Cosmetic Skin Lightening: Contextualizing Biomedical and Ethical Issues

The skin lightening (SL) industry has a global reach and is projected to continue to grow over the coming decade. While SL treatments may be safely prescribed for treatment of some dermatologic conditions, many over-the-counter SL products contain ingredients that can cause harm to the skin and other organ systems. Given a lack of transparent information to patients and the historical colorist foundation that contextualizes a component of the cosmetic SL industry, dermatologists need to navigate biomedical and ethical concerns when explaining SL products to patients.
Source: Clinics in Dermatology - Category: Dermatology Authors: Tags: Comment and Controversy Source Type: research