Topic: - Attitude toward use of skin lightening creams: A study of

users and Non-users of fair and lovely

Conceptual Framework
Skin lightening
Skin lightening is the process by which chemicals are used to lessen melanin in the skin.
According to New York-based dermatologist Dr. Bruce Katz (2016), products are available
that lighten the skin by causing a chemical reaction that blocks pigmentation cells called
melanocytes. The key to success, according to Katz, is to use these products for only two to
three months.
Skin care Products
Skin care products refer to all products used for cleansing, massaging, moisturizing etc. of
the skin especially the face or hands. The aim of such products is to maintain the body in
good condition and protect it from the harmful effects of the environment. Skin care products
also fall into the general category of cosmetics. Skin care products include cleanness facial
masks, loners, moisturizers, sunscreen, tanning sets and lotions, skin lighteners, serums and
exfoliants.
Skin lightening products do come with some risks. As with any new product, be sure to read
the label and know the facts before you buy and apply a skin lightener. Skin lighteners
contain an active ingredient or a combination of ingredients that reduces the amount of
melanin in the skin where it is applied. The most widely used ingredient in skin lighteners
sold in the U.S. is hydroquinone. The FDA regulates the use of hydroquinone in the U.S.
Over-the-counter skin lighteners can contain up to 2% hydroquinone. Dermatologists can
write prescriptions for lighteners that contain 4%-6% hydroquinone. It's important to check
with your doctor before using a product with hydroquinone and to follow the doctor's
directions exactly.

Pregnancy is a period of high risk for the use of skin lightening products, especially during
the third trimester, so exposure of placental cells to mercury causes accumulation of the metal
in the placental membrane and lowers the membrane fluidity which affects membrane
function and causes damage to the developing fetus. In Mali, the cosmetics used were either
hydroquinone-containing products or mercuric derivatives. In Senegal the danger of
corticoids and hydroquinone-based products was reported.

Chan (2011) reported the worldwide studies about the lightening creams containing mercury,
including seven Africans studies distributed as: Kenya (1972, 1973), South Africa (1974,
1976), Uganda (1974), Malawi (1977) and Senegal (1981).

Skin whitening
Skin whitening is a cosmetic treatment where chemical materials are used to lighten skin tone
by reducing the concentration of melanin. Melanin, a type of pigment made in melanocyte
cells, determines a persons skin colour. Many men and women do not regard skin tone as an
unchangeable fact. Skin lightening has a long history in many parts of the world. Years ago,
many women fabricated their own mixture to lighten their skins. There are various ways to
enlighten the skin complexion. Some common approaches are laser treatment, the usage of
skin whitening lotions, - soaps and creams.

Cosmetics
The word cosmetics is derived from the Greek word kosmetikos which means skilled at
decorating . Cosmetics colloquially known as makeup or make-up are care substances used
to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body.
The U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates cosmetics, defines
cosmetics as "intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting
attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body's structure or functions.
Cosmetics are products which are intended to be used for cleaning, perfume or enhancing
appearance, and the use of cosmetics preparations all over the world become a part of the
personal daily routine particularly for women . Face powder is a cosmetic product used to

provide a special touch on the skin, to control oil and combat shines, or, in addition to
provide a matt finishing effect on the skin. This matt effect, combined with the high
transparency of the powder can develop a special soft focus effect on the skin, blurring the
appearance of wrinkles and lines as well as reducing the visibility of discoloration to enhance
skin appearance

Fair & Lovely

In India Fair & Lovely is the largest selling skin cream. According to anthropologist Runkle
(2005), Fair and Lovely has an estimated sixty million consumers throughout the Indian
subcontinent and exports to thirty-four countries in Southeast and Central Asia as well as the
Middle East.. Fair & Lovely is offered in many countries like India, Africa and Asia. In
2006, the market of skin whitening products in India was worth over $ 200 million (Karnani,
2007b).
According to HLL, the annual increase in sales of skincare whitening is 21, 5%.
Some details in the usage of skin whitening products are provided by the World Health
Organization (WHO, 2012). The highest percentages of women using skin whitening
products are Nigerian, (77%) according to the WHO. Second, 61% of Indian women use skin
whitening products. China and South Africa have percentages of 40 and 35 respectively.

Attitudes
Consumer attitudes are a composite of a consumers (1) beliefs about, (2) feelings about, (3)
and behavioural intentions toward some object-within the context of marketing, usually a
brand or retail store.

These components are viewed together since they are highly

interdependent and together represent forces that influence how the consumer will react to the
object.

1. Beliefs
The first component is beliefs. A consumer may hold both positive beliefs toward an object
(e.g., coffee tastes good) as well as negative beliefs (e.g., coffee is easily spilled and stains
papers). In addition, some beliefs may be neutral (coffee is black), and some may be differ in
valance depending on the person or the situation (e.g., coffee is hot and stimulates--good on a
cold morning, but not good on a hot summer evening when one wants to sleep). Note also
that the beliefs that consumers hold need not be accurate (e.g., that pork contains little fat),
and some beliefs may, upon closer examination, be contradictory (e.g., that a historical figure
was a good person but also owned slaves).

2. Affect
Consumers also hold certain feelings toward brands or other objects. Sometimes these
feelings are based on the beliefs (e.g., a person feels nauseated when thinking about a
hamburger because of the tremendous amount of fat it contains), but there may also be
feelings which are relatively independent of beliefs.

For example, an extreme

environmentalist may believe that cutting down trees is morally wrong, but may have positive

affect toward Christmas trees because he or she unconsciously associates these trees with the
experience that he or she had at Christmas as a child.

3. Behavioural Intention
The behavioural intention is what the consumer plans to do with respect to the object (e.g.,
buy or not buy the brand). As with affect, this is sometimes a logical consequence of beliefs
(or affect), but may sometimes reflect other circumstances--e.g., although a consumer does
not really like a restaurant, he or she will go there because it is a hangout for his or her
friends.

Review of literature
While most studies focus on women only, Hill (2002) puts the emphasis on the difference
between men and women regarding their attitude towards skin tone. Previous studies
assumed that skin tone is equally important for both men and women. The respondents in the
age of 18 to 73 were collected from the NSBA by 239 black interviewers. They collected data

on physical attractiveness and skin tone. ANOVA models and multiple regression analysis
were used to analyze the data. As predicted, the association between skin colour and physical
attractiveness was higher for females than for males. By adding control variables, age, sex,
education, income level, self-reported health status, the perceiver's subjective rating of the
target person's weight and friendliness changed slightly during the interview. For women,
when skin tone becomes lighter it increases the physical attractiveness for others. For men,
the second lightest group significantly increased the physical attractiveness. The variable
weight turned out to be the biggest explanatory factor in the variance in attractiveness.

According to Shahzad khan (2012) attitude is the conduct, nature, temperament, thought and
way of behaving. It can be positive or negative and perform a very essential function in
purchasing a product. Lars Perner (2010) defines consumer attitude simply as a composite of
a consumers beliefs, feelings, and behavioural intentions toward some object within the
context of marketing. Noel (2009) defined attitude that is a powerful and long term
assessment for which the customers are having well-built way of thinking and it can be an
individual, entity, announcement or a matter. Attitudes are formed through experience and
learning and that attitudes influence buying behaviour (Kotler and Keller, 2009). Consumer
attitudes toward a firm and its products greatly influence the success or failure of the firm
(ws.elance.com).
Michael. R. Solomon (1983) in his paper has made an empirical work on product symbolism
has paid relatively little attention to how products are used by consumers in everyday social
life. This paper argues that the subjective experience imported by the consumption of many
products substantially contributes to the consumers structuring of social reality, self concept
and behaviour. Moreover, the consumer also relies over the social meanings inherent in
products as a guide to the performance of social roles, especially when role demands are
novel. While marketing theory traditionally views products as post hoc responses to
underlying needs, the focus is here on conditions under which products serve as prior stimuli
to behaviours. By integrating concepts adapted from symbolic interactions, this approach
stresses the importance of product symbolism as a mediator of self definition and role
performance.

According to the study conducted by Dr. Vinith Kumar Nair and Dr. Prakash Pillai R (2007)
male consumers generally prefer to purchase and make the brand selection of cosmetics
individually. Quality is the major factor influencing the purchase decision of male consumers.
They tend to buy cosmetic items from a single shop of their convenience. It is also observed
that male consumers buy all their cosmetic items from one shop. As Fan Shean Cheng, Cheng
Soon Ooi and Ding Hooi Ting (2010) have observed that there is a significant and positive
relationship between males concern towards self-image and their consumption of male
grooming products. In their study on womens buying behaviour of personal care products,
Sundari and Murugan (2011) revealed that the factors influencing purchase decision of
personal care products are primary benefit and secondary benefit. The primary benefit
includes price, quality, and quantity. However, the secondary benefit includes ingredients
of the product, the purpose of the product, innovative features, manufacturers reputation,
and certification of the product.
A study was conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 42 women who were reported to use
SLP. The study revealed several motivations for the use of skin lightening: 1) to remove
pimples, rashes, and skin disease, 2) to have soft skin, 3) to be white, beautiful, and more
European looking, 4) to remove the adverse effects of extended skin lightening use on the
body, 5) to satisfy or attract a male partner, and 6) to satisfy and impress peers. Similar to
Tanzanian women, the motives for using skin lightening among Togolese women were 1) to
appear important, 2) to look attractive, 3) to lighten skin, and 4) to look fashionable.
A study of Saudi women assessed the knowledge and practice of skin lightening and
examined attitudes toward skin lightening, revealing that 45.4% of the women did not believe
that using lightening creams could harm their skin and 80% did not agree that using
lightening products could harm a users general health. Their reasons for using SLP were
similar to those reported in African countries. Of Saudi women studied, 26.7% reported that
they used lightening products for medical purposes, 73.6% desired a lighter skin colour,
56.8% (289/509) believed that lighter skin colour made them more beautiful, and 15.9%
believed that lighter skin colour made them more self-confident. However, the motives for
using SLP could vary across different countries and cultures. Despite the increased use of
SLP in Sudan, the key motivations as to why Sudanese females use them remain unclear.
Sudanese society is a compound of multi-ethnic groups and different cultures.

Bocock (1993) in his book described self image as an element which can enhance the
confidence level of an individual. People try to become the being they desire to be by
consuming the items that they imagine will help to create & sustain their idea of themselves,
their image, and their identity.

Consumers buy products according to their needs, preferences and buying power. Consumer
buying behaviour depends on his perception, self concept, social and cultural background and
their age and family cycle, their attitudes, beliefs values, motivation, personality, social class
and many other factors that are both internal and external (kotler and keller,2009).
Specifically, the attitudes of consumers can have a significant effect on buying behaviour.
This paper examines the influence of attitude on cosmetics buying behaviour.
The use of skin-lightening products (SLP) (bleaching) among African women has been
assessed in various African countries. Millions of women throughout Africa use creams and
soaps containing harmful chemicals such as hydroquinone and mercury to lighten skin colour,
although the use of these creams can lead to long-term damage. It is commonly reported in
women of colour in Benin, South Africa, Sngal, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, and other African
countries. Several studies in Africa have been conducted to investigate the motivation behind
using SLP in women of colour. The most important motives were: seeking to be beautiful and
attractive, social status and acceptance, health issues, and to gain self-confidence.
The Indian cosmetics market is defined as skin care, hair care, colour cosmetics, fragrances
and oral care segments. Its worth US $19.3 billion in 2014 and is expected to grow at 15-20
% according to the analysis of this sector. Today awareness of beauty products, treatment,
fashion and grooming are very high. Consumers are the masters of their money and they have
an enormous influence on the economic market change because they possess the ability to
implement and coordinate their choice of spending or saving in the purchase decision.
Consumers are influenced by their attitude towards the product and therefore marketers need
to implement their strategies and tactics frequently in order to achieve more consumers.
Satisfaction and accurate target in finding out what customers are aware off and their attitude
and there by offering products according to this needs will help the industry stake holders to
enrich their customer experience and accelerate growth of the market. The process that turns
marketing plans into marketing actions In order to fulfil strategic marketing objectives it is

called marketing plan but most of the markets are still challenged by their marketing. Hence
this research aims to explore the consumers awareness and attitude preference towards
herbal cosmetic products with special reference to Coimbatore city.

According to Euromonitor Internationals estimates, the online channels share in the global
cosmetics sales reached 3% in 2010, while in the top three online sales markets - South
Korea, France and United States - it reached a level of, respectively, 7.5% to 5.8%. It is
expected that in the coming years the dynamics of online cosmetics sales will even higher.
According to the forecasts the North American online beauty market alone will continue to
rise at a rate of 33% (CAGR) until 2015 (Barbalova, 2011).
According to Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the total Indian beauty and cosmetic
market size currently stands at US$950 million and showing growth between 15-20% per
annum. CII also estimated that over all beauty and wellness market that include beauty
services stand at about US$2,680 million.
According to MarketResearch.com (2007) more of men are consuming Clarinss products as
compared to women. Christian Courtin (2003) from Clarins states that purchasing power of
men is greater than what company aimed. As Jeff Falk mentioned in GCI magazine (2009)
that, Women are more emotional in terms of their product purchasing habits, whereas men
are drawn to technical, functional things. According to MarketResearch.com (2009), by the
year 2014 this segment is supposed to reach $84.9 Billion. From the last few years the skin
care segment recorded an inspiring growth. Due to rise in awareness for personal grooming,
the skincare market is further expected to register strong CAGR of nearly 19% during 20102013, as per our research report Indian Cosmetic Sector Analysis (2009-2012). According
to Euromonitors report (2008) Asian market found out to be the biggest emerging market.
The Asia Pacific markets value is up to more than US$70 billion which is the second highest
after the Western European market (Nair and Pillai, 2007).
In a recent report by AC Nelson, the skin whitening market currently is the fastest growing
market segment, at an annual growth rate of 85 percent. With an expected growth of 11
percent in 2009, the personal care segment broke an 18 year old record in the top of mind
survey conducted by Datafolha institute (Brazil). The colour cosmetic market currently

accounts for $ 60 million of the total market, while skin care accounts approximately $ 180
million. US demand for cosmeceuticals is projected to rise by 7.4 percent per year to $ 8.2
billion in 2012, according to the Feedonia Group.
Rationale of the study
Objectives of the study
1. To design, develop and standardize a questionnaire on attitude towards use of skinlightening creams.
2. To identify the underlying factors of attitude towards use of skin-lightening creams.
3. To evaluate the differences in attitude towards use of skin-lightening creams in the
perspectives of gender and use status of such creams.
4. To open further avenues of research.

Research Methodology

2.1 The study

The study is empirical and survey will be used to complete it.

2.2 Sampling Design

2.2.1 Population: Population will subsume all consumers of cosmetic creams within Gwalior
city region.
2.2.2 Sampling frame: Since there is no list exiting, no sampling frame will be utilized.
2.2.3 Sampling element: Individual Respondent will be the sampling element.
2.2.4 Sample size: 200 individual including 100 males (50 users; 50 non-users) and 100
female consumers (50 users; 50 non-users).
2.2.5 Sampling Method: non probability quota was used.

2.3 Tools used for data collection

For the purpose of data collection, a self-designed questionnaire will be utilized. The measure
would be Liker-type and would possess a sensitivity of 5, where the extreme values namely 1
and 5 worlds represent least agreement and most agreement respectively.

2.4 Tools used for data analysis

1. Item to total correlation was used to cheek the internal consistency of the
questionnaires.
2. Reliability test was applied to cheek the reliability of the questionnaire
with the help of Cronbach Alpha.
3. Factor analysis was applied to find out the underlying factors.
4. The t-test was used to compare male and female respondents in their
switching behaviour.
5. Linear regression was applied to check the effect of expectations on
switching behaviour.

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