Black skin: the dangers of skin whitening
As in Asia, some women in African countries consider that fair skin is synonymous with beauty and
According to a WHO report published in 2011 in Nigeria, three-quarters of women regularly used skin-whitening products. This phenomenon is still widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, which is transmitted as a legacy from generation to generation. Fatou, a 27-year-old Senegalese woman, saw her grandmother, her mother and her aunts coat her face with whitening products. "The mixture of shea butter and steroids cream could sometimes cause reactions like inflammation, spots or pimples," recalls the young woman.
"In the world of fashion in Africa, the more your skin is clear, the more you are considered pretty," says Ajuma Nasenyana, a Kenyan model interviewed by AFP in a report broadcast in August 2018. "L 'old generation used creams, the new generation uses pills and injections,' adds AFP Lester Davids, a professor of human biology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
"Better considered socially with a clearer complexion"
Beyond aesthetics, there are several reasons that can cause black women to clear their skin. Leslie Carombo, cosmetologist and founder of Cosmethnic Consulting explains: "There is the fear of being too black, the idea that the mixed or white complexion is more attractive and the impression that we will be better considered socially with a complexion. These are aesthetic causes, but also psychological, ethnological, social and educational ". An exhibition of Western culture and immaculate skin denounced in March 2016 during the campaign "Unfair and lovely" - unjust and pretty - in reference to the name of the main whitening cream sold in Asia and named "Fair and lovely" -cloud and pretty-. The hashtag #unfairandlovely quickly became viral on Instagram and Twitter.
Brands are also many to surf the trend, choosing to assign the name "brightening" to products to get a brighter complexion or to reduce brown spots.
Javel, corticosteroids, lead, mercury
"I remember one of my aunts who added bleach in some of the preparations she applied to her face and cleavage morning and night," says 32-year-old Aissatou from Kenya.
More common method, the use of whitening creams - prohibited on the French market - composed of lead, cortisone or hydroquinone, a substance which, used in a regular way can be carcinogenic and irreversibly degrade the skin (lupus erythematosus, contact dermatitis ...).
And if bleaching products containing high concentrations of hydroquinone and mercury have been banned in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, a quick search on the Internet can get the harmful preparations. Asked by AFP, Rasheedah Adesokan, general practitioner in Nigeria denounces the stratagems of brands to continue to sell. "Some companies have even begun to label their products as organic cosmetics."
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