Land of Eternal Whitening Cream

I was prompted on this from a friends' recent e-mail about her second skin cancer diagnosis. Second, I may point out, after her complete shunning of the sun and prolific use of dermalogist-prescribed sunscreen post initial diagnosis + cancer removal.

I too was a sun goddess in my teen years - Baby oil or Ban de Soleil SPF 2, max, was my modus operandi. I lost count somewhere down the line of how many first and second degree burns I accrued on my fair, young skin. (Did you know that most people receive 80% of their lifetime exposure to the sun by 18 years of age?! A message to parents to protect your children.) So many so that I've been bestowed with vast constellations of freckles + moles that could challenge the skies on the darkest of nights. And though I've long been using daily sunscreen as part of my facial regime and ceased tanning, I must admit, I DO love that feel of the warm sun on my skin. Loving to spend time outdoors as I do, there's always that nagging fear in the back of my mind when I've been exposed for any length of time, even WITH 30 SPF. This has posed a pretty significant challenge to my daily activities traveling as I'm outdoors for 12-14 hours many days. You just can't USE that much sunscreen.

Beginning way back in India I started to pay close attention to what the local women do. This was the first country of the trip where women really made a strong effort to protect their skin from the sun. Here, being dark is a sign of poverty and low-caste while pale skin is a sign of wealth and priviledge. But the sun in India is STRONG, so what do they do? Use an umbrella. So simple, and so effective. It seemed a bit strange at first, but then I found that not only did it protect me from the sun, but from some of the heat as well. And when months later the sporadic monsoon rains came, from those too. And I've never looked back.

In Southeast Asia and China, the women REALLY take sun protection to extremes, for better and worse. It's been the subject of lots of international news coverage and maybe you've seen some of it -

From CNN - "Flawlessly milky skin is to die for," says a beauty website for Asian women.
Get-white messages, like this one are inescapable in this part of the world. Pale Asian models peer from the pages of glossy magazines, pout on billboards, ride on white horses in cinema advertisements and jostle for counter space at the local department store. They tout products such as Blanc Expert, White-Plus, WhiteLight, Future White Day, Fine Fairness and White Perfect.

Spurred on by modern marketing and a cultural history that cherishes fairness, hordes of women across Asia are slapping on whitening lotions, serums, correctors and essences to bleach their skins. But at what price? In what may be the biggest toxic cream outbreak ever, 1,262 people flocked to a hotline set up by Hong Kong's health department last week, after warnings that two whitener creams -- Rosedew and La Rose Blanche -- had mercury levels between 9,000 and 65,000 times the recommended dose.

(Photo: White or Wrong?! Can you believe this ad!!!)

"A white complexion was seen as noble and aristocratic, especially in Southeast Asia, where the sun was always out. Only those rich enough could afford to stay indoors, while peasants baked in the rice fields."

In their early bid to lighten up, Chinese ground pearl from seashells into powder and swallowed it to whiten their skin, while Japanese Geisha girls powdered their faces chalk white. This obsession with whiteness has not faded over time. A survey by Asia Market Intelligence this year revealed that three quarters of Malaysian men thought their partners would be more attractive with lighter complexions. In Hong Kong two thirds of men prefer fairer skin, while half the local women wanted their men paler. Almost half of Asians aged 25 to 34 years used skin whiteners in a business that some analysts have said could be worth billions of dollars.

Arriving in Southeast Asia, I've now got a few more tricks tucked up my sleeve. (Photo: Who is that masked bandit? The Vietnamese more than any other, don hats, full-face masks, long pants + opera-length gloves, a sexy touch, to block every possible inch of skin from the suns darkening rays. Think this is a bit extreme? Do you think the whole in the ozone is getting any smaller?!)

One sunny afternoon, a few weeks ago in the city of Hong Gai, we befriended a family as we were cruising around in the heat of the afternoon (with umbrellas, of course!). They invited us into their tree-shaded patio and plyed us with ice water as we chatted. Later, they encouraged us to take photos of everyone, and while our shady spot was nice, they had a great view of town from just a few feet away... in the sun. All the women REFUSED to come out into the sun, even for a moment, to have their photos taken.

A recent study found that 36% of US adults have a sunburn at least once a year. The incidence and severity of sunburn has increased worldwide, especially in the southern hemisphere, because of damage to the ozone layer. Ozone depletion and the seasonal ozone hole has led to dangerously high levels of UV radiation.

Here are some tips to remember so you're not another casulaty - Minimize sun exposure between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Contrary to the common advice that sunscreen should be reapplied every 2–3 hours. Research has shown that the best protection is achieved by application 15 to 30 minutes before exposure, followed by one reapplication 15 to 30 minutes after the sun exposure begins. Further reapplication is only necessary after activities such as swimming, sweating + rubbing.

All the facts and stats aside, the color of your skin seems to be more about what's in vogue than what's healthy. You've got to wonder how it is that women in the East risk mercury poisoning to get lighter skin while women in the West brave skin cancer just to get a little browner...