The ban on skin whitening creams has been a long time coming. I do not know if you have heard about this, but last Wednesday Ivory Coast officials announced that they had serious concerns about the long term health issues that were raised based on the use of skin whitening creams.
As such they moved into swift action and banned specific creams and lotions that contain the ingredient hydroquinone in the amounts of 2% or more.
According to Christian Doudouko the number of people who were experiencing side effects from the cream’s are alarmingly high. Here’s what they had to say:
“Cosmetic lightening and hygiene creams … that depigment the skin … are now forbidden”
Which means that the number of people using these types of cosmetics is even higher. In this day and age as we work on self appreciation I do not know why I am surprised at the continued popularity of these bleaching agents.
The side effects include skin cancer, diabetes, mercury poisoning and hypertension, all of which have been linked to the long term use of these creams.
One of the problems we think contribute to the continued popularity of these cosmetics is the fact that they are so embraced by pop culture artists.
Our society is very much influenced by what these people do and how they look, and areas like West Africa, are just as vulnerable to mass media images like many of us are in the US.
To that point The Guardian said:
Although there are no official figures on how many women use such products across Africa, billboards advertising the potentially deadly creams can be seen in cities across the continent.
“In our cultures, some people think women with light skin are the most beautiful. This beauty standard … pushes many girls to depigment their skin,” Ekra said.
“What we see in the media is the lighter one’s skin is, the better one’s life,” he added, referring to advertisements that fill the streets of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s biggest city, showing models with lighter-than-average skin.
Remember when Dencia pictured above debuted her new skin tone after using the cosmetic line Whitenicious? Even though many of us spoke out against it there are still women supporting the brand based on her endorsement.
In countries like Jamaica and on the Continent of Africa generally we can only hope that these warnings are taken onboard by the masses. Still I fear that this could just lead to booming ‘black market’ sales of these products.
Yes we need to ban skin bleaching creams in more areas but until then maybe we can turn things around by educating people and helping them to embrace their dark skin realizing that it is beautiful just the way it is.
See more on skin bleaching:
Skin Bleaching Addiction [Video]
The Tyra Show- Mom Gets Caught BLEACHING HER KIDS SKIN!!!! [Video]
Why beach?????
This is the dumbest s**t I ever seen!!! trust I’ve seen some dumb s**t!!!
I think they should all be pictured as who they are and not what everyone wants them to look like.
Annick Olivia Andre Cherry thinking back to our many conversations, isn’t this great! Hopefully the focus will become more about self love, especially starting from childhood.
People can still make their own homemade skin lightening cream. I try to be happy in my own skin but I wouldn’t begin to tell others how to live.
Love the skin your in I love who I am and where am from DR!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes it’s not about hating who u are but I personally have used it because of trying to lighten up spots from acne.
Thats different! but to completely change ur appearance that a problem.. #selfhatred. Sorry but thats the truth.
I’m just trying to point out that it’s not always about self hatred because I have no reason for that. Just wanted to point out people use it for more than one reason
Exactly Angie. Besides that it’s no one else’s business or right to tell someone what to do with their body.
Clearly, this chick was not trying to lighten A spot
Not the same. They were born dark, you weren’t born with acne scars. It’s self hatred
Not talking about scars or small imperfections… This idiot can check the Caucasian box now, so clearly she hates her skin.
Good.. love the skin ur in
The rest of the world needs to follow suit.
The problem isn’t the bleaching cream. The problem is society is screwed up and nobody seems to notice, and if they do it’s simply accepted.
It’s no one’s business or right to tell anyone how they should look. I use skin lightening cream on my cystic acne scars. Prescription from My dermatologist. I guess I should be happy though in my own skin right? People thinking there is something wrong with me because I look like a Crack head with all the scars on my face.
Really grateful I for the stuff I use. People just need to remember that not everyone uses it to change who they are :/.
But as I stated, not my business or place on how one uses it. Personally I wouldn’t use it to that effect, but if I did then that’s all me.
Good…
Lightening spot from acne and bleaching ones entire body is not the same thing. People are getting out of control with the toxic chemicals they are mixing to make this happen. It is very expensive to continue the procedures necessary to maintain the skin’s tone once it has been lightened, so they are mixing liquid bleach, hair bleach, and other toxic chemicals together with over the counter bleaching cremes. They are destroying their skin and possibly putting their health at risk just to obtain light skin. It’s foolishness and its destructive. Whatever Dencia is using is obviously top notch and is not what poor people can afford. She, Vybz Kartel and others like them are to blame for perpetuating the mentality that white is right. Some people have no common sense and look to celebrities and the media to guide them.
That must be a struggle rubbing that sh** in every day LMAO ass PUSS everything love your skin lol looking like milk disgusting
Her “new” skin doesn’t even look healthy. It looks like she had white chalk drawn on. And they had to do blonde hair because if she had dark hakr you could really tell how unhealthy it is.
I wonder……. So when they put it on do they scrub the skin ? Or just leave it on ?
They rub it in like lotion Priscilla Coleman
That’s honestly scary to me, you have the African/black facial features and your skin is pale-er than a white person…
Wow…that’s just so sad…smh
It seems like that has to be more than just cream…with cream you would miss spots and damn you would have to sleep in gallons of it..that looks like some medical procedure
Wow..she messed up her beautiful brown skin.. What a shame..
Don’t forget that she is Photoshopped..and probably also got som body-makeup on..
Love the skin you was born with
She looks scary tht light like it doesn’t even look healthy fr fr smh!!!! Shameful start loving ur self.
??????? How is this even possible? Is this a lifelong habit? Skin cell turnover will still happen. Her natural skin color is still darker. So will she have to continue using these chemicals for the rest of her life in order to stay this light?
To each is own. I’m happy with the skin I’m in but if one chooses to bleach their skin that’s their choice. Who am I to judge
Self hate
Smh sad
She looks like a alien cancer patient
Im super white and told to tan, i refuse due to what it does to your skin. Its not healthy. You can get cancer.
Its the same going from dark to light.
Im happy being pale. I easily burn and any sun gives me changes in my skin pigmentation.
I think all different coloured – white, brown and black – women are pressured to looked Different than they are and its wrong.
I’m a dark skinned black and I cannot tell any difference. I love my skin. I don’t think men or anyone would treat me differently if I was lighter. I’d just be a lighter negro.. what do I know? I had a friend who was mixed and she used to get mad when we went out. She’d say..why are they all hitting on you? I’m the yellow one, I should be getting all the men.” So personally, I love being chocolate..doesn’t give me any complex…hmmm come to think of it, she liked white men and most ignored her and talked to me.. most of the black men though loved her though but she preferred the white guys..shrug*..I honestly don’t base my self worth on others point of view.
I hear you, I’m not the lightest person out here and I’m am told I need a tan. I love the skin I am in.
Why am I reading that black folks trying to get darker and now this blacks trying to get lighter wtf smh people ur beautiful just the way u r plz stop this craziness
Why would you want to do this? It sure as hell won’t make you happy.
Good! Be who you are
Ewwwwwwe!
Looks better in the skin she was born on
She was pretty before she did the skin bleaching.
A problem in the US too. I went to Walmart in the Atlanta Metro area and in the skincare section, all the skin-lightening products were sold out!
White/light skin is not the end all be all. Love the skin you’re in.
Good causes cancer.
Love who God made you to be. You are perfectly & wonderfully made
This ain’t the same women
If they ban whitening cream then they should ban tanning. Both are unhealthy
Ugh yall so ikry, who cares !!! If someone wants lighter skin let them be! Are they paying your bills? Do they have ANY effect on your life? No? Ok shut the hell up.
That’s the same argument smokers used. But the fact is when these people get cancer and need medical care the taxpayers could be responsible for footing the bill. I’m not interested in paying for other people’s stupid mistakes.
People’s opinions and complaining is not going to stop grown people from doing what they wanna do period!
This self hatred is so sad…she was such a beautiful woman prior to the bleaching
Weird
The cream is toxic to the body…
Smh
Trying to reach a standard of beauty that is not hers (european). She is a beautiful women and did not need to do this to herself. Sadly we are all taught to reach for something we are not (black, white, brown, green w/ pink polka dots!) We have anorexia, bulimia, tanning, bleaching, waist cinchers, butt lifters and all other means of changing our outside appearance all because we are unhappy on the inside. STOP!! Please love yourself as you are. There is no model or standard that you have to hold yourselves up to. The good Lord created you the way you are because YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
How is she able to do this, when i can’t even get rid of dark spots on certain parts of my body.
Ok!! I just need a lil help with my under arm area, & elbows hell!…
^^^exactly, those are the areas I’m TRYING to work on
They also take pills and other extreme measures to help.
That’s insane
Your under arms and elbows are supposed to be darker. An even white folks have a darker hue in those areas smh
She has a line of products called whitenious which she made
Body-makeup and Photoshop 😉
Ewww!!!
Love the skin your in….MY BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL!!!
She used to be gorgeous when she was black
Her life her choice
Love the skin ur in not society’
I don’t see why someone who wants to whiten their skin is anyone’s business. Like it’s their body they can do what they want, it’s got nothing to do with me.
Scary!
Is it really her? WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE KEEP WHAT GOD GAVE YOU. PLEASE
Is that really the same female? Why would she do that to herself?
The brown skin is far more beautiful that that pretend color she’s trying to be
Fix the mentality and the rest will follow. Black is beautiful.
And always will be. We are God’s creation.
Exactly
This is sad.. #therapy
A Hot Mess
I like her natural Skin color
I hope more countries will follow. Proud
Yes maam
Good
There’s a difference between using it to get rid of dark spot and trying to change your skin color a totally different color. This ignorant woman has downed women with dark skin color and said she looked better and was better because she was lighter. Smh…but whatever, I’m glad its getting banned.
In India skin bleaching is also popular. ..
Good
Welp! One thing for sure you can’t change is DNA!!
My thoughts are not my body not my problem.
Why my country is taking some serious innovative lately
I love my skin. It saddens me that other people don’t love their skin. I once tried to claim everything in me but it didn’t feel right I feel 100 percent Black and I don’t want to change that. I hate what society has done to this girl to make her alter herself this much.
I jus wanna lighten up the dark circles around my eyes
Use vitamin e capsules at night. Take a multivitamin, drink water and stop hitting the snooze button.
She looked sooooo much prettier with brown skin… #AllBlackIsBeautiful
Ubsolutely disgusted
A damn shame
Goooooodddddd
Don’t really care what she chose to do with her body. Is it just me, or did that treatment make her look ashy white?
She looked beautiful with her beautiful brown skin.
The outside wont fix the inside….. No matter how much you change what God granted you from the outside you will ALWAYS be who he made within. Beauty starts within above all so love yourself regardless.
Clearly people that use these harmful chemicals lack knowledge of themselves! Its so sad…….but if that’s what makes them feel good about themselves, then let them live..
I see so many dark-skinned individuals from foreign countries bleaching. I don’t understand. I love the skin I’m in; black skin that is.❤️
Doesn’t change the way of thinking, that white skin is better. Society must change
That’s a bit scary …
You should love the skin that your in. Don’t let anybody bring down your self-esteem about dark your skin is. It’s beautiful either way.
She was beautiful before
I think she definitely looked better with her natural brown skin…
Ridiculous.
Why why why, women you need to love who you are and how the lord made you . Appreciate your self .
They banned alcohol during prohibition and people still made their own moonshine, corn liquor, pruno and whatever else which was worse because some of these things were tested to be over 300 proof.
In the liquor store the most you can buy is 150 proof I believe so this stuff was twice as strong.
It’s because society treats them better the only way for you to ever understand this is to spend a week as a dark skinned black female and see the real prejudice that causes these woman to want to lighten there skin.
How can they lighten their whole body when I can’t get rid of the dark spots on my hands, knees, face
I say let them bleach themselves to death
Y’all are worried about somebody bleaching their OWN skin and missing the biggest issue which is how is the government gone tell me I can’t bleach my OWN skin? I don’t agree with skin bleaching so I won’t be doing it but if they can ban that then what’s next.
Why?
Ridiculous. it’s crazy that someone is that uncomfortable with how they look, they were born. be proud of how you were born and own it
Jackass set of people why the F would any boy want to do this s**t to them selfs God made u black u came from grate ness
Finally!
Why does Africa have the most skin brightening sells in the world?
Before being black was a curse, was said to be ugly, alien, people lost their lives being black.
Now we have the freedom to be who we are, But people are now ashamed of being black, class black as not beautiful, by the looks of it we are going backwards not forwards.
Im not going to let society tell me that I ain’t beautiful because I’m black.
I don’t live to please man and I have to stand proud no matter what, because it took us centuries to get to this point, it took proud black people like you and I to stand and fight for the black race. We need to learn to look in the mirror and love who we are.
Wtf…change bc u look sick
She looks crazy! An she going to have lots of health issues
Diseased brain.
She looks ridiculous ..she doesn’t look white she looks like an albino..when you so things like this it is time to dig deep within because this here is the ultimate definition of self hate..
Stop selling tanning beds as well.
Self hate products
I only liked this page for thw hair tips!!!
Love me as I am. The sun has kissed me all over and I love it
I met a real life bleacher.. a girl from Senegal that braids my hair. I hadn’t seen her in almost a year so I was shocked when I saw her. First thing I noticed is that her skin was spotted like a leopard and when she turned to walk away she had huge dark zig zag stretch marks I guess from her left over color on her legs. I still didn’t put it together until we started watching a Nigerian flick. A bleached woman was the lead actress so I brought up the topic. She admitted to bleaching and showed me her legs.. they were yellow but her toes and knuckles were jet black. I was shocked and we Google images of bleaching gone wrong. I was trying to convince her to stop and she promised she would but I doubt it. Her mother and five sisters in Senegal all bleach. It’s the way it is over there. Smh!
I am so grateful to live in a country where my color isn’t an issue and I actually get complements for my skin tone!
But yeah in Africa and the USA it’s best to be as light as possible.. which is clear to see when one looks at the “black” females in media…. them have ALL been beyonce-color for many years..even Kelly Rowland bleached her skin 🙁
But luckily there are more dark skin that are getting air-time and they are yonug & GORGEOUS!..no longer a fat old ugly woman..
Good she messed up her beautiful black skin
So sad but its true, they will like her now. Just don’t have kids.
Wth that can’t be the same person!!Smh
She’s pretty both ways tbh
I’m so proud of my skin, I would not change it, for nothing……… That the world has to offer
In an interview she said its a dark spot remover that she invented.
Guess ppl dont know their Identity
What this is about is really deeper then you could imagine it’s all comes down to destroy the black woman!
Well it’s her skin and if she feels more comfortable white then with all due respect .. Do what makes you happy
Who would dye there skin WHITE. …..
She was prettier in her natural state. Just my opinion
If everyone can have self expectance, we would have less insecure people and more love for ourselves and one another. Smh
Why would you use it???? It’s a sad thing to use.
My black is beautiful!!
What you do to your body is your business, but this is clearly not healthy, if you don’t get skin from the skin bleach, you surely will with all the sun exposure because you have no protection from it.
Eewww. That’s the same person?
About time
This is how you get skin disease
Good news!
You’re beautiful dark…. Light skin ain’t really the deal…. I should know…. I’m light skinned
I think its great. Our woman need to love the skin their in. We are the most beautiful race on the planet. All shapes, sizes, & colors. We are QUEENS!! We need to stop chasing the white mans version of beautiful
That’s sad that one could hate themselves that much!! They don’t need lightening cream, they need a Therapist.
Ain’t no way in he’ll I would give up my beautiful coat ,for paleness.
THE SKIN BLEACHING CREAM IS NOT THE PROBLEM … SOCIETY VIEWS ANYTHING DARK AS BAD OR UGLY, THAT’S THE PROBLEM !!!
This has been going on for years In the UAE 90% of the women bleach. They desire a pale complexion all their daily moisturisers contain bleach. I have indian clients come into my salon who bleach their l skin before I wax them, they say it makes their skin shiny? I dunno. The woman in the picture was EXTREMELY beautiful with her natural skin but I guess if she’s happy now, that’s the main thing. I use fake tan when I’m going to a wedding or party because it makes me feel nice and I feel clothes look better against a tan. For me I hate having “milk bottle” legs when I have a dress on lol but that’s whitegirlproblems”.
I tan…makes me look leaner. To each their own, I think she looked better in her natural tone. But again, whatever makes her happy. Some folks….u live and let live.
Terrible from black to white n Blonde sad times in history.. Thank u Lord for my skin tone n big hair!
I see skin bleaching the same way I see tanning and the use of skin bronze. Do what makes you happy.