# RKS: IS BEING FAIR ... REALLY LOVELY - Tone Or Tanning? (II)
# RKS: IS BEING FAIR ... REALLY LOVELY TONE OR TANNING? (II) RKS / 2024-2025 / Ser 5 / Blog 3 1st July 2024 DISSECTING FAIRNESS CREAMS THE DAWN OF SKIN BRIGHTENING CREAMS ERA Dear Reader, Tanning is essentially the skin's response to increased melanin production after exposure to sunlight, creating a darkening effect. Skin tone, on the other hand, is the surface skin color which is determined by a dynamic genetic mechanism. Fig: World regions and distribution of skin tone. Since South-east Asia and Africa host significant clusters of people with a darker skin hue, the population of these countries always desire for a fairer skin so as to be able to integrate better with the rest of the world where towards all the migration occurs. The surge in the Indian cosmetic market size of USD 8 bn (₹ ~64,000 crore) is mainly accounted by products that intend to modify skin tone. The global cosmetic market is USD 375 bn but India’s share is mere