The Dark Side of Skin Bleaching

Dencia, Before and After Using Skin Lighteners

Sammy Sosa

When I was a little girl I went through a Michael Jackson phase –I know I can’t be the only one lol. I learned all of his songs, taped all of his videos and even practiced his dance moves in my bedroom! One day while watching videos of pre 90’s MJ, I realized that he seemed to change as he got older. That day I asked my mother how Michael Jackson went from being black to being white. She told me that he had a disease that turned some of his skin white (Vitiligo) and that he bleached his skin so it would all be the same color. That is when I first heard of skin bleaching. If anyone was ridiculed for bleaching their skin or accused of wanting to be something they were not it was Michael Jackson, but now it appears that lightening products are more and more available and more and more acceptable. There are even online tutorials on how one can go about bleaching their skin. This post is not meant to judge anyone. It’s simply meant to shed light on a beauty practice that can have deleterious effects down the road.  Specifically we are referring to using lightening creams with the purpose of transforming one’s skin to a hue several shades lighter than its natural complexion by reducing the melanin in the skin.  As you can see, these lightening products can  be very effective.

Vybz Katrel

The young lady featured above is a Cameroonian-Nigerian artist by the name of Dencia (she's been called Africa's Lady Gaga). She recently launched a lightening cream, called Whitenicious, (yes Whitenicious) that sold out on the first day it hit the shelves. She has been scrutinized a great deal in the media and recently was involved in a “media war” with Academy Award Winner Lupita Nyong’o concerning being proud of one’s skin color. Watch this interview featuring Dencia and Phinnah Ikeji of Black Role Models UK to hear both sides of the skin bleaching argument. On a side note, she has reportedly been asked by Oprah/OWN Network to be interviewed in a new documentary, Light Girls.

http://youtu.be/lTuZXJBg420

Skin bleaching is a widely acceptable and often times dangerous practice in many parts of the world. Many of the products contain mercury that can have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes. Even a minimal exposure to mercury can be a serious threat to the development of an unborn or very young child. “Mercury is considered by the WHO (World Health Organization) as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.” The Mercury containing products are actually banned in certain countries including the U.S, but still find their ways into less regulated markets. Lightening creams also contain hydroquinone that has been listed as a carcinogen in some research studies. 

While doing research for this post I came across some startling statistics. For example, according to the WHO, in Nigeria 77% of the women reportedly use skin lightening products followed by Togo with 55% and South Africa with 35%. However, not only black people use these products, in 2004, almost 40% of women surveyed in China, Malaysia, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea reported using skin lighteners. This almost sounds unbelievable. A statistic like that really beckons the question, “Why?” I’ve heard many answers to this question, but most of them sound something like this, “I think dark skin looks beautiful, I just don’t think it looks good on me.” We can spend multiple posts writing about self hate, colonialism, racism, colorism, what message this sends to the little dark girls of every race and nationality etc, but I really want to focus on is the medical dangers that can come with bleaching one’s skin – particularly if used for a long time.

 Dangers of Prolonged Skin Lightening:

• Premature aging of skin.
• Increased risk of skin cancer from sun exposure. Always use sunscreen if you’re going to use skin lighteners.
• Some products contain steroids that with prolonged use can lead to steroid induced acne, or thin the skin making it more susceptible to infections and poor wound healing.
• Hydroquinone may cause irreversible skin discoloration.
• Skin irritation and allergic reactions

 Why do you think people want to be lighter?  

Sources:

UNEP (2008). Mercury in products and wastes. Geneva, United Nations Environment Program,

Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, Chemicals Branch

http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury/en/

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