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Suzanne Harrison

PUBLIC RELATIONS EXECUTIVE Jen Leung regularly experiments with different brands of skin-whitening products.  Every two months,  she spends about $1,000 on top-line whitening lotions, serums, cleansers and creams in a bid to  lighten her skin.

'I'm keen on whitening products because my skin tends to look quite dull,' Leung says. 'My skin isn't pale enough. It's more yellow, so I hope these products will change it.'

Leung, 28, started applying whitening creams about two years ago. Since then, she says, friends have commented on how much brighter her skin looks. 'I don't have brown spots, but in general, the products give you a more refreshed look.'

Whereas many westerners  strive for  an all-over tan, in the east, a clear,  fair, almost translucent face is considered the ultimate in perfect skin.

This comes down to historical and genetic factors. Asian skin is more prone to  over-produce melanin - the root cause of brown spots and freckles - and in the distant past,  paler skin indicated that  a person was of the upper classes, and able to luxuriate  under shelter away from the sun's harsh rays.

Nowadays, in cities such as Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo, the pursuit of  porcelain skin is a multi-million-dollar industry - and it's growing.

A survey by global market researcher Synovate in April last year found that 38 per cent of women  in Hong Kong,  South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan used such products. This was up from 34 per cent in February 2002.

'It's a strengthening trend in Asia,' says Daisy Sam Wing-sze, Synovate's associate director in Hong Kong.  'It's that classic 'want what you don't have' part of human nature. Many people with Asian complexions want to be fairer, and many people with fair complexions go to a great deal of trouble to tan their  skin.'

In the same survey, 41 per cent  said  using whitening products had had little or no difference.  The manufacturers insist that their products work - and that university and private laboratory tests and research prove it.

Sales of skin whiteners in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and Malaysia are estimated at US$484.6 million in 2003, according to Synovate head of business consulting Eddie Heng.   Topical whitening skincare products 'contributed 27 per cent to the total sales of topical skin products in these Asian countries', he says. And sales are expected to grow by 15-30 per cent in the next two to three years.

Consumers seem to be undeterred by cases of alleged counterfeiting of such skin creams and  poisoning scares. In 2002, more than 1,000  people  jammed a hotline set up by the Hong Kong Health Department after warnings that two whitening creams - Rosedew and La Rose Blanche - contained mercury levels   up to 60,000 times the recommended dose. One  woman was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital after being tested for poisoning.

However, the big cosmetic companies say their products contain no harmful ingredients. Their researchers have not only spent years discovering what makes an effective skin whitener   - but have  managed to do so by  using natural  ingredients such as vitamin C.

It may seem like mere marketing - men and  women in white lab coats holding up beakers and nodding earnestly at each other - but the future of skincare really is scientific. Biologists and chemists have been working  in European and US  labs, testing whiteners on volunteers by - for example - exposing them to large doses of UV rays.

Chanel has put almost 10 years' work into developing its  whitening regimen of  creams, serums and lotions.

'There was a lot of demand, and the market has developed very quickly,' says Chanel managing director and biologist Nobuhiro Ando, in Hong Kong recently for the launch of a new whitening range.

'At the beginning of the 1990s, a lot of companies launched their whitening brands, which weren't very good. But advancements have revolutionised some products. Now, we're driven by research.'

Chanel says it is cautious and carries out strict safety tests. 'We will test and we will test,' says  scientific communications manager Marie Helene Lair.  'We prefer to use natural products. We're very ethical and we want to preserve our image. We don't want to disappoint women.'

Chanel also carries out ethical tolerance tests and performs safety studies on active ingredients and finished products.  Although Chanel's image is more glamour than bunsen burner,  the research and development side of the operation will increasingly be projected when it comes to skin care. This is because,  it says, its whitening products are the result of a breakthrough. 'It's a real creation,' Lair says. 'So, we're doing scientific research more and more.'

Estee Lauder released its new whitening range, Cyber White (so named because of the speed with which it's  said to improve skin texture), in Asia  just days after Chanel's launch.

At a press conference - white walls,  white tablecloths and all-white  hors d'oeuvres -  vice-president of global research and development Daniel Maes explains  in detail the causes and treatments for melanin over-production.

Estee Lauder's range, he says, meant Asian women could now go outside knowing that the regimen they'd used that morning would protect them from not only the sun, but free radicals.

'My team has worked  hard to  understand what it is that makes Asian skin unique,' Maes says. 'A blend of groundbreaking technologies means that Cyber White works faster than any Estee Lauder brightening line before it.'

Earlier products  focused on inhibiting an enzyme, tyrosinase, which is known to trigger reactions  that cause pigmentation or  discolouration. But Estee Lauder says it's now developed  a range that neutralises the effect of tyrosinase, as well as the mechanisms  involved in hyper-pigmentation.

Scientists say Asian skin is  more fragile and sensitive than caucasian complexions and can become easily irritated. This  can lead to an abnormal production of melanin. Cyber White  contains an anti-oxidant, resveratrol, and an anti-irritant, bifiderm, as well as sunscreens, rice bran, encapsulated hinokitol and green tea polyphenols, among others.  Estee Lauder says its products are tested by dermatologists and contain no mercury or bleach.

Not to be left out, Clarins says its White Plus range  has established the company as 'pioneers in a new generation of whitening skin-care products'.

And Christian Dior has updated its whitening range, DiorSnow, to include  Melanin-Off JDEline, which it says is 'an entirely new approach that hasn't yet been seen on the market'. It's  a natural yeast extract that helps to repair damage and to increase what Dior calls melanin evacuation.

The company says the world first was developed by its  Dior Innovation Centre, in collaboration with the University of Bordeaux's dermatology unit.

What do doctors who aren't involved with  cosmetic companies say about the products? Hong Kong-based dermatologist Constance Yam Shuk-chee says a treatment with tyrosinase could inhibit an increase in melanocytes - the little menaces that lead to brown spots. But she says women probably would have to apply the lotions for a long time for them to have any effect - and continue to do so.

'There's no perfect product for whitening,' Yam says. 'And all the research is from the companies themselves. There are a lot of variants in the research. So, you'll have to try it for yourself.'

Which is what Leung has been doing. She says she's used everything from Shisheido to Fancl.   'I've been using Prada for about two weeks,' she says. 'It's called a lightening product. I'd say it's good. I also like Estee Lauder.'

Finally, a word of caution from  Ando. 'You can't change the colour of your skin,' he says. 'But each person has their ideal - and  this is our target.'



Get it white