In search of beauty, many women and even some men have turned to the use of the wide range of creams, soaps and other bleaching products which contain highly concentrated chemicals such as hydroquinone, steroid, mercury and other chemicals.
The crave for bleaching, whitening or toning as it may be called of the black skin is on the rise because celebrities and other prominent people who serve as role models to many people have been the ambassadors of some of these bleaching agents. Also, the heavy media advertisement intended to entice viewers has won the heart of many people attracting them to use a variety of bleaching products.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines bleaching as the intentional alteration of one's natural skin colour to one relatively if not substantially, lighter in colour through the use of chemical skin lightening agents either manufactured, homemade or a combination of the two.
Producers of bleaching products are making millions of dollars by flooding markets especiallyin Africa with variety of creams such as skin toners, carrot light, lightening shampoos, soaps among others.
In an interview, a Health and Beauty Therapist, Madam Nikki Boa-Amponsem, said the issue of bleaching had become more complex and a psychological issue because people who bleach show that they are not happy with the colour of their skin. That, she said, also meant the situation was no more related to the use of cosmetics.
Touching on the variety of bleaching agents, she said although there were common creams that were easily identified for bleaching, others did not have any inscription on them yet the use of such products bleached the skin without the knowledge of the user.
Another process to fade off the black skin, she said, was the oral way which entailed taking drugs which ware meant to cure diseases.
“The manufacturers of some of these drugs have realised that some ingredients such as steroid contained in drugs were agents of bleaching, therefore they are now manufacturing those drugs for bleaching” she explained.
That, she said, had serious implications not only on the skin but on some organs including the kidney and vital human organs because they were manufactured to cure particular diseases.
Madam Boa-Amponsem, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of 2nd Image School, explained that when the drug gets into the body and there was no disease to work on then it turns to work on the organs.
That, she described, as very dangerous to a person’s health. Others, she said, also used machines to facilitate the process of bleaching.
How bleaching products work on the skin
The melanocytes cell produced the black pigment melanin which gives the skin the colour, absorbs and protects the harmful ultraviolet rays which are produced naturally.
Persons with black skin, in a tropical area such as Ghana, needs an amount of pigment melanin to absorb and protect the skin from the sun rays because the sun rays are not filtered.
The use of all sorts of creams, soaps and other products that have high concentration of steroid, hydroquinone, mercury and other chemicals persistent by people fight and prevent the pigment melanin from multiplying and performing its task of absorbing and protecting the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays.
The pigment melanin begins to deteriorate gradually and the skin begins to look pale and gives way to the light and white skin. That is how bleaching takes place on the skin.
The excessive ultraviolet rays now gets into the skin paving the way for skin cancer, premature aging by wrinkling and thinning of skin and other skin blemishes.
Benefits of the black skin
In the article “Skin bleaching - is it pleasing in the eyes of the Lord” written by Professor Badu Akosa, a Pathologist, explained that, there were six skin types ranging from the very sensitive which burns easily and never tan to the insensitive, never burns and is deeply pigmented.
“The sun rays may be beneficial in producing Vitamin D which is very necessary in the body’s use of calcium and ensures the strength of our bones but more importantly, the rays are dangerous”, he said
He explained that the ultraviolet rays in a sensitive skin type causes premature ageing evident by wrinkling, caused by the destruction of the elastic fibres which maintains the integrity of the skin, thinning of the skin and white patches from increased keratin.
“Ghana’s geographical position as the country closest to the real centre of the world means the sun rays are almost perpendicular to the earth surface unlike other countries beyond latitude 30N or S where the rays are oblique” he said.
According to him, the sun rays in areas such as the Europe, Russia and Canada were not as harsh as that of Ghana because the sun rays had been filtered by the cloud, thick layers, smog and fog, adding that “These areas are best suited to the fair skinned races” he stated.
Reasons for bleaching
Discrimination against the black skin, especially during the era of apartheid and colonialism still persists, making some black skinned people feel inferior. Consequently, black people all over the world currently, including those in the West Indians, Latinos, Asians and African American have all turned to bleaching.
This has led to the definition of beauty of a woman in Africa as the one who is fair, therefore most African men prefer the light skinned to the black skinned woman.
A sociological study by Evelyn Nakano Glenn, a professor of gender and women’s studies at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a NYTimes.com post on skin whitening., says “…It is not as if dark-skinned women are imagining a bias. Among African-Americans and also Latinos, there was a clear connection between skin colour and socioeconomic status. It’s not some fantasy. There is prejudice against dark-skinned people, especially women in the so-called marriage market” she said.
When asked why she would want to be fair, 26-year –old Nanayaa said “I want to look attractive and also get the opportunities other fair ladies are getting”.
This is what 18-year-old Belinda Anane also had to say when asked the same question.
“People who tone their skin look prettier and their skin alone attract great opportunities for them”
Is bleaching reversible?
Many would ask if the journey to the fair world could be reversed. The answer is yes and no.
According to Madam Boa- Amponsem, “one can only reverse a bleaching skin depending on how deep the damage was to the skin”.
“When the skin is badly damaged then it would be very difficult to reverse” she stated.
“However, it could be reversed but would take a very long time and it was also not likely for the person to get the natural skin as it used be” she said.
She added that bleaching can damage some places on the body permanently and could not be changed.
Bleaching among pregnant women
When asked if there were any effects of bleaching on pregnant women, Madam Boa-Amponsam stressed that bleaching during pregnancy could have serious implications on the fetus leading to deformity of the baby.
She said bleaching was not recommended and was no way good for the skin.
“Bleaching in the first place should not be started at all for any reason whatsoever” she advised.
But to those who want to stop, she recommended a makeup as cover-up so that they could go through the process without being seen.
Society, she urged, should encourage people who wanted to stop bleaching rather than criticise them.
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