A skincare brand, Sanfe, is getting criticised online for promoting a product that shows a dark-skinned woman turning fair after using its cream. The product – called ‘instant tan and dead skin removal exfoliating gel’ – is promoted as an anti-tan cream. However, the ad plays on the age-old, ‘regressive’ idea that dark skin is something to be ashamed of.
On June 21, Instagram user Himi Khandelwal, who calls herself a beauty nerd, slammed Sanfe for the ad. Himi criticised the brand for sharing the ad with an text that says, “Husband ne chhod diya kalepan ki vajah se kisi gori se shadi kar li (My husband left me because of my dark complexion and married a fair-skinned woman).”
Himi confessed that seeing the ad made her extremely sad, adding, “It is 2026, and we are still playing on the insecurities of women, still equating their worth with their skin colour. And what boggles my mind is that Sanfe has seen a fair share of social media controversies of late, with so many people calling them out, and they are still doing it.”
What is the ad about?
The advertisement opens with various montages of a brown-skinned woman, feeling ‘depressed’ because her husband left her for a fair-skinned woman and married her. However, as soon as she used the Sanfe gel, she turned fair, and her husband wanted her back.
A video of her applying the gel to her back, with a before-and-after clip, is also attached. Seeing this, Himi remarked that if you want to know how predatory your favourite beauty brand is, just check their Meta ad library. She explained, “Basically, this is a place where you can see all the ads that are being played by this brand currently. I keep checking this as a founder…I like analysing it…and this made me so sad.”
How did the internet react?
The internet was outraged seeing Sanfe’s ad and called out the brand in the comments. One Instagram user commented, “Always call out brands doing this. This won’t change otherwise.” Someone else wrote, “Most toxic marketing.”
Another noted that the brand’s founders are men and commented, “Sanfe is a shady brand anyway, profiting off of selling insecurities to women and oh by the way, the owners are men.” Someone else commented, “Not only toxic marketing, but toxic ingredients in their products. You should 100 percent make a video debunking their products.”
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
