THE DANGERS OF SKIN BLEACHING
Growing up as the eldest child, I have vivid memories of sneaking into my mother’s kitchen to snatch a piece of succulent meat from her oha soup. Knowing that the meat would be counted, I’d cut off chunks from each meat and I’d carefully coat off the evidence of my theft with a slab of soup, hoping to evade detection. Stomach satisfied; mission accomplished yet same number of meats. It was a skill I mastered at a tender age, and to my surprise, my younger sister, Somto, soon followed suit. One Saturday morning, I was startled by my mother’s exclamation as she caught Somto red-handed, mimicking my covert meat heist. It was a moment that made me ponder the power of observational learning, realizing that Somto had absorbed my actions without any formal instruction.
We are wired to learn by imitation, and this has permeated not only our language but our perception of beauty. This is evidently seen in the #EstherblishChallenge trend which in a subtle way promotes bleaching as a cool thing. A girl witnessing a relative or a celebrity undertake a skincare regimen can be swiftly influenced to begin her pursuit of complexion transformation. And so, in a world where truth often takes a backseat to preference, the allure of fairness becomes enticing. After all, the mirror mirror on the wall in the Snow-White fairy tale poses the question of ‘who is the fairest of them all?’ not who is the darkest or most beautiful.
Fairness is the ‘heaven’ that most dark and lovely women would rather sacrifice their natural ebony glow for. It is not surprising therefore that even after preaching the gospel of skin bleaching disasters like skin cancer, mercury poisoning and some other irreversible damages which a number of bleached celebrities never publicly talk about, many still turn deaf ears to them. Now, let’s zoom our camera lenses into the science of bleaching to better understand it. And our journey begins on the skin.
Our skin’s color is determined by melanocytes, which produce melanin, the pigment responsible for skin tone. Melanin is not just the skin’s crayon but also our natural protectors against harmful UV rays. This natural defense mechanism is particularly important in individuals of African descent, whose melanocytes are more active. In essence, melanin serves as nature’s sunscreen, safeguarding our skin from sun damage and promoting long-term skin health.
Melanin’s protective role becomes even more crucial in light of recent environmental changes. Have you ever pondered whether the sun feels harsher now than it did a decade ago? The truth is you felt right! Climate shifts, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, have led to ozone layer depletion. This depletion means that our natural ‘atmospheric shield’ against harmful UV rays is weakening. Imagine your skin as a road, and the sun’s rays as air-cushioned truck tires grinding upon it. Now, consider the consequences of bleaching, which diminishes melanin production, effectively removing an essential layer of protection against these progressively intensifying rays. It’s akin to a car grinding on your road-like skin with just the metallic rim — imagine that harsh, scraping sound — yeah, it’s noiseless but your melanin-devoid skin screams through hell even when you smile.
Continuous bleaching can accelerate skin aging, leading to the premature appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin. Harsh chemicals like hydroquinone, mercury, and corticosteroids in many skin-whitening products disrupt the skin’s natural balance, compromising elasticity and firmness. This causes individuals to grapple with aging concerns earlier than non-bleaching counterparts. To all the darlings who love to look like sweet sixteen babe even when you’re gradually approaching sixty, you might agree with me that this is your enemy of progress hugging you skintight. Quickly looking old is not something you’d really want to trade for fairest-of-them-all, or is it?
Now if that’s not the figurative tenth plague that breaks the unconvinced Pharoah in your mind, here’s another bitter truth. As a customer of skin bleaching, you know, after all the glams and fairness shimmer, chances are you might want to settle to have a family. Studies according to Minnesota Department of health show that pregnant women and women of childbearing age should avoid exposure to mercury — one of the ingredients of most skin whitening products — so as to avoid mercury exposure to the highly-sensitive unborn babies, infants and children. And the World Health Organization, WHO, in a publication titled “Children’s Exposure to Mercury Compounds” further shows that a variety of damages such as congenital malformations, infantile cerebral palsy and neurocognitive effects such as tampering cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills are a few of the symptoms of mercury exposure for most of the bleaching creams out there. In simple words, the children both born and unborn becomes less intelligent, less able to behave themselves properly in the society and less able to have and apply common sense in day-to-day activities. Seems like it's not just the skin that is being bleached, here.
In conclusion, while the allure of achieving a lighter complexion may seem enticing, the risks associated with skin bleaching far outweigh any perceived benefits. From irreversible skin damage to heightened cancer risks and the effects on children around you, the consequences are grave and far-reaching. It’s time to embrace and celebrate the beauty of our natural skin tones, prioritizing health and self-acceptance over societal standards of beauty. After all, true radiance shines from within, untouched by the harmful effects of bleaching. I hope this article has been able to establish facts and reasons why the #Estherblish Challenge is not for you.
References:
6 Surprising Factors That Can Accelerate the Aging of Your Skin (usnews.com)
https://www.aad.org/news/dangers-skin-bleaching-to-achieve-lighter-complexion
Children’s exposure to mercury compounds (who.int)
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241500456
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/physiologic_effects.html
