Exploring the Psychosocial Correlation of Skin Lightening Products
In this article, co-authors Hanan Afzal, Sameer Deshpande, and Joan Carlini reflect on the history and inspiration behind their new research article, “Glowing Beyond Shades: Unveiling the Psychosocial Correlates of Skin Lightening Product Choice – A Systematic Review,” published in Social Marketing Quarterly.
Growing up in Pakistan, a South Asian country, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to females’ obsession with light skin tone. I have seen firsthand how often fair skin dictates beauty standards, social standing, promising career opportunities, and even better marriage prospects. Moreover, yearning for light skin tone is fueled by normative pressures, media influences, celebrity endorsement, and need for achievements. This may lead to a psychological state where females feel internally demoralized because of their complexion, thereby triggering a desire to attain a socially acceptable and preferable skin tone. Such inclination may lead to choosing harmful skin lightening products and bleaching practices despite the well-documented potential bodily harm. Consequently, due to limited exploration of psychosocial factors in the prior studies, it was imperative to conduct systematic literature review to investigate key factors influencing consumers’ choice of harmful skin lightening products (or SLPs) and to develop a conceptual model that can guide policymakers or social marketers in the designing of effective marketing strategies and policies.
Findings of the study revealed an unexpected insight into the interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, where societal expectations seemed to outweigh personal beliefs regarding product safety. By understanding these drivers, I hope my research can contribute to awareness of consumers about harmful skin lightening practices, and it will also spark conversation around “colorism” or “shadism” that challenges outdated beauty standards, especially in South Asia, where this issue is often overlooked.
This research is innovative in that it incorporates psychosocial factors behind the choice of harmful skin lightening products, thereby offering a new conceptual paradigm for addressing this issue. This research holds significant implications for social marketers and policymakers, providing valuable insights for the creation of behavior-change programs or interventions aimed at de-marketing harmful skin lightening products. Furthermore, there is a substantial gap in the consumer behavior literature regarding the psychosocial factors that influence the consumption of harmful SLPs, which also renders this a critical area of investigation.
New scholars can adopt a multidisciplinary approach towards this field, integrating social marketing, consumer psychology, and public health insights. They can make an impactful contribution by designing the interventions to de-market harmful skin lightening products.
