There is evidence to support this. While there is no substantial data on the use of skin lightening products around the world, a World Health Organization report claims that 77 percent of Nigerian women use them on a regular basis.
But WHO warns that hydroquinone’s side effects include dermatitis (skin irritation), blue-black discolouration and even blindness.Some creams contain steroids, compounds that doctors sometimes prescribe to treat skin conditions such as eczema, allergic reactions and dermatitis, which are meant to be used for not more than seven days and only on affected areas.
Although Burkholderia infections are rare, when they do take hold, they are deadly.
It is a major part of tackling what has become a significant public health problem. However, the better job opportunities and elevated status that lighter skin may bring, paint a different picture -- a picture of African women making an entirely rational, calculated, business-like decision. According to one estimate, more than 70 million people in Nigeria use skin-lightening products regularly, making Africa's most populous country the capital for skin bleaching. Shirley Anne Tate. However, the better job opportunities and elevated status that lighter skin may bring, paint a different picture -- a picture of African women making an entirely rational, calculated, business-like decision. They are popular in the Caribbean, South America, Asia, the Middle East, and several African countries. In psychology research, it is known as the "the halo effect" -- we tend to assume someone has other positive qualities because they possess one; hence the better someone looks, the better a person we think they are. For black and brown consumers, living in places like the United States and South Africa where racism and colorism have flourished, even slight differences in skin color could carry political and social consequences.Skin lighteners can be physically harmful. Skin lightening products are unbelievably popular in Nigeria. Pages 5-36.
South Africa banned mercurial cosmetics in 1975, the European Economic Union in 1976, and Nigeria in 1982. Edward Ademolu, a PhD researcher at the UK's University of Manchester, defines colorism as "an intra-racial complexion-based hierarchy, that often affords societal, cultural, economic privileges and favoritism towards lighter-skinned people and discrimination against those with darker complexions." Skin lighteners ranked among the most commonly used personal products in black urban households.
Some have chosen to change the names of their products, but is this enough for those campaigning against their use?Many skin bleaching or skin lightening creams contain chemicals banned under safety regulations. Last year, Matthew Knowles, father of singer, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, one of the world's most successful entertainers, addressed this issue in He believes that his daughter is more accepted in the entertainment industry because of her light skin and goes on to point out that "virtually no black popstars with darker skin had broken through in the past decade. Other countries followed suit. In fact, bleaching products are reportedly the fourth most sought-after household item by African women, alongside … Consumers included white, black, and brown women.In the 1920s and 1930s, many white consumers swapped skin lighteners for tanning lotions as time spent sunbathing and playing outdoors became a sign of a healthy and leisured lifestyle.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report in 2011 estimating that 77% of Nigerian women use skin lightening products regularly. There’s this whole thing called mental slavery. First one is colorism, people talk about the discrimination against darker skin tones. "In his book, Knowles wrote that even his mother disapproved of him having dark-skinned girlfriends.
Self-Hate: An Old Debate Revisited.
Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.A Kenyan beautician illustrates how to apply skin-lightening cream.Although safer alternatives exist, many of the bleaching and lightening products used in Africa contain harmful ingredients such as mercury and high-dose steroids.These ingredients can cause kidney failure and other illnesses, making skin bleaching a public health problem that governments need to address.However, many healthcare problems in Nigeria and across Africa are not just clinical, they are economical and social. This is evident in many parts of Africa, where light-skinned women are considered more beautiful and therefore more likely to succeed in some fields, such as in the modeling and movie industries. Make sure the bleaching amount not to exceed otherwise it may cause discoloration. This is the reason I believe banning these products will not completely solve the problem.We must open up a conversation around skin color and beauty and the media, particularly the fashion media, which must feature other types of beauty beyond the Western ideal, to end this color bias. In China and Japan too, elite women and some men used white lead preparations and rice powder to achieve complexions resembling white jade or fresh lychee.Skin lighteners generate a less painted look than skin whiteners by removing rather than concealing blemished or melanin-rich skin.
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