Boots just described white skin as ‘normal’ and Twitter users are furious

An in-store SPF chart also suggested that people with darker skin can safely use SPF as low as 10

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High-street pharmacist and beauty retailer Boots has come under fire from some Twitter users who said an in-store poster labelled white skin as ‘normal.’

The store in question created a complete guide to sunscreen to help its shoppers decide the best SPF for their skin type, but some people took offence at the company’s choice of words.

Boots has since apologised, and pointed out that the poster only appeared in one store and was not part of the brand's official in-store signage.

The chart starts off with ‘sensitive’ skin, for which they recommend a minimum SPF 30 but Twitter users are arguing that what follows is a ranking of skin colour, not skin type.

Next, the retailer listed ‘fair’ and ‘normal’, followed by ‘olive’, ‘brown’ and ‘black’ - and some are saying that this implies a specific type of white skin is deemed ‘normal’, while anything darker or lighter is ‘abnormal.’

Aside from ill-wording, others are also concerned that the advice being given to people with darker skin tones is dangerous.

The chart suggests that people with ‘brown’ or ‘black’ skin are able to safely use an SPF as low as 10 or 15.

While it’s true that darker skin does have a higher natural SPF than fair skin, that doesn’t mean it’s protected against the ills of sun damage including wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and even skin cancer.

According to researchers from the Cincinnati University, the misconception that black and Asian people don’t get skin cancer is causing a rise in late diagnosis and, as a result, leading to higher mortality rates for the disease in ethnic communities.

“We’d like to thank our customers for bringing this to our attention,” a Boots UK spokesperson told The Independent.

“We can confirm it was an isolated incident to only one Boots store and that the content featured was not official Boots show material.

“We have removed the chart immediately and apologise for any offence this may have caused.”