When Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America, becoming the first Indian Miss America, not everyone was celebrating her barrier-breaking win. In India, where Davuluri's family emigrated from, her ...

Susan Anderson, age 52, sits in the corner of a sunlit waiting room at a dermatology clinic in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. Dark patches of skin, dotted with brighter pigments, surround her eyes and ...

Before trying any product, make sure to do your research and see a dermatologist. Skin lightening involves using creams, lotions, pills, or treatments that are meant to reduce the amount of melanin in ...

Skin whitening is the use of cosmetic products or services to reduce the amount of melanin, or pigment, in the skin to make it appear lighter. It's a big industry and predominantly targets women of ...

· Colorism – system of inequality that views lighter skin as more beautiful and advantageous – motivates skin lightening · Users aren’t aware of adulterated ingredients in over-the-counter products ...

Skin-whitening creams containing mercury pose a serious threat to kidney health. These products, often sold online and unregulated, allow mercury to enter the bloodstream and damage vital organs. The ...

I was 9 when I received my first—and last—skin-lightening product. It was a black bar of soap gifted to me by an aunt who was visiting from the Philippines at the time. On the label, it promised to ...

Pedestrians walk past an advertisement for a skin-whitening cream on a street in Abidjan. Many African countries including Ivory Coast have banned the use of skin-lightening products because of health ...

This story is part of 'White lies', a series by CNN's As Equals investigating skin whitening practices worldwide to expose the underlying drivers of colorism, the industry that profits from it and the ...