, White Perfect.

"Europeans like to look tanned, but our research has shown
that fair skin is what Indonesian and most Asian women want. We
are simply responding to market demand."

It is this market demand, however, which is of concern. In
these uncertain economic times, many Indonesian women are turning
to cheap imported products, the ingredients of which are often
unclear. Last month, Extraderm, a skin-lightening cream from the
Philippines, was withdrawn from the market and banned by the
Ministry of Health because of its high concentration of the
chemical hydroquinone.

The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) is currently
testing other skin-lightening creams.

According to YLKI vice chairman Agus Pambagyo, before entering
the market all imported skin products must pass tests and be
approved by the government's Food and Drug Administration Board.
But he said the agency was a haven for corruption and riddled
with loopholes which allowed companies to export their products
to Indonesia without undergoing the necessary tests.

"Many companies register more than one product under the one
registration number, which means they can bypass the tests.
Because of this, almost any skin-lightening product can enter the
market," he said.

"It's a very dangerous environment at the moment; because of
the economic crisis, the government doesn't have the funds to
allow the department to monitor the market or to take legal
action against companies who break these laws. Also many women
are buying cheaper alternatives, but they are unaware of the
ingredients of these creams."

Known as hypopigmentation or skin bleaching, skin-lightening
creams interfere with the production of melatonin in the skin's
upper epidermis. The process reduces the amount of melatonin
pigments in Asian skin to a level similar to those in Caucasian
skin, and may lighten the skin after long-term use.

The effect is only temporary, however, with the skin returning
to its normal pigmentation, in much the same way as a tan fades,
once someone stops using a lightening cream.

Yani, a 20-year-old student from Trisakti University, is
skeptical of the products' promises. Her attempts to lighten her
skin were unsuccessful, even after using a well-known product for
six months.

"I didn't notice any change in my skin color, although my
friends told me my skin looked nicer," she said.

Dr. Retno Trangonno, a dermatologist and director of cosmetics
manufacturer Ristra, warns that problems arise when women use a
lightening cream but do not also use a sunscreen.

"Melatonin is nature's own sunscreen, so when women use a
lightening cream on their face they reduce their natural
protection," she explained.

Most whitening creams do not include sunscreen in their
formula, but sell it separately within the range, along with a
moisturizer, cleanser and toner. "The problem is many Indonesian
women can't afford to buy or know to buy the accompanying
sunscreen."

She said that in the 1970s she treated many patients with skin
disorders resulting from an imported Chinese skin-lightening
cream. Despite a worldwide ban on the product, the authorities
appeared unaware that mercury was an ingredient.

A Usage and Habit study conducted in 1997 revealed that 85
percent of Indonesian women have brown skin, and 55 percent of
Indonesian women desire lighter skin.

Where does this great white hope come from?

Retno said white skin was always considered beautiful in
Indonesia. She noted her mother's generation's use of traditional
cosmetics, namely a face powder made from rice flour to lighten
the complexion.

Sita Aripurnami from the Kalyana Mitra women's center in
Jakarta said the cosmetics, fashion and media industries dictated
what is considered beautiful, such as white skin, and work
collaboratively to encourage women to consume more and more
beauty products in order to meet that ideal.

"The social concepts of femininity, masculinity and beauty are
social values which are interrelated and perpetuated by these
industries," she said.

Skin-lightening products, she said, in many ways endorse a
beauty ideal which is largely unattainable and beyond the budget
of many Indonesian women.

Sita attributed the desire for white skin to Indonesia's
status as a former colony. Using postcolonial theory, she
explained that on a subconscious level Indonesians want to look
like their colonizers, and try to adopt their physical identity,
namely white or fair skin.

This white-is-beautiful concept is perpetuated by exposure to
Western media and also is a feature of Indonesian media, she
said.

"In Indonesia's advertising and film industries, most film
stars and models are fair skinned and have Western features --
many of them are only half Indonesian. They are successful
because they look like bule (Westerner)," she said.

If advertising messages work on a subconscious level, media
messages such as the brand name White Perfect, with implications
of white perfection and brown imperfection, suggest just that to
the Indonesian consumer.

Editor of Gadis magazine Petty Siti-Satimah agreed that white
or fair skin is a beauty ideal in Indonesia at the moment. While
she conceded that advertising and the media may have helped in
creating this ideal, she said that her publication equally
featured models with fair and dark skin.

"The important thing is not whether the skin is brown or
white, its about having a smooth texture and healthy looking
skin," she said.

To meet the desire for white skin, many Indonesian women
undergo dermabrasion -- an exfoliating surgical procedure -- or
chemical skin peeling in an attempt to achieve a lighter
complexion.

Women in the West go to similar lengths, risking skin cancer
by sunbathing and visiting tanning salons. They are just as
easily exploited by the cosmetics industry, slavishly buying
tanning lotions that promise that exotic, brown tan.