The Shades of Beauty: Understanding African and Asian American Women's Perceptions of Using Skin Lightening Products and Creating Innovative and Educational Messages

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The Shades of Beauty: Understanding African and Asian American Women's Perceptions of Using Skin Lightening Products and Developing Innovative and Educational Messages Western beauty standards have long been forced into societies through the White male- dominated media giants promoting them as the standard, ideal, and desired. Skincare and beauty companies continue to uphold and promote Eurocentric standards by targeting women of color with messages reinforcing those values with over-the-counter skin lightening products. Despite the serious side effects and the governmental regulations and restrictions, the estimated global market for skin lightening products was extremely high. The Food and Drugs Administration has recently issued a warning to 12 companies for selling over the counter skin lightening products that contain high amounts of unapproved chemicals. The long-term use of these products without guidance from a licensed medical professional can cause serious health problems such as dermatitis and skin discoloration and potentially cause skin cancer. Research on the epidemic of skin lightening products and their serious side effects is scarce Western beauty standards, portrayed in media and upheld by societies and cultures, exclude racial and ethnic features from the concept of beauty which can potentially inflict mental, physical, and economic harm on women of color. Often, African American and Asian American women have to conform to these standards to be accepted and taken seriously in the workplace. This study explores African and Asian American women's perceptions and use of over-the- counter skin lightening products to understand the social and cultural factors that influence their decision making. The project aims to raise awareness of the health risks of using over the counter skin lightening products and promote diverse and inclusive beauty standards. The proposed study also aims to develop a creative and research-based set of race and ethnicity-centered educational communication campaigns with diverse and inclusive beauty messages The objectives of the project are: 1. Explore African and Asian American women's perceptions and use of OTC SL products. Understand the social and cultural factors that influence their decision-making and skin- health-seeking behavior. 1. Based on findings from Objective 1, develop a set of research-based and race and ethnicity-centered educational communication messages. 2. Based on Object 2, crowdsource a pool of professional visual designers to create visually appealing educational materials for social media campaigns. It is necessary to address the root problems associated with the increased use of skin lightening products, understand minority women's perceptions and health literacy regarding the use of skin lightening products. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness of a health disparity among African and Asian women in using skin lightening products, build innovative, and culturally sensitive educational materials to be disseminated on social media.