The Effects of Whitening Products on Self Confidence

The Effects of Whitening Products on Self Confidence

This annotated bibliography reviews a range of research studies regarding the need for using whitening products to enhance the level of confidence, especially within women and women of the dark-skinned community. The majority of women today, to a certain extent, has used some sort of whitening products in order to feel accepted by the society. Sadly, even with high-achieving academics of one with dark skinned, it does not bring success in workplaces as compared to one with light skinned as the issue of racism arises. These articles show similarities to why women would use whitening products in order for others to think more highly of them. However, it is always a good reminder to ourselves that beauty is from within. By understanding and acknowledging it, our confidence level will increase and we will not be as self-conscious and insecure.

Bruhn, A., Darby M., McCombs, G.and Lynch, C. (2012). Vital Tooth Whitening Effects on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults. Journal of Dental Hygiene, [online] Volume 86(3), p.239-247. Available at:  [Accessed 2 Nov. 2017].

        This article studies about the association between participation of social activities and whitened teeth in adults aged 50 years and above in Virginia, USA. It is proven that facial features play an important role in self-confidence and esteem in an individual. Using the Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQOL) and Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) analysis, this study gives us a predominant idea that as people age, there is very little influence in the overall quality of life with regards to the satisfaction of the colour of teeth. However, the data revealed that the whitening-treatment participants showed increase in satisfaction of tooth colour.  

        Even though statistics were used in this study, showing that there is no significant difference between the group that received the whitening-treatment and the group that did not, there was no explanation to why the participants’ overall quality of life were not affected as much even if they were dissatisfied with the colour of their teeth.

Glenn, E. (2008). Yearning for Lightness: Transnational Circuits in the Marketing and Consumption of Skin Lighteners. Gender and Society, [online] Volume 22(3), p. 281-302. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27821646 [Accessed 7 Nov. 2017].

In this article, it shows that women’s desire to have a lighter skin tone does not only reflect on those who is dark-skinned but also to the ones that are already fair-skinned in a global context. On top of educating and stressing on the diversity of beauty, culture and skin colour, the transnational pharmaceutical and cosmetic corporations too, plays a huge role in fuelling women’s desire of having a lighter skin tone through the packaging or advertisements that links with physical appearance and social status. These companies in turn create and manipulate the needs of these women. “Advertisements can be seen as not simply responding to a pre-existing need but actually creating a need by depicting having dark skin as a painful and depressing experience. They target individuals by responding to the appeals of women who look for a certain ingredient in the skin-lightening product.

This article explains the different issues of skin-whitening practices faced among women of diverse culture. It gives a good background of history to why women succumb to using whitening products.

Hunter, M. (2011). Buying Racial Capital: Skin-Bleaching and Cosmetic Surgery in a Globalized World. The Journal of Pan African Studies, [online] Volume 4(4), p. 142-164. Available at: https://inside.mills.edu/academics/faculty/soc/mhunter/Hunter_Buying%20Racial%20Capital.pdf [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].

This article explains the beauty, public health and cosmetic surgery discourse faced by users of skin-whitening products, particularly the people belonging to the Global South or in other terms, the Third World nations. Hunter suggests that the use of whitening products give consumers the ability to gain the status of “racial capital” based on the European colonial ideologies with new technologies to “whiten skin tone”. The goal to achieve racial capitalism is to have similar features as the Anglos using whitening products alongside cosmetic surgeries in forms of Anglo nose and eyes. Throughout Africa, the concern of health risk of practicing skin-bleaching was raised by the nation. Many public health campaigns were held to dissuade and re-educate the risks of skin bleaching. The beauty discourse suggests that having a lighter skin leads to a “happier personal and professional life” while the public health discourse focuses on educating ones’ attitude being comfortable in their own dark skin and realising that it is as beautiful as a light-skinned person.

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