Black is beautiful is a wonderful saying but in this era where beauty  is judged by how light some ones skin is most women have fallen prey of deadly bleaching creams in the name of beauty.
It is not uncommon to find women on the streets of major cities in Uganda with skin colour patches that is ones facial colour is very different from that of their other body parts.
Poisoning, convulsions, asthma, leukemia (blood cancer), liver damage, anaphylactic shock and infertility are not conditions normally associated with cosmetics.
However, prolonged use of certain cosmetic creams, which contain bleaching agents, has been linked with all of the above.
These serious health risks which can arise from using unregulated bleaching creams have received little or no attention from the government and regulatory agencies.
People just import their cosmetics and sell to unsuspecting customers and on several occasions government regulatory agencies have confessed to presence of substandard cosmetics on the Ugandan market.
Why bleach?
Black skin renews itself quickly and rapidly produces new skin cells and this ability for regeneration keeps our skin’s looking younger for longer.
Whenever Black skin is damaged or traumatized it produces an excess of melanin in the area.
This hyper-pigmentation can result in a humble spot or cut producing a dark patch where it is healed.
Skin bleaches are often used in an attempt to even out skin tone or remove dark patches caused by injury.
However in some sections of the society particularly in African communities skin bleaches are used to lighten the skin in the misguided belief that a lighter complexion is better and beautiful.
How do they work?
Bleaching creams work by stripping the skin of its natural pigmentation.
However in dark skinned people the pigmentation is the skin’s natural protection from the sun. Bleaching doesn’t just superficially lighten the skin it alters the skin’s ‘natural’ structure removing and inhibiting the production of melanin.
Once the skin has been ‘bleached’ it loses its natural protective barrier making it susceptible to damage by the sun’s rays. This is also why many bleach creams come with instructions advising people to use sun protection creams along with the product.
Prolonged use of these bleaching products can also prevent the formation of melanin in the deeper basal layers of the skin which will leave the skin lighter but also leave it more vulnerable to damage.
Hydroquinone in particular has been found to damage the connective tissue in the skin and cartilage and is widely used in skin lightening creams.
So next time you are buy a cosmetic for your skin take some time to study the ingredients.
People who use bleaching products can end up with rough and blotchy skin and then get caught up in the ‘bleaching trap’ by using more cream to try and correct the problem and by doing so find themselves causing even more damage to their skin.
Alternatively they may find that because of exposure to the sun their ‘lightened skin’ gets darker.
Mercury is another product often used in some cosmetic products as a bleaching agent.
It is severely toxic that it can cause skin to go grey or blue black rather than lighter and in many cases has resulted in the user suffering from mercury poisoning
Steroids like clobetasol, betamethasone and dexamethasone are also being increasingly used in cosmetics and many people often buy these steroid creams from pharmacies and drug shops and mix them with normal petroleum jelly and apply them on their bodies daily.
Steroids can cause thinning of the Skin, Bruises and Burn Marks.
Many people have reported frequent to constant itchy hives from long term steroid cream use.
Steroid creams can damage the liver and kidneys by hindering the cleansing power of these organs to the body.
Steroid creams used for long periods can wreak havoc with the immune system making it sluggish and unable to fight disease and sickness.
They can also weaken the bones and make them more susceptible to arthritis and bone diseases