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Why do some people want to lighten their skin?

Skin lightening, or skin whitening, is the use of cosmetic products to reduce the amount of melanin or pigment in the skin, to make it appear lighter.

The global market for skin lightening was estimated at 8 billion dollars in 2020, and is predicted to keep rising.
Products are mainly targeted a women of colour in every region of the world, with the Asia-Pacific region being the most lucrative.

But these products are often physically harmful, containing toxic chemicals and dangerous ingredients.

Izzy Greenfield reports on a controversial market.

This clip is from Business Daily on Tuesday 29 November 2022.

Release date:

Duration:

5 minutes