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Glutathione and Accepting Imperfection


My sister, Dr. Belen Lardizabal-Dofitas appeared in Jessica Soho last night as the resource person in behalf of the Philippine Dermatological Society (PDS) for the “Glutathione Supplements for Whitening”. My sister, a dermatologist by profession wrote the PDS position paper on glutathione supplements. There is also the recent controversial withdrawal of the license of 3 glutathione brands in the market which the public should take note. I’ve been meaning to blog about this because I see billboards everywhere on Supplements for Whitening. The most important message my sister wanted to convey is that there is still a lack of good quality scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety of glutathione supplements and injectable glutathione for lightening skin color.


(Above is the Youtube video of the Glutathione segment in the Jessica Soho show)

I cannot blame people for wanting to change their skin color. The colonial mentality that “fair skin” is more beautiful has been ingrained by our ancestors. These western standards of beauty can be detrimental as safety of glutathione is not established yet.

As a child, I was often mocked by my mother’s relatives as “negra”. My mom had very fair skin while my dad was very brown (Kayumanggi). My skin color is in between my mom and dad’s color. For a long time, I always thought I was ugly. Inspite of the negative comments, I’ve never thought of taking whitening supplements to correct an imperfection in the eyes of my colonial-minded relatives. Of course much later in life, I discovered I am a beautiful person , well , according to my loving husband. He loves my morena (olive) complexion so he says.

Accepting imperfection goes beyond skin deep.

The question to ask when one uses glutathione or something to our body… “Why do I do this to myself?” I’m not talking strictly about changing skin color; I’m talking about life. Why go through thinking that one is inferior because of skin color while believing others are perfect, whether in relationships, or a specific task? Whether we’re judging ourselves or others, it’s two sides of the same coin—perfection. Neither expectation is valid. It is a far more accurate and beneficial to tell ourselves that who we are is okay and what we are doing is good enough. That doesn’t mean we won’t make mistakes that need correcting. It doesn’t mean we won’t get off track from time to time. It doesn’t mean we can’t improve. With all our mistakes and wandering, we’re basically on course. Encouraging and approving ourselves is how we help ourselves stay on track.

Today I will tell myself that what I’m doing is good enough and I will let myself enjoy that feeling.

How do you love and encourage yourselves?

18 thoughts on “Glutathione and Accepting Imperfection”

  1. @jhay- to think that most of the glutathione is imported. It’s about time to junk that colonial mentality. A redefined campaign in beauty.

    @Emily- like i said it is colonial mentality.

  2. Being morena is not imperfection. And that “colonial mentality” thing needs to be squashed because the truth is, white folks LOVE natural tan color. They spent so much money and time at the tanning saloon or sun bathing to get the perfect tan. Some celebrities get so obsessed by being tan they start to look orange. The truth is they want our our natural tan color.

  3. @diana- western standards of beauty have been around for a long time. Why do Chinese fix their eyelids? why do other have breast augmentation.

    @dexie-it’s so strange how the opposite happens among the whites. I love the tan color. It’s so healthy looking.

  4. My daughters take after their dad’s fair skin. With my morena complexion, I get a lot of remarks like “buti na lang di sayo nagmana mga anak mo.” And take note, usually I get that from supposedly EDUCATED people.

    Re: accepting imperfection-I did a double take on the title knowing that like me, you believe that tan is beautiful.

    lemons last blog post..meet the class bully

  5. And I read on and understood that we both perceive as beauty is viewed by others as imperfection.

    That’s why I love that TV host, Bianca Gonzalez, who has said repeatedly that despite growing up being mocked for her color, she will never endorse whitening products.

    lemons last blog post..meet the class bully

  6. What good would these products do if one gets a fairer skin but suffers the ill effects, if there are, later on?

    Funny why fair-skinned celebs endorse these products when they do not really need to use these. Its all about getting the customers to buy their products.

    julies last blog post..Are You Lost?

  7. It’s totally opposite with the Scandinavian people especially the Danes who worship the sun or in the tanning salon just to just to like us brown Pinays. Now dermatologies advises people against ill effects of natural and artificial sunbathing which causes skin cancer.

    Any chemical that you take or use is already dangerous and makes it even worse when you don’t use any protection under the sun. How about what it does to your body like hormonal changes and

    Beauty is not only physical but its what its inside you. Self confidence and sincerity for me are some of traits exudes more beauty than what you see physically. Be proud of our color its the best!!.

    Anas last blog post..Twin Delight

  8. I don’t think there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be a different colour. That doesn’t mean you don’t have any self confidence , just mean you wanna enhance your look. I personally believe fair skin is beautiful but not everyone with fair skin is beautiful. Not everyone with dark skin is ugly. People dye there hair , wear nice clothes , contact lens….. If someone wants to change there colour , let them. People do things to make themselves happy and feel better. Just because you wouldn’t change the colour of your skin doesn’t mean nobody in the world can’t.

  9. Gluthione is very good for health. As far as the “whitening’ effect, even African babies are born with fair skin. Now the effect of Glutathione will not exceed that fairness which you had as a new born. Having said that, it is critical to be monitored by a competent medical doctor well versed with this supplement who will monitor toxicity and other health parameters, should you choose to go ahead with the glutathione.IMHO!. By the way,Glutathione is used in hospitals for certain conditions.

  10. i was born with fair skin, but i always thought that the golden brown color that filipinas have are beautiful. why should white always be more beautiful in the eyes of people? i say, it will take a long time before this perception changes. it’s already ingrained in our culture. i don’t know how much convincing it would take to stop filipinos from trying to whiten their skin. love yourself. 🙂

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