The dark side of skin lighteners

South African singer Mshoza says skin bleaching boosts her confidence.

South African singer Mshoza says skin bleaching boosts her confidence.

Published Jul 22, 2015

Share

Lagos: Anu Julius, 29, began using bleaching creams after her sister suggested she “do something about” her dark skin tone. Four weeks later, her arms and legs started to itch, and her face felt tight.

“My skin can’t tolerate the sun anymore,” the hairstylist says as she attends to a customer in her salon in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos.

“It burns. I have to use an umbrella when I go out.”

Nevertheless, Julius says she is happy with the cream’s results.

“My skin looks smooth and beautiful, and my boyfriend likes it,” she says, choosing to ignore the warning signs.

Three out of four women in Nigeria use over-the-counter products to lighten their skin, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

They choose to do so even though the creams are known to have severe side effects.

In Togo, 59% of women regularly use skin-lightening creams, the organisation found. In South Africa, it’s every third woman, in Mali one in four.

Most of the creams and lotions available in Africa contain illegal, toxic ingredients such as mercury, steroids and the bleaching agent hydroquinone, which can cause cancer, hyper-pigmentation and irreparable skin damage, the WHO warns.

When South African dermatologist Nonhlanhla Khumalo noticed an increasing number of patients showing skin damage caused by years of bleaching, she thought, “I gotta do something”.

She lobbied for a laboratory within the University of Cape Town that specialises in the research of toxic ingredients in skincare products. In May, she reached her goal: The Hair and Skin Research Lab opened its doors.

The doctor has tested 29 skin-bleaching products from vendors in Cape Town since then, finding that nearly all of them contain illegal ingredients, often in large percentages.

“Initially, the products make the skin look lighter, which lures people in,” Khumalo says, “but then the side effects kick in, and the damage is usually irreparable.”

At Cape Town’s train station, a few kilometres from the laboratory, a cluster of small shops offer a wide choice of skin lighteners.

Fair and White, White Express, Extreme Glo, Carowhite, Black & White, Vite Fee, Dynamiclair and Skinlight line the shelves.

The toxic ingredients are often listed clearly on the packaging, but customers don’t seem to be put off. The beauty ideal that decrees that lighter shades of brown are prettier is so strong across Africa that most women throw caution to the wind.

The fact that magazines and advertisers across the world continue to Photoshop celebrities’ skin tones adds to the social pressure. A number of African stars actively promote skin bleaching.

Singer Nomasonto Maswanganyi, known as Mshoza, caused a media storm in 2011 when she medically lightened her skin colour by several shades, announcing it made her feel more beautiful and confident. Skin bleaching is a personal choice like having breast implants or a nose job, Mshoza explained.

When Nigerian-Cameroonian musician Dencia launched her Whitenicious skin care range last year, products flew off the shelves.

“Lightening your skin is a real beauty statement here,” says Bintou Dembele, who works in the textile industry in Mali’s capital, Bamako.

Using skin bleach is like smoking, Dembele says: “You know about the risks but do it anyway.

“You assume it’ll happen to someone else, not to you. If the creams were banned, women would be furious.”

ANA-DPA

Related Topics: