# Are there "flesh" colored bandages that are not limited to caucasian skin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2003, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298 "2003-06-12T09:23:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/1 "2003-06-12T09:23:22Z")
Apologies if this has been asked before; I did search. I’m curious as to why I only see bandages (Band-Aid™ and the like) that are “flesh” colored, _per se_, but only in the tone of caucasian flesh. Or, are they out there, and I missed them? ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/2 "2003-06-12T09:42:49Z")
South Africa has (or did a while ago) a range of darker toned “flesh” coloured bandages… [Related Link - with photo linked](http://lightwriting.tripod.com/details_body.html#flesh) Grim ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/3 "2003-06-12T09:44:44Z")
I buy the clear ones. Or the Day-Glo ones. Or the SpongeBob ones… Do they even still _make_ “flesh” colored bandages? I can’t recall seeing one in a long time… ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/4 "2003-06-12T12:01:15Z")
Yep. Here in NY there’s two kinds: the regular ones and black ones. The latter are very hard to find in some neighborhoods but you see them in the major chains. Frankly, I don’t notice a lot of folks “of color” wearing the black ones, but it might catch on. There’s also 3M brand whose band-aids are made with a sort of foam-fabric that’s a nice medium brown that suits pretty much everybody. This is the wrong thread to bring up the all-black panty-liners, right? Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/5 "2003-06-12T12:17:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Frankly, I don’t notice a lot of folks “of color” wearing the black ones, but it might catch on. Yes, but don’t black folks come in as many shades as white people? I’ve never seen a single white person whose skin even came close to matching the “flesh” colored band-aids, and I suspect that “black” band-aids would have the same problem. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/6 "2003-06-12T13:47:26Z")
Am I the only one who’s seen the ads for the new Orlando Jones Show on FX? He’s “promoting” a line of bandages for black people. They come in colors something like Halle Berry taupe and Morgan Freeman (with freckles). Hilarious. I’m also reminded of the Bloom County strip that featured Oliver Wendell Jones sporting a big old “flesh-colored” Band-Aid on his forehead. He wasn’t too happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/7 "2003-06-12T14:27:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\*Am I the only one who’s seen the ads for the new Orlando Jones Show on FX? He’s “promoting” a line of bandages for black people. They come in colors something like Halle Berry taupe and Morgan Freeman (with freckles). Hilarious. \*\* Yes!!! I saw those commercials, and I came into this thread specifically hoping to find out more about them. I couldn’t tell whether those bandages are for real or not. Towards the end of the commercial I decided that it was all a gag to promote a show that I never heard of. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/8 "2003-06-12T15:01:40Z")
How funny that this thread came up… a co-worker and I were in a Dollar Tree store yesterday at lunch and saw “Ebon-Aides” – band-aids for people of color. There’s a lovely picture of an African-American family on the box and everything. This is the only place I’ve seen those here in the DC area, and they were in a totally random place in the store – next to the toilet-brushes. My co-worker bought 4 boxes of Ebon-Aides. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/9 "2003-06-12T15:46:39Z")
The peachy-pink coloured bands have never remotely matched my skin. I like them, because a white bandage just shows the dirt and looks grimy too quicky, and catches the light too quickly, but the pinkish colour is still pale enough to show blood seeping through (so you know to change it etc). The problem with a dark coloured one is that you might not see this blood thing. Plus if it got a LOT of dirt, you might not notice quickly enough to change it. I would recommend they manufacture them in a colour like pale blue, so as to be medium-pale, but race-neutral. IIRC chefs often wear bright blue ones, so there is no chance of them falling in food and not being noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/10 "2003-06-12T23:35:10Z")
As far as I know, no one is the same color as “flesh” colored bandages. It’s way too dark for my Caucasian flesh, but it doesn’t even seem to be the same tone as anyone’s skin, no matter what color they are. It is just one of those colors that aren’t found in nature. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/11 "2003-06-13T01:17:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mirror Image egamI rorriM \* > **As far as I know, no one is the same color as “flesh” colored bandages.** Actually, I went to Hawaii last month and was getting a blister from my sandals - I was _so_ shocked to see that the generic band-aid matched the somewhat-tanned colour of my foot. It’ll probably never happen again. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/12 "2003-06-13T01:31:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > \*\*IIRC chefs often wear bright blue ones, so there is no chance of them falling in food and not being noticed. \*\* At the food-packing plant where Mr. S works, the blue bandages also have tiny bits of metal in them; the food containers are run through a metal detector to check for foreign objects (including Band-Aids). ---
**Author:** ![aeropl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aeropl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aeropl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/13 "2003-06-13T02:38:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rex Fenestrarum \* > \*\*I’ve never seen a single white person whose skin even came close to matching the “flesh” colored band-aids. \*\* That’s because you can’t see the band-aids if they match the skin color perfectly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/14 "2003-06-13T04:34:37Z")
There’s a certain kind of waterproof bandage made by 3M that is clear except for the pad, which is a shade of light-to-medium brown. When I wear them, the pad stands out pretty clearly, but they’re practically invisible when my Asian ex-coworker wears them. Matches her skin tone exactly. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/15 "2003-06-13T04:35:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Darth Nader \* > \*\*I buy the clear ones. Or the Day-Glo ones. Or the SpongeBob ones… > > Do they even still _make_ “flesh” colored bandages? I can’t recall seeing one in a long time… \*\* Flesh colored as in labeled as such, or as in simply being pink? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-flesh-colored-bandages-that-are-not-limited-to-caucasian-skin/181298/16 "2003-06-13T05:06:03Z")
I never checked. Around here, the “pink” ones don’t seem to sell well enough for me to have noticed them. I _really_ like the idea of folks working in food-prep wearing brightly-colored bandages.