Back when I was a kid, I have always been teased about my skin. I've been called negra, amasonang itim, nognog, and Nora (Aunor because she was the most popular dark skinned actress at that time). Looking back it all seemed foolish but at that time, I admit it kinda hurt and I would sometimes get pikon. But what was I supposed to do, of all the things I could inherit from my tatay, it had to be his dark skin (my nanay was meztiza!)
In my teen years, my most prized possession was my loofa and body scrub when I shower, hoping I could scrub away some of the dark and even up my skin color. All those Glutathione products had yet to be invented during my high school and college years so like a vampire, I tried to avoid the sunlight as much as I can. During summer, when we are at the beach, I don't go out while the sun's up fearing that it would just hurt my skin, and waste all my "scrubbing" efforts . Instead I would only swim in the afternoon and mostly at the pool religiously applying generous amounts of sunblock every 30 minutes. Thats how I take care of my skin, then.
When glutathione became a big thing and every skin care product began advertising it, I think I was one of those who were really excited, hoarding and trying all sorts of Japanese tablets and lotions. At first, I was happy with the result, even if it didn't turn me into a "Vilma" .
But I did get a lot of compliments for my glowing skin, the result of years and years of using all those gluta products (even trying those injectables). And that made me more comfortable with my skin color. My obsession for gluta, and all those whitening products, be it soaps, lotion and toners, has mellowed down and rather than focus on whitening my skin, I'm more concerned about taking care of it.
It made me realize it isnt about having fairer skin, what's more important is having healthy skin .
One would wonder why a skin whitening brand such as SkinWhite would dare to say that dark skin is beautiful. “It’s all about choice”, says Rachelle Layda, Marketing Manager for Whitening of Splash Corporation.
“SkinWhite is a brand that empowers women to choose. A choice to define their own standard of beauty. If you choose to have dark skin, you are beautiful. If you choose to have white skin, you are just as beautiful. The choice is yours, and SkinWhite respects that choice”.
This inclusivity is refreshing and speak volumes, especially at a time when shaming and bullying is prevalent across social media. Bashers and haters abound online with no agenda but to shame in all forms and ways – body-shaming, hair-shaming, race-shaming, gender-shaming, and yes, also skin-shaming. “This is precisely the stigma that we wish to change. Skin color should not be about one being better than the other”, adds Pam Sulit, Splash Corporation’s VP for Marketing.
“White and dark are both beautiful.” confirms Rachel Villanueva, Creative Director of Petch & Partners, the creative agency that created this campaign for SkinWhite. She continues, “It’s about time that dark skin and white skin get the same adoration and acknowledgment.”
There has never been an outright claim that DARK IS BEAUTIFUL. And for the statement to come from a skin whitening brand, it should be easy for others to follow suit. And for those who choose that WHITE IS BEAUTIFUL, there’s due acknowledgement that they’re simply taking control of their beauty too. And why not? Wear your skin, whichever way you choose. Because DARK OR WHITE, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.
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