Fanta Face Coca Cola Body; The Evil Of Skin Bleaching

I have observed with disgust how many of the youth (men and women) have resorted to skin bleaching to look “beautiful”. Unfortunately the elite and respected people in the society who are supposed to show the way are themselves bleaching. I find it difficult to understand, if their behavior is motivated by ignorance or the desire to look like the white man (low self-esteem).

Years ago this phenomenon was a preserve of social deviants like prostitutes and people who have no dignity in the society. Overtime big cosmetic manufacturing companies have projected skin bleaching as an embodiment of beauty. In Europe most of these companies are banned from producing creams and chemicals with high levels of hydroquinone and mercury (the chemicals responsible for suppressing melanin). However, these products find their way to Africa the largest consumers of their products. These companies use celebrities to advertise their products with sexy phrases like skin toning, skin whitening, and skin smoothing to sway people in patronizing their products. As if those phrases are different from skin bleaching. I am not therefore surprise to hear people say they are skin toning when ask if they are bleaching.

Skin bleaching comes in different forms so are the side effects. Those with little resources use the soaps, creams and powders which are common on the market. Others prefer steroids which bleaches the skin from the inside. These substances contain high level of hydroquinone (above 2%), mercury and acids that suppresses the enzyme responsible for producing melanin. Melanin is the substance that gives the skin and hair its natural color. It protects the skin from Ultra Violet rays. Melanin is produced to darken the skin when exposed to the sun for extended period of time to keep the body from burning. Fortunately for blacks, the skin produces more melanin than light skinned or white people making us less susceptible to skin burn and skin cancer resulting from UV rays exposure. The side effects of using these bleaching substances are life threatening. They include: thinning of the skin that result in poor heal, skin infection and surgical failures; skin cancer, leukaemia, kidney problems, premature aging, mercury poisoning, pungent body odor, permanent skin discoloration and allergies. In some cases psychiatric and neurological problems are associated.

Apart from some Vitiligo patients who may receive treatment with these creams for genuine reasons, many that bleach do so out of internalized self-hate or ‘anti-blackness’. This people feel inferior of their complexion. They have this slavery mentality that project Africans or black as inferior, bad and ugly. Unfortunately, cultural ideas that project light skinned women as more beautiful and preferred by men encourage some ladies with low self-esteem to fall for this madness. The most disgusting of all are naturally light skinned Africans who bleach to look lighter skinned. Tonto Dike the famous Nigerian actress trying to justify her bleaching behavior said ‘So all I am trying to do is enhance my color though I am already light skinned’, this is total nonsense! Another developing reason is how some organization force or encourages their staffs to bleach to lure customers for the organization. Many are also engaged in it because that is the trend in town. They are totally ignorant about the consequences.

There is no proper way of skin bleach as some people will advice or believe. It is like alcohol addiction. Once you start, the more you are likely to continue and it is difficult to stop. We should be proud of our complexion, it is beautiful and the best for our type of weather. Beauty is never measured by changing the natural state of anything. Black is unique and beautiful, it is never bad, inferior or ugly as some people will make you believe. Let’s go out and show what we are made of whether black, brown or chocolate, that is what we are. We shouldn’t be ignorant of the creams we use. We should check out for the chemical composition of these creams and avoid as much as possible those with high levels of retinoic acid, arbutin, kojic acid, mercury and hydroquinone.

The Government must also intervene by creating awareness of the consequences of skin bleaching and what it means to the well-being of the nation. It should also consider banning importation of skin bleaching products into the country and regularize the operations of beauty parlors or saloons as some countries have done.