Uh, Oh! Patanjali Thinks Dark Complexion Is A Skin Ailment

It's no secret that our country is obsessed with fair complexion.

We have fairness creams, fairness soaps, fairness face washes -- all of that promise to make our "dark" faces, knees, elbows, and other parts of the body multiple shades fairer.

"Didn't work", "No difference, didn't work", "Maybe it works for others but not for me," are the most common customer reviews under such "beauty" products sold on e-commerce websites.

It's 2018, and dark complexion is still looked down upon in India. Even in our Bollywood conversations, we quickly slot anyone who has a complexion that's a shade darker than milk, as 'unconventional' looking. Because who doesn't love the Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan, right?

Now, in a very problematic ad, Baba Ramdev's Patanjali fuels the very thought while marketing their "Beauty Cream" by calling dark complexion a skin ailment.

In an ad published in Deccan Chronicle on 17th December, Patanjali, advertised their "Beauty Cream" to heal dry skin, wrinkles, and dark complexion. Dark complexion, too, was listed under skin ailments. The product claims to heal and give you the confidence of 100% natural beauty. Yep.

Description as given:

Possesses the benefits of wheat germ oil, turmeric, aloe-vera, and basil etc. which are extremely beneficial for skin ailments like dry skin, dark complexion and wrinkles. Patanjali beauty cream is not just another cream but is a skin nourishment tonic and treatment. It gives you the confidence of 100% natural beauty. Try it yourself and suggest to your family and friends.



Also, if you look carefully (bottom left), the ad takes a direct dig at other MNCs who "are full of chemicals while Patanjali products are natural".

A Twitter use who goes by the handle @beastoftraal brought the ad to our attention. Along with a screenshot of Patanjali ad, he wrote, "No Baba Ramdev... 'dark complexion' is NOT a skin ailment. Did Tarun Vijay write your ad?"

No Baba Ramdev... 'dark complexion' is NOT a skin ailment. Did Tarun Vijay write your ad? pic.twitter.com/laHsUVjFGL

— Karthik (@beastoftraal) January 8, 2018

For a brand that almost always starts its advertising by bad-mouthing 'those MNC companies' as looters and calls itself as '100% purity and 100% charity' (the tactic sure seems to be working for them given their spectacular success in the recent past), Patanjali seems to be

— Karthik (@beastoftraal) January 8, 2018

toeing the line of MNC beauty brands in framing dark skin as a problem. Only difference - MNC brands have, over time, become clever about how they state this in their communication. Here, Patanjali openly calls 'dark complexion' as a 'skin ailment'. This is severely ironic

— Karthik (@beastoftraal) January 8, 2018

given the number of people in India who are naturally born with the so-called 'dark' complexion. The other irony is that the so-called MNC made 'dark complexion' into a confidence/success problem and Patanjali, a proudly Indian brand, is continuing to use that

— Karthik (@beastoftraal) January 8, 2018

Last year, two Patanjali products -- Divya Amla Juice and Shivlingi Beej – were found to be of substandard quality by Haridwar’s Ayurveda and Unani Office, a Right to Information (RTI) reply revealed in May, Hindustan Times reported.

According to the same report, The CSD, that sells consumer goods to the armed forces, suspended the sale of a batch of Patanjali Ayurved’s amla juice in April after it failed to clear a laboratory test.