^ Listen to Gina.
If you are darker skinned...........have some confidence in your natural skin color. The BIGGEST BENEFIT of being dark skinned is that darker skin ages slower and more gracefully than fairer skin provided that you take care of it.
Have you every noticed the skin of African Americans or Africans in general? They could be 70 years old and look like their 40 or 50 because darker skin tends to age better. Whereas fair skin is more sensitive to the damaging effects of the sun (wrinkles, age spots, sagging, etc).
And these creams are not going to make much of a difference on your skin anyways. Do you really think they will make your tan/sanwli complexion doodh jaisi chitti???????????? Do you really think you'll become super fair? The most that these creams will accomplish is to make your skin color 1/2 a shade lighter and that is not much of a difference. And as soon as you stop using these creams.....................you skin will become darker again.
Also, keep in mind that darker skin has more melanin. Melanin is the substance which protects your skin from the sun's rays. These "fairness creams" block the production of melanin in your skin. As a result.........your skin loses its natural defense system.......and will become more sensitive to the sun. In other words..........these creams might lighten your skin a little bit..................BUT they increase your sensitivity to the sun and thereby increase the chances for rapid aging and even skin cancer.
Ask yourself WHY you want to use this fairness cream? Is it because deep down you feel insecure about your skin color? If that's the case.........then this is a confidence problem. And a girl can be as white as milk...........BUT..........if she has ZERO CONFIDENCE........she wil not appear attractive to others.
On the other hand.............if you want to purchase a fairness cream because you have a few dark spots on your face.......................then stop right there. It's better if you go to a dermatologist who can prescribe a cream containing hydrqoquinone (HQ). HQ is a chemical that can lighten your spots/skin under the supervision of a doctor.
****************If you still choose to purchase "fairness" creams OR even if you decide to use an HQ product from the doctor.........................ALWAYS apply a good sunscreen 15-30 minutes prior to going outdoors during the day. Any skin lightening product needs to be used in conjunction with sunscreen.
Gina, I think you should create a general thread about the effects of these so called "fairness creams" with their over-the-top flowery names (golden pearl, fair and lovely, tibet snow, fairness snow, english snow, etc etc etc)........and false promises. And then you can put up this thread as a STICKY so that women who are interesed in "fairness creams" can go to this thread as a reference point before creating a thread. I find it interesting that women later create threads in which they complain about how offended they are that some stupid cow of an aunti/nani/cousin made fun of their dark skin. Ironically.......women in the younger generartion are part of the problem. As the saying goes*...................**"If you're not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem."* IF the darker skinned girls from the younger generation are silly enough to use these stupid creams............then it's pointless for them to complain about how they are looked down upon because they aren't fair enough. Using such creams is like surrendering to desi society's sick views about fair is superior. And buying these creams only fuels this erroneous belief while also making these businesses rich for products that are not even effective to begin with.
IF Allah wanted you to be fair..........He would have made you fair. It's no difficult task for HIM. Our society is obsessed with looking young (botox, restalyne, collagen fillers, etc).........and yet we're still obsessed with the skin color that has the LEAST benefits as far as aging is concerned. I'm not saying that darker skin is superior to fairer skin. All I'm saying is that you should appreciate the skin color you have and see the positive in what you have.