Images of  Shea moisture, a hair and skin care company founded in Harlem in 1991 for black women’s needs, is facing backlash after releasing its newest ad depicting three women-a black woman, and two white women, one blond and one redhead-talking about embracing their “natural” hair.

          In the 60 second ad, the black woman talks about being bullied as a child for her natural, voluminous curls, while other women discuss hating their sometimes limp locks and unusual hair color. “Break free from hair hate,” touts the ad.

          The company has apologized and said it’s yanking the ad.

 “We really fed this one up,” Shea moisture said in a Facebook post. “Please know that our intention 

was not-and  would never be-to disrespect our community, and as such, we are pulling this piece immediately because it does not represent what we intended to communicate.”

          Richelleu Dennis, the company’s founder and CEO, told that women of color continue to be their focus. “Our job is to make sure that they understand that we are still here for them,” Dennis said, noting that black women tend to have the “least amount of products in the marketplace for them.”

          Shea moisture is not the first company to get slammed for an ad campaign in recent weeks. An ad from Thailand for skin whitening pills with the slogan “white makes you win”and featuring a Thai celebrity attributing her success to her pale complexion caused outrage and accusations of racism 

within hours of being posted online.

          Thailand for skin whitening pills with the slogan “white makes you win”and featuring a Thai celebrity attributing her success to her pale complexion caused outrage and accusations of racism within hours of being posted online.

       Thai Skincare Company Seoul Secret quickly apologized and removed all content related to the 50 second video after it went viral and was lambasted for having racist overtones.

          Seoul Secret said on Facebook it would “like to apologize for the mistake, and claim full responsibility for the incident. Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist 

damage your eyes, according to Kasetsart University’s Dr. Weerachai Phutdhawong, who ran a test from samples of the different chlorine  soap in the market. “The substance is 100% calcium hypochlorite. The soap will irritate your skin and damage your conjunctiva,” he wrote on Facebook. “It is is very dangerous.            The color based mentality is so strong in the world to people not getting jobs because of their complexion seems to be way too normal. The issue is so deep seated that every matrimonial advert are seen to be demanding for a fair bride or groom. Dark skinned are dirty and dirty enough to be treated as dirt. As the dirt is wiped out to make a place clean, the  skin  lightening

messages.  What  we intended  to convey was that self-improvement in terms of personality, appearance, skills and professionality is crucial.”

          As in many Asian countries, skin whitening products are popular in Thailand. While there are many creams that help lighten complexions, there has also been a growth in alternative whitening techniques-including a cheap “chlorine soap” that was sold online last year despite doctors warning of dangerous irritations Except it could potentially 

products or cosmetics are provided widely in the marketto wipe out the dirt from the skin.

           The mass market whitening pioneer of India was “Fair & Lovely”, which was launched in 1975 by the Hindustan Unilever. Emami, an Indian consumer group came up with “Fair and Teen” for the teenage girls and “Fair and Handsome” for the men.

        And, ‘Fair and handsome’ is promoted by one of the biggest superstars of Bollywood,Shah Rukh Khan.

         Recently actress Tannishtha Chatterjee was present at a popular TV show, Comedy Nights Bachao to promote her film Parched.

          The actress thought it would be a regular TV affair and some random jokes but  it almost turned out to be a nightmare for her.

          Apparently, the hosts felt it was funny or an act of ‘roast’ to make jibes at Tannishtha’s complexion. In a national television, the host referred to her as ‘Kali Kalooti’ and felt nothing inappropriate or wrong in asking if the actress has been eating jamun(blackberries) since childhood because of which mooh kaala hai (she is dark skinned).

          This shows how deeply embedded this issue is. It seems absolutely normal to make fun of something over which one has no control.   

          Recently, Bollywood actor Abhay deol has taken a stand against ads for fairness creams. The Bollywood actor called out colleagues from the fraternity for endorsing these products that perpetuate the inferiority of dark skin. Deol lashed out on social media as a reaction to

 the recent attacks on African expatriates in Greater Noida that sparked a debate about racism in India and if Indians are racist.

     Deol’s posts went viral and many social media users applauded his courage in the industry like Shah Rukh Khan. 

          His colleagues like Shriya Saran came out in support of him.

           In recent years, skin whitening and fairness products has become a huge industry in countries like China, Korea, Japan and India.

Greek philosopher Plato once said that ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’. But, it seems more of a phrase now, as the world has created a check list for determining the degree of beauty.                                                         Sarika