White Skin

         Another characteristic of beauty in Japan is having white skin. There are multiple facial products for making sure that you have white skin. These products of course also have UV protection. Recently, Japanese women have had an obsession with white skin. It is ironic considering that in the United States and other European countries, girls spend hundreds of dollars going to tanning booths and buying creams that make you look tanner.  It reminds me of what my mother always said to me when I would complain about my curly hair as a child, “You always want what you can’t have.”

         All three of the products shown in the pictures are skin whitening products for your face. And all three of them have the kanji 美白(bihaku). The first kanji is the kanji for “beautiful” and the second kanji is the kanji for “white”. The fact that those two kanji go together shows the importance of white skin for Japanese beauty. The last product is even called “Grace Sophina” a western name. This relates back to the fact that most Japanese beauty products, similar to the ones shown in the previous post are made to make Japanese women look more western. The biggest irony is that the natural Japanese beauty is considered to be more beautiful to people in the west.