By Mieke Meintjes
The skin lightening industry is one of the fastest-growing beauty industries worldwide, according to the Women’s Caucus for the Minamata Convention. Mercury is often used as a skin-lightening agent due to its melanin-blocking properties, but the compound is highly toxic. The caucus warns that women are disproportionately harmed by its inclusion in cosmetics.
“Women are the largest consumer group of cosmetics and personal care products. They use an average of 15 different such products every day,” the Women’s Caucus for the Minamata Convention tells Personal Care Insights.
The caucus warns that colorist beauty ideals are reinforced by male preferences and employer expectations. These ideals push women toward toxic skin-lightening creams, helping sustain a profitable market for whitening products.
“Reasons for wanting to lighten the skin are firmly anchored in colonial history, and the racist structures of our globalized world,” the group says.
Demand is especially high in lower-income countries where colonial-era societal norms and hierarchies persist.
“If potential employers mention a ‘well-groomed appearance’ in their job applications, it can be assumed that, among other things, this also refers to the lightest possible skin,” the Women’s Caucus adds.
