Leba Abigail
U14MM1017
Over the years I have pondered and wondered why a very large proportion of Nigerians Bleach, tone or even lighten up their skin. Is it that they are unaware of the dangers? Or they just don't care? Aloud I thought to myself. Or again I thought, may be its colonialism. This pushed my quest for answers and then I got answers to my long awaited questions and thoughts. The environment we find ourselves has created in us a very low self-worth for our natural skin colour. Especially female who lack self-esteem and want to feel among because of the thought of the societies love for light skinned and the fear of been ostracized from their community. Now, what is skin bleaching?
Skin Bleaching or whitening refers to a deliberate interference with the natural functions of melanin (the pigment in the body that gives the skin its colour) by the use of substances mainly cream and soaps that tones and lighten skin colour.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 77 percent of Nigerian women use skin-lightening / bleaching products, the world’s highest percentage. This is due to the fact that there is an existing false notion that fair or light skinned people are classy, more beautiful and acceptable, which makes the dark skin women obsessed with bleaching agents.
But the dangers that are associated with this bleaching agents are enormous which contain
hydroquinone, corticosteroids or mercury, which opens the skin and make it prone to all sort of harm and diseases. read more
There are more than a few adverse effects of regular skin bleaching. Some of them include:
Skin irritation, Skin rashes, Burning sensation, Excessive redness
Flakiness or excessive drying of the skin, leading to cracking and peeling.
The extensive use of hydroquinone-based products can lead to a condition called ‘Ochronosis’ which causes blue-black dark patches on certain areas of the skin
Hydroquinone makes the skin considerably more sensitive to the UV rays of the sun. This makes the users of skin lightening products more prone to serious sunburns and skin cancers.
Hydroquinone is a known mutagenic, and is said to significantly increase the risk of diseases such as adrenal dysfunction, liver diseases and has also been connected to various thyroid disorders
Research shows that Hydroquinone has clear carcinogenic properties and is known to cause leukaemia in mice and other animals
Hydroquinone in combination with another compound known as Tretinoin is also known to cause significant liver damage upon prolonged use
Over-dose or prolonged use of Hydroquinone based whitening products may lead to skin lightening on the face, but can lead to hyper-pigmentation of the body’s extremities such as the fingers, toes, and ears
Extended use of mercury based skin lightening products can cause serious skin discoloration and hyper-pigmentation along with severe scarring
Long-term use of mercury based products can also affect the systemic health in that it is closely associated with psychosis, depression, as kidney dysfunction
The use of high-doses of corticosteroids slows down the skin cell regeneration leading to a thinning of the top most layer of the skin or the epidermis. This not only makes people uses the skin bleaching products more susceptible to sun damage, and various pigmentation issues, it can also lead to the increased visibility of the green/blue veins of the body.
Steroids used in skin lightening creams over an extended period of time are also known to lead to hormone imbalances, and have the potential to cause diseases such as Cushing's Syndrome – a condition which adversely affects the body’s adrenal glands
The cocktail of the various chemical compounds used in skin lightening products is also known to exacerbate the effect of skin infections and diseases such as acne, eczema, and dermatitis. read more
In a nutshell, love your skin colour and be proud of it. Been dark skinned does not mean you are an out cast Black is beautiful. Use natural skin products, live your best do not let the misconception of light skinned people are more beautiful lead you to skin bleaching.
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