According to a survey report from AL Jazeera, Nigeria has the world’s highest percentage of women using skin lightening agents in the quest for “beauty”.
Lightening creams are not effectively regulated in Nigeria where even roadside vendors sell tubes and plastic bags of powders and ointments from cardboard boxes stacked along sidewalks in market districts. Many of the tubes are unlabelled as to their actual ingredients. This let many to bleaching without even knowing what will happen to their skin sooner or later. For Nigerians only abide to force.
Harmful Effects of Skin Whitening or Bleaching
Bleaching is, in fact, a process in which the hair on the skin is bleached to match with the actual skin tone. However, the side effects are:
- Dark grey spots
- Skin cancer
- Acne
- Swelling of the skin
- Thinning of the skin
- Cataracts
- Setting down of fat on face, chest, upper back and stomach
- Increase in appetite and weight gain
- Osteoporosis
- Neurological and kidney damage due to high level of mercury used in the creams
- Psychiatric disorders
- Severe birth defects
- Asthma
- Liver damage
Some of these side effects could be seen almost immediately while some are seen after prolonged use of skin whitening creams.
Credit: AL Jazeera and India Parenting