Dark is beautiful. But years of campaigning to get people to shed a rather unfair stigma around skin colour doesn’t seem to have had the kind of impact that we could have hoped for. Instead, the numbers for brightening (code for whitening) treatments seem to have increased substantially. Cosmetic surgeon Janani Nandagopal says, “I’d say we have about 60 to 70 per cent more takers for brightening treatments today compared to five years ago.” While in the past, this was often before your own wedding, these days such treatments are often scheduled by the guests. Fair skin is such a deep-rooted status quo that sources have told us that celebrities have requested their faces be Photoshopped a few shades lighter on magazine covers, while one dermatologist even told us she had three to five-day-old babies brought in to her clinic to be made fairer before the naming ceremonies.
A recent panel discussion on colour shaming at the Cosmoglitz Awards that was held in the city gave us an insight into a ‘trending list’ of treatments for lighter pigmented skin nowadays — none of which have anything to do with the stereotypical fairness creams we see advertised on TV. This covered everything from chemical peels to fractional lasers to LED therapy.
Cosmetic dermatologist Renita Rajan of RENDER Skin & Hair breaks down how each process works. “Chemical Peels, are a controlled removal of the damaged/ pigmented topmost layer of the skin, which then allows new, fresh skin to take its place,” she says. To step it up a notch, she elaborates, “Pico lasers penetrate a little deeper, without damaging the upper most layer, but right into the pigment layer, to cause pigment modulation.” Finally, there are fractional lasers. “The latter results in controlled injury to the top layer, thereby allowing collagen to be regenerated, enabling fresher and youthful, clearer skin,” Dr Renita explains.
If you’re curious about LED therapy, it’s not to be confused with laser treatment. This light treatment portioned into quickie 20 minute sessions can be used to stimulate collagen production (reducing fine lines and dark spots) and kill acne-causing bacteria, resulting in glowing, brighter skin.
In fact, Cosmetic surgeon Karthik Ram, founder of Chennai Plastic Surgery, reveals that some patients call in just for an update on “what the new whitening treatments are” and proceed to ask “how many shades brighter it will make them”.
Not that this is as disturbing as stories we hear from activists of dowries being leveraged higher because of dark skin or brides-to-be being turned down altogether. “One of the saddest cases to hear about was that of wife who committed suicide because her husband had been bullying her about the colour of her skin,” says Kavitha Emmanuel, founder of Women of Worth, which launched Dark is Beautiful, an awareness campaign, eight years ago. She elaborates, “So really, despite all the work that has been done, and the advertisements that have been sensitised as a result, I’d say we have barely scratched the surface.”
I’ve been told that I look too dark for an ad. And I’ve also been told that I was not dark enough for a campaign to promote the idea that dark is beautiful! It’s annoying when you lose out on work because of the colour of your skin, but at the end of the day, an opinion is a reflection of the person it comes from — don’t allow it power over you.
— Sahithya Jagannathan, Model &Emcee
Not just skin deep
The bigger realisation here is that these issues are far beyond skin deep. They might stem from self esteem issues owing to belittling parents or comparison with fairer siblings for instance. “If you know an individual that has had multiple skin treatments done but never seems satisfied with the outcome, that’s a red flag that the person’s problem is not purely
superficial,” says S J Daniel, a psychiatry lecturer at Kilpauk Medical College. So instead of raising awareness among awkward teens about colour shaming, Daniel suggests starting earlier by reaching out to toddlers instead.
Lucky to be dusky
• People with darker skin are less likely to develop skin cancer.
• Dark skin has an increased quantity of a pigment called melanin, which helps protect the skin in harsh sunlight.