With the recent debut of Bill Duke’s “Light Girls,” many women and men have turned their attention to prevalent issues of colorism among people of color around the world.
One aspect of the conversation that was consistently included among viewers of the documentary, and oftentimes related to colorism, is skin bleaching, a practice that has been gaining popularity for the past decade, not only in Africa, but also in America and various other countries. In 2013, a study by the University of Cape Town found that more than 1/3 of women in South Africa (35%) bleach their skin because they want to have “white skin.†Nigerians are the biggest users of bleaching agents, with 77% of women using the products on a regular basis. While the practice may seem harmless, dermatologists are seeing growing numbers of skin and blood cancers as well as an increase in burns, skin damage, and ochronosis. Besides just health risks, the topic is also a lightning for controversy in the media. Celebrities, such as Beyoncé, Lupita Nyong’o, India Arie, have all appeared on the cover of magazines as a noticeably different color than they actually are.
Check out more quick stats about skin bleaching and the business behind it on the next pages …
1. Consumers know little to nothing about the side effects of skin bleaching. While trend is on an upward path, scientists agree that we really don’t know the long-term health effects. According to Elite Daily, the mercury level in skin-whitening creams hint at the dangerous nature of chemicals, and without regulation we remain in the dark with the negative effects. Dr. Pranav Pancholi, a dermatologist and Harvard graduate, has spoken about the danger and how little we know about the new craze. He told Vice, “The products used on the streets are not used by certified professionals. The trade in black market creams and injections is completely unregulated. There is no way of knowing just how dangerous they are.”
2. Use is causing more racial and diversity divides, critics say. Images of beauty in the 21st century oftentimes revolves around flawless and fair complexions, oftentimes supporting discrimination based on skin tone, experts have said.
Oprah has even weighed in on colorism, stating that it is a “light skin-dark skin prejudice when people of color discriminate against each other with people within their own race.”
Reasons for widespread use of bleaching creams to achieve lighter complexions in places like the
Caribbean and Africa have become firerods for controversy, as the historical background is massive in black communities. Before the Emancipation Proclamation, lighter-skinned slaves were given less work and were ranked higher up by slaveowners. After the abolishment of slavery, lighter skinned blacks still made up the “Negro Elite†group in society.“If we really want to control the spread of the skin-bleaching virus, we first have to admit that there’s an epidemic of color prejudice in our society,” said Carolyn Cooper, a professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of the West Indies, wrote in The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.
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3. Skin bleaching products are major revenue drivers.
“Skin bleaching is a growing phenomenon around the world and it’s becoming a bigger business,” Dr. Margaret Hunter, head of the Sociology Department at Mills College told the Huffington Post. “Now it’s a multi-billion dollar business and all the biggest cosmetic companies sell products that are supposed to lighten your skin.”
This year alone, the market for a group of certain drugs including mercury creams is reportedly projected to reach $10 billion. It is a multi-billion dollar market in Africa alone, with the global market being projected to reach $19.8 billion by 2018 based on sales mostly based in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
4. There is science behind the reason people bleach their skin.
Skin color bias exists, and it affects people on a psychological level, according to some studies. Kavitha Emmanuel, the director of Dark is Beautiful campaign, has worked with children and young people during the projet and after seeing how color still affects them she stated, ” The issue of skin colour kept coming up. We saw how it makes young people — especially young girls — feel as if they’re not good enough. Skin colour bias affects people psychologically. It affects how a child performs in school because their confidence level goes down: they feel they are not good enough. And when it comes to marriage, we again find skin colour plays such a vital role. We thought, ‘Why are we keeping quiet about this? We should talk about this and see how people respond.'” If women don’t feel good enough about themselves, they’re going to keep buying the product, and the market will continue to grow, continuing the vicious cycle of racism.
5. Hydroquinone, which is the chemical most commonly used in skin lightening products, was actually banned in Europe during the 2000’s. It is now only available in a small amount when prescribed by doctors.
According to Vice, beauticians abroad have began providing injection services for wealthy clientele who want to lighten their skin. One product used by a woman in Kenya contain AHAs, or alpha hydroxy acids. Dr Pranav Pancholi, indicated to Vice that alpha hydroxy acids are a type of corrosive compound used in chemical peels and can cause serious health problems if used incorrectly. The article goes on to state that “Medical professionals don’t normally inject products containing AHAs as they can cause serious infection and kill body tissue causing flesh to waste away. ”
Would you inject or use a beauty product knowing that it is toxic or may have long-term health risks? Share your thoughts with us below or #Soundoff with @BlackEnterprise on Twitter.