The skin colour is more beautiful on the other side of the fence

“Teacher, your face is white.”
In my first few months of China I felt kind of offended to hear this. Was she saying I looked sick? Or like a ghost?





Later I realized it was meant as a compliment. White skin is beautiful.
The shops are full of whitening products. Whitening soaps, whitening creams. Girls try to make their skin white.


Here in Cambodia it’s the same, sometimes its hard to find product that aren’t whitening ones. I recently bought some soap, when I got home I realized it advertises itself as whitening soap.

One of my friends went to have some kind of milk bath whitening treatment at a spa before she got married, so her skin would hopefully be whiter.
I try telling my Khmer friends that some people in the world try to tan themselves, and buy tanning products and treatments. I think that’s a bit strange to them as dark skin is associated with poor people who have to work outside all day. Something to be looked down upon, not to aspire too.

I took these photos of lightening cream and lightening face wash, as well as the body bleaching ones at one of the many small shops that line the streets. Do you wish your skin was more white? Let me know, I'll help you find some products to get rid of your tan.