Baby ‘tan’ product gets dragged online after viral post calls out colourism in disguise

When a skincare brand casually launched a product marketed for “tanning babies,” the internet may have blinked, but writer Shantesh S Row did not. What followed was a blistering, viral LinkedIn post that tore through the polished facade of baby beauty branding, unpacking it as nothing short of “colourism for cribs.”

A baby product brand gets called out for selling tan products

The brand, OMUMSIE, likely thought the name sounded cute, cuddly, and comforting. But to Row and thousands of appalled viewers, the message it carried was insidious. In his now widely shared post, Row questioned what the brand truly saw when looking at brown skin—a flaw, a stain, or just another marketing angle?

Row declared this was not just a bad ad. In his view, this was every fairness cream trope dusted off, perfumed, and weaponised—this time against babies. With razor-sharp clarity, he called the product soul-damaging, not skincare, and accused the brand of whispering to mothers that their baby’s natural complexion was “not enough.”

Internet slams the brand

The post quickly exploded, resonating across borders and backgrounds. Commenters chimed in with similar outrage, calling the ad disturbing, tone-deaf, and steeped in colonial beauty ideals. “You are not just selling lotion,” one user wrote, “you are selling shame.”

Baby ‘tan’ product gets dragged online after viral post | Credit: LinkedIn/Shantesh S Row

The criticism was not only about the product itself, but about what it symbolised, a culture that still associates value with fairness, now targeting the youngest and most vulnerable members of society. “No baby,” Row emphasised, “should be a billboard for whitewashed beauty standards.”

From nursery shelves to the global stage, the post has sparked critical conversations around how early colourism can creep into children’s lives, and how brands must be held accountable when their messaging reinforces deeply rooted biases.

As beauty brands scramble to modernise and “diversify,” Row’s post serves as a stark reminder: Representation without reflection is just rebranding old prejudice.

Whether OMUMSIE will respond or rebrand remains to be seen, but the world has spoken loud and clear: melanin is not a marketing flaw, and babies are not your canvas.