It is estimated that Emirati women spend close to Dh1 billion ($272 million) per year on beauty products and treatments, according to the organisers of a beauty expo.

Skin lightening market is booming in the Middle East, where having light, porcelain-like skin is considered ideal by Arab women. In the Arab world, beauty is defined by the whiteness and suppleness of a woman's skin, according to Epoc Messe Frankfurt, organisers of the Beautyworld Middle East event.

Out of the 15,089 visitors that attended Beautyworld Middle East in June 2009, over 36 per cent of the attendees were interested in knowing the latest about skincare and beauty products. The general visitor feed-back highlighted skin lightening products to be of specific interest, said a spokesperson of the event organiser.

The beauty and grooming business in the UAE and the region is expected to buck the recessionary trend. A host of major international brands are making a beeline for the region, seeing it as is one of the few remaining budding spots in an otherwise gloomy global scene.

The global market for skin lightening products is projected to reach Dh36.75 billion ($10 billion) by 2015, driven by new markets in the West and sustained growth in Asia-Pacific, and the skin lightening market offers huge room for development as consumer awareness grows.

“Skin lightening is one of the increasingly growing segments of the global beauty industry, with Asia holding the maximum market share and the most potential to expand,” said Elisabeth Brehl, managing director of Beautyworld Middle East, which is marked as the uncontested platform of the region for the beauty, cosmetics, fragrance, spa and wellness industry.

The 15th edition of the show is scheduled to run from June 1 to 3, 2010, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.-TradeArabia News Service