Understanding the Skin Lightening Trend

Skin lightening is a popular trend that has taken over in various countries that have people who have darker skin. Skin lightening does just what it says it does – it works to lighten the skin, usually around the face. There are plenty of different reasons that people try to lighten their skin, and plenty of different things to consider about this specific trend.
To understand the skin lightening trend to the fullest, you must work to understand the reasoning behind the trend. Knowing the difference between purely cosmetic whitening and medical whitening will give you the information you need to better comprehend this act.
Skin Lightening for Medical Conditions
Skin lightening continues to have, at best,
a bad reputation. This is partly because of those who use it for purely cosmetic reasons. These individuals are looking to

boost their standing in society by lightening their skin. Those who use skin lightening because of medical conditions are simply trying to get a normal look again, attempting to remove discoloration or match discoloration that makes them feel somewhat self conscious.
There are various diseases that often cause individuals to look to skin lightening creams and skin bleaching procedures. Vitiligo, a disease that was made famous by Michael Jackson, causes hypopigmentation, or the loss of pigment in the skin. Individuals often turn to skin lightening in an attempt to match the darker, unaffected parts of the skin with the areas affected by the disease.
Other diseases or types of skin damage can cause hyper pigmentation. This is when the skin creates more pigment and the skin becomes darker. This can happen in patches, and skin lightening procedures are used to attempt to reverse the hyper pigmentation in these different areas.
Skin Lightening for Purely Cosmetic Reasons
Skin lightening and skin brightening has garnered media attention and worldwide interest because of the reasoning behind the procedures. People want to lighten their skin (often just the face and hands) because of the social status that lighter skin brings. Individuals feel as if they will be accepted into higher levels of society if they have lighter skin. They feel that it will be easier for them to get a job, or to find someone to marry, with a lighter skin tone.
These individuals flock to a wide variety of creams and products that are supposed to bleach the skin or whiten the skin. This is where much of the controversy comes into play. People go beyond questioning the moral and social reasoning behind the bleaching and question the safety of the practice. Many individuals apply too much product or apply the product too often in hopes of whitening the skin as quickly as possible. These individuals suffer from various side effects, often because they have used products that feature dangerous chemicals, like high levels of hydroquinone and mercury. Those who are looking to lighten their skin for purely cosmetic reasons should work to understand what they are using to avoid any potential issues.
One aspect of the trend is the difficulty people have when trying to find products for this whitening. People who look to skin lightening for medical reasons will generally have an easier time finding the various creams and procedures for the process. Those who are looking for whitening for purely cosmetic reasons may have a more difficult time, depending on where they live.
This trend is not a trend that will disappear anytime soon, in part because of the cultural ramifications of the whitening itself. If you are thinking about skin lightening, think of the reasons that you are doing it and the difficulty of getting safe products in your area. Your knowledge of both the reasons for lightening and the trend itself will help you if you choose to go through with this procedure.