Saturday, November 06, 2004
Skin lightening creams
I saw this feature on BBC World this morning where large numbers of women in Tanzania are using these creams.Well,they went into the societal reasons why women feel pressured to use them i.e lighter you are the better.Sometime back I read a report from Kenya where this 19 year old said she had abused lightening creams because the boys hardly ever paid attention to darker skinned girls.Now I don't intend to go into the beauty debate and all it embodies.That is a whole different blog.
My concern is the safety of these creams that women use.Looking at the news feature there were quite a lot of women who were treated by doctors for problems arising from abuse of these creams.Apparently one can get problems ranging from possible types of skin cancer to bad acne.I never thought of it before but mercury based products can not be safe(I hope my chemistry teachers not reading this.
More to the point do Caribbean Govts allow these type of products to come in? And how educated are women about the dangers of using these creams. After all,for most people it is simply a matter of walking into a store and buying what you need over the counter.Added to that,the before and after pictures on the boxes look so good that people not going to think twice about splashing it on liberally.So the next time I go into a store am going to pay some attention to what is written on these creams and I need to see if there are any warnings on them.
My concern is the safety of these creams that women use.Looking at the news feature there were quite a lot of women who were treated by doctors for problems arising from abuse of these creams.Apparently one can get problems ranging from possible types of skin cancer to bad acne.I never thought of it before but mercury based products can not be safe(I hope my chemistry teachers not reading this.
More to the point do Caribbean Govts allow these type of products to come in? And how educated are women about the dangers of using these creams. After all,for most people it is simply a matter of walking into a store and buying what you need over the counter.Added to that,the before and after pictures on the boxes look so good that people not going to think twice about splashing it on liberally.So the next time I go into a store am going to pay some attention to what is written on these creams and I need to see if there are any warnings on them.
# posted by Abeni @ 6:32 AM 
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Hi Abeni, very interesting post. The beauty trends in Jamaica have been highly controversial over the years as well. The use of bleaching creams were very common back in the 90's, when Jamaican men seemed to be fascinated by the "brownings". In later years women took "chicken pills" to increase their breast and butt size. Chicken pills were the fertilizers that they used to feed the animals, specifically chickens, to make them bigger. My belief is that men place too much emphasis on this ideal of "the perfect woman" when we ourselves aren't perfect and women often find themselves simply pressured to meet this unrealistic goals. Women, wake up and smell the coffee!! If the man don't like you for you, no amount of "beauty aids" going make him change---y'all can do better!
{arf,arf}
{arf,arf}
I dunno others. But I find woman who are a little dark complexion, something like tanned, very ... umm what can I say nice looking (someone like you ). hehe..
It is unfortunate that woman are usually less secure when it comes to looks. Talking of which I wish I was a little more handsome lets just say :p
It is unfortunate that woman are usually less secure when it comes to looks. Talking of which I wish I was a little more handsome lets just say :p
hey just noticed. You are 25. damn. I am younger than you. May I ask whats ur birthday? I was born on th 9th Sept
August 17th.And how old are you,22?..AD,I am glad I never heard about "chicken pill".In my younger more insecure days when I wanted bigger breasts I might have been tempted:).But serious it is a lot of presure on women and some of us do a lot of foolish things to gain a competiitve edge without even realising we hurting ourselves.Thankfully,I like my dark skin..so no lightening for me:)
Abeni, this is very widespread in Jamaica ...(I can't speak for the other Caribbean territories), India and many African countries. These agents are made in the UK and Europe and marketed in countries with large black populations. They frequently come into our island by a sort of 'black market'. I won't bother to list the names of the products, but there are many.
As a Dermatologist I see the ill effects of these agents all the time. I'm tired of telling patients to avoid them. They get Acne, striae (stretch marks), ochronosis (a paradoxical darkening of the skin with prolonged use) which frequently shows up over the knuckles first.
My opinion is that the colonial influence plays a big part in why women want to bleach. In additon, here, the DJs and dance hall artistes favour a browning (a light skinned woman)...the media and advertising also is guilty of this. I have read that in Indian socities women prefer to have a daughter that is light skinned as it increases her chance of finding a mate and becoming married! Nevertheless, whatever the reason is, it still continues despite public information programmes by Dermatologists in the newspapers and on radio and TV..I wrote one such article this year. I think we are fighting a losing battle with these 'bleachers!' Dr. D.
As a Dermatologist I see the ill effects of these agents all the time. I'm tired of telling patients to avoid them. They get Acne, striae (stretch marks), ochronosis (a paradoxical darkening of the skin with prolonged use) which frequently shows up over the knuckles first.
My opinion is that the colonial influence plays a big part in why women want to bleach. In additon, here, the DJs and dance hall artistes favour a browning (a light skinned woman)...the media and advertising also is guilty of this. I have read that in Indian socities women prefer to have a daughter that is light skinned as it increases her chance of finding a mate and becoming married! Nevertheless, whatever the reason is, it still continues despite public information programmes by Dermatologists in the newspapers and on radio and TV..I wrote one such article this year. I think we are fighting a losing battle with these 'bleachers!' Dr. D.
# posted by 
: 4:18 PM
: 4:18 PM
I honestly cannot recall any public education here on these creams.By the way can stretch marks be removed?
In 2000, I studied in Jamaica for a semester and did a project on this very topic. I had heard that using bleaching creams was a common practice among young Jamainca women and I wondered just how young. I got to interview both boys and girls ages 8-15 in 3 schools and was shocked to find that among the girls that I interviewed, some were already using these products. This is yet another reminder of how we have internalized oppression!
Seems like the bleaching thing is very popular in Africa these days. I read an article about the women in Ghana and the ill health some were getting from these products. Pretty sad actually.
Hey dem Chicken Pills duz work? I know a few wumen I wun mind slippin them ta :-)
Hey dem Chicken Pills duz work? I know a few wumen I wun mind slippin them ta :-)
In response to angry dog... I don't think it's men that make women feel pressured to do these things. I think it's women's own insecurities about being too big, too dark, too pale, too whatever to feel they are good enough. I find generally men are attracted to women who are confident about themselves.
I'm a trainee journalist living in the UK, trying to write a article about why women around the world go to extremes to look a certain way. In the west women starve themselves to become a size 0 and in Afro- Carribbean culture women want to be bigger. I need some help because i need to find info about chicken pills eg how are they dangerous or anyone whos about it? Please reply Thanx
# posted by : 10:44 AM
: 10:44 AM
Hi my name is Kori Majhor, and I too suffer from wanting to be lighter, th only problem is, I am light, but being lighter(white) has been the promise in california. I am doing a documentary on this very subject and would like to know if anyone will be willing to tell their story on camera, I am attempting to sell the film to BET. This is a problem, which concerns alot of people not only african americans. I am willing to fly to you, or you can come to california all expenses paid. Please reply via my e-mail address ko.majhor@hotmail.com
Warm Regards,
Kori
P.S. Always remember you are beauitful no matter what they say!!!!
Warm Regards,
Kori
P.S. Always remember you are beauitful no matter what they say!!!!
# posted by : 1:23 AM
: 1:23 AM
Hi Abeni,
You sound quite an empathic person, I think that we have lost sight of what true beauty is. I think it is more than just a light skin. I know the problems that it causes to young women and men in Nigeria, and the problem is still there despite all the side effects of toning creams.
Thank you for your article
adiuks@yahoo.com
You sound quite an empathic person, I think that we have lost sight of what true beauty is. I think it is more than just a light skin. I know the problems that it causes to young women and men in Nigeria, and the problem is still there despite all the side effects of toning creams.
Thank you for your article
adiuks@yahoo.com
# posted by : 12:23 PM
: 12:23 PM
Hi Abeni,
You sound quite an empathic person, I think that we have lost sight of what true beauty is. I think it is more than just a light skin. I know the problems that it causes to young women and men in Nigeria, and the problem is still there despite all the side effects of toning creams.
Thank you for your article
adiuks@yahoo.com
You sound quite an empathic person, I think that we have lost sight of what true beauty is. I think it is more than just a light skin. I know the problems that it causes to young women and men in Nigeria, and the problem is still there despite all the side effects of toning creams.
Thank you for your article
adiuks@yahoo.com
# posted by : 12:23 PM
: 12:23 PM
I never used the chicken pills but I am using some butt enlargement pills that are really working. Not sure if these are the chicken pills or not but they do work. here is the site www.star_curves.webs.com
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# posted by : 12:02 AM
: 12:02 AM << Home
