Why Indian Skincare Obsession Is Just a Softer Form of Colorism
Noopur Kumari | Jul 22, 2025, 15:40 IST
( Image credit : Timeslife )
Highlight of the story: From fairness creams to skin-brightening serums, the Indian skincare market thrives on one subtle message: lighter is better. While it may look like self-care on the surface, is it really just society's age-old prejudice in disguise? This article dives deep into how India’s obsession with flawless, glowing skin is often a softer, more acceptable form of colorism wrapped in beauty ads and coated with terms like “radiance” and “brightening.” If you've ever felt pressured to change your skin tone to feel beautiful, this one is for you.
Skincare is supposed to be about health, self-love, and nourishment. But in India, it often becomes a silent war against melanin. “Brighten your skin,” “get glowing fairness,” “reverse tanning” these are not just beauty goals; they’re deeply embedded cultural messages that glorify light skin while shaming anything darker. It may look harmless a face pack here, a cream there but the truth is, this obsession often stems from and feeds into colorism, the subtle cousin of racism. In this piece, we peel back the layers of beauty branding to expose the uncomfortable truth behind the glowing skin fantasy.
Walk down any cosmetic aisle, and you’ll still see the legacy of “Fair & Lovely” though now rebranded. Despite the makeover, the core idea remains: fair skin equals success, beauty, and desirability. This conditioning starts young. Girls are praised when they’re “gori,” and taunted when they’re “kaali.” Skincare isn’t just about pimples or glow it’s a covert mission to become fairer, because that’s what generations have been taught to desire. And brands play along. They sell brightening,” “glow,” and “radiance” products that rarely include dark-skinned models sending a clear message without saying a word.
Words like “brightening,” “de-tanning,” and “glow” sound innocent, even healthy. But these are coded terms marketing-friendly ways of reinforcing the idea that darker skin is undesirable. The skincare industry has cleverly shifted from using “fairness” to more polished terms, but the outcome is the same: a constant push toward lighter skin. What’s sold as self-care is often self-erasure. It's not about being the best version of your skin it's about changing it to match society's “acceptable” version.
Melanin, the pigment that gives skin its beautiful range of colors, is often treated like a problem. Skincare advice regularly promotes reducing melanin, as if it were something unnatural or harmful. From “get rid of pigmentation” to “control melanin production,” the messaging is loud and clear: your natural tone is something to be corrected. But melanin is not a mistake. It’s protection, heritage, and identity. The obsession with suppressing it isn’t skincare it’s colorism dressed up in a lab coat.
In films, TV shows, and Instagram reels, fair skin continues to dominate screens, filters, and fame. Darker-skinned actors are either sidelined or heavily lightened on screen. Even influencers who talk about self-love often use brightening filters or promote glow creams with subtle fairness claims. Representation matters. And when the dominant face of beauty is always light-skinned, it tells young girls: To be loved, seen, and successful, you must be lighter. This digital whitewashing is not just dangerous it’s mentally and emotionally damaging.
This obsession isn’t just physical it’s emotional. Dark-skinned children grow up internalizing shame. Many begin using fairness creams in their teenage years. Self-worth gets linked to skin tone. A darker complexion often leads to bullying, rejection in marriage proposals, and exclusion from beauty norms. Whatbegins as a cream becomes a cycle of self-loathing. This form of colorism doesn’t scream it whispers through daily routines, passed on from mother to daughter in beauty rituals disguised as love.
Skincare should be about nourishing your skin not negating your tone. Loving your skin means respecting its color, its texture, and its story. Let’s stop buying into the lie that only “glowing” means beautiful, especially when glowing is just another word for whitening. Let’s stop handing out melanin-correcting solutions and start handing out representation, respect, and real care. Change begins when we recognize colorism not in loud discrimination, but in every subtle jar of “radiance cream.”
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1. Fairness Is Still the Unspoken Beauty Standard
Fairness
( Image credit : Freepik )
Walk down any cosmetic aisle, and you’ll still see the legacy of “Fair & Lovely” though now rebranded. Despite the makeover, the core idea remains: fair skin equals success, beauty, and desirability. This conditioning starts young. Girls are praised when they’re “gori,” and taunted when they’re “kaali.” Skincare isn’t just about pimples or glow it’s a covert mission to become fairer, because that’s what generations have been taught to desire. And brands play along. They sell brightening,” “glow,” and “radiance” products that rarely include dark-skinned models sending a clear message without saying a word.
2. Skin “Brightening” and “Whitening” Are Just Coded Language
lighter skin.
( Image credit : Freepik )
Words like “brightening,” “de-tanning,” and “glow” sound innocent, even healthy. But these are coded terms marketing-friendly ways of reinforcing the idea that darker skin is undesirable. The skincare industry has cleverly shifted from using “fairness” to more polished terms, but the outcome is the same: a constant push toward lighter skin. What’s sold as self-care is often self-erasure. It's not about being the best version of your skin it's about changing it to match society's “acceptable” version.
3. Melanin Is Treated Like a Flaw to Be Fixed
Melanin
( Image credit : Freepik )
Melanin, the pigment that gives skin its beautiful range of colors, is often treated like a problem. Skincare advice regularly promotes reducing melanin, as if it were something unnatural or harmful. From “get rid of pigmentation” to “control melanin production,” the messaging is loud and clear: your natural tone is something to be corrected. But melanin is not a mistake. It’s protection, heritage, and identity. The obsession with suppressing it isn’t skincare it’s colorism dressed up in a lab coat.
4. Bollywood and Influencers Amplify the Bias
Influencers
( Image credit : Freepik )
In films, TV shows, and Instagram reels, fair skin continues to dominate screens, filters, and fame. Darker-skinned actors are either sidelined or heavily lightened on screen. Even influencers who talk about self-love often use brightening filters or promote glow creams with subtle fairness claims. Representation matters. And when the dominant face of beauty is always light-skinned, it tells young girls: To be loved, seen, and successful, you must be lighter. This digital whitewashing is not just dangerous it’s mentally and emotionally damaging.
5. The Emotional Toll of Skincare-Based Colorism
Skincare
( Image credit : Freepik )
This obsession isn’t just physical it’s emotional. Dark-skinned children grow up internalizing shame. Many begin using fairness creams in their teenage years. Self-worth gets linked to skin tone. A darker complexion often leads to bullying, rejection in marriage proposals, and exclusion from beauty norms. Whatbegins as a cream becomes a cycle of self-loathing. This form of colorism doesn’t scream it whispers through daily routines, passed on from mother to daughter in beauty rituals disguised as love.
Choose Nourishment Over Erasure
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