Skin bleaching

Bleaching is usually done by women although there are some men whom have also joined this trend. This ever growing trend has given rise to multi-million dollar markets in most countries especially in India and most parts of Africa.  Bleaching is that process of whitening or brightening the skin especially by the use of chemical agents which made me conclude and classify it as one of the things I will never do in my entire life. I classified it as a thing which can only be practiced the ignorant and illiterate people but to some surprise, even some celebrities and significant people are also into this. I have seen youth of these days now take most of the celebrities as their own role models which means if I take Rihanna as my role model or my idol, once she starts bleaching, chances of me bleaching like her will also be high but what is the point in bleaching though?

In this century, this has become trending and it also has become common especially among women. But women who bleach, do you even take your time to think of the results on the long run before embarking on this? Have you ever asked yourself why these skin lightening products are banned or why people who sell them always hide them or do it in privacy?

I have done my own research in trying to answer myself on why do people bleach? The first thing I discovered among people who bleach is that most of them have got a very low self-esteem but I chose to put it as self-hate. Who are you going to love better if you can fail to love your natural; self the way you were born. If you are brown skinned or dark in complexion be proud of it and accept it too, after all," Black is Beautiful'' People especially ladies should learn to accept the way they were created regardless of what other people may say or think. Usually to people who bleach, it does not end well but rather it ends with very negative side effects which might at some extend cost one's life. One of the best things that a person can do to show his/her love to oneself is by maintaining the natural beauty in a way that will not make one regret or cry at the end. They do not lie when they say black is beautiful so cheer up ladies and stop being fake yellow bombs.

Another reason why women bleach according to my research was men. Men contribute with a significant percentage for the bleaching of women if those women stand an equal chance of beauty. It seems like most men if not all of them dream to marry or date beautiful women. People nowadays seem to could have brainwashed. They no longer see or know the difference between beauty and being light in complexion. No matter how ugly a person can be, but in most men's eyes, as long as she has got a light complexion they can conclude that she is beautiful. For instance whether in high schools or colleges, when a boy approaches a girl or asks out a girl, you tend to find out that out in a group of 10 girls, the girl who is light or bright in complexion is more likely to be chosen by the guy or the man. So usually some girl who are less bright or having a chocolate skin might end up feeling inferior especially if they were having interests in the guy or expecting the guy to ask them out. Usually they would end up assuming that they were not picked because of their complexions if they see themselves having more beauty than the chosen girl. They tend to do whatever it takes to make their complexions look more or less like their friends or mates who are light by bleaching. Women with light skin are said to be much more attractive and the same applies to women who drink tablets or use chemicals to increase the sizes of their breasts, hips and buttocks. This issue of bleaching will end up causing the person to have two or more complexion and I call those people, colour blocked people. This is because some different parts of the same body will end up responding differently than the other part. The creams, pills or injections they use to change their complexions tend to act differently, another part may get lighter at a faster rate than the other piece and some parts cannot even be changed by these bleaching products especially the kneecaps, elbows and knuckles.

Another girl, Faith Zuruvi from the University of Zimbabwe said she was much brighter in complexion as compared to her friend Samantha Msharukwa. Faith even confessed that Samantha was way too beautiful than her. Samantha was said to be the most beautiful girl in their class but because of her dark complexion, people never noticed how beautiful Samantha was and to some people it took time for them to notice. Faith even complained that she had problems with most men and guys calling her even though she was not that beautiful but because of her complexion. Even when they walked from school passing via Machipisa Shopping centre and Machipisa tax rank, many guys who got a tendency of calling girls especially the touters at tax ranks would even call her mentioning the colour of her bag to specify that they meant her. Fay thinks it was like that not because she was the most beautiful girl in their class but because she was light and could easily be seen. Fay even said one of her friend got jealous and even mentioned,"tichatozorawo mafuta ekuti titsvuke kuti tionekwewo nekuti ana Fay ndimi mega mongoonekwa"isu hatitomboonekerewo kana" meaning, "you are the only one whom they notice so we should start to use lightening creams so that these men can also see us because we seem to be invisible when we walk with you.

Moreover, some women bleach simply because they want to fit in especially in terms of employment. They want to fit in for employment to survive. Bleaching can be used by others as a surviving skill. I have noticed in most fast food outlets I have been to like KFC, Chesanyama, Galitos, McDonalds, Hot Pot etcetera and most girls if not all of the girls working there especially at the till are light in complexion (yellow bones). Out of 10 girls working there, 9 or 8 are light in complexion. These days again when people drop their CVs In search for a job, they are told to bring their CVs with an ID size photo pasted on top of the CV, why is this done though? Yes they want to see me I understand but cannot they wait until I at least go for an interview? What is going to be your conclusion if you enter a company to drop your CV and 90% or more of the people working there are light in complexion then you are told to bring your CV with a ID size photo pasted on it, are you not going to bleach and paste a brighter photo to increase your chances of getting the job? Most girls because of desperate situations may go for an extra mile like bleaching in order to try and meet the Employer's expectations I think. People who bleach can be easily noticed and some girls working there are true proofs of bleaching. This other day I went to Hungry Lion for my Lunch break and to my surprise, all the three girls at the three tills were light in complexion so now imagine you go there to eat, you are dark in complexion, unemployed and wish to work there, what is going to be your next move in order to get this chance or opportunity? This got me thinking and I do not know if what I was thinking was right or wrong.

Corruption is another factor to be considered regarding this issue. Most Employers or Bosses of nowadays in most cases date one of the employees and this employee is usually bright in complexion. So because of the financial challenges being faced but many people, those who have been affected with poverty who are now having a poverty mentality can end up bleaching so that at least their chances of being noticed by the Bosses are high. Dating a boss usually does not go alone but got benefits like salary increment and obviously HIV/AIDS in the long run so ladies let us not be lazy to open our eyes sand minds to see the future. Let us think wisely before making those decisions that might end up costing our lives. Same applies when we look at most tertiary institutions, the issue of completion among the university girls. Most girls in Universities and Colleges tend to compete over things like Cell phones, Clothes, Shoes, Gadgets, Hairstyles, and Nails just to be unique and for attention instead of competing in the Academic field. You might discover that most girls who want to join this contest are the ones who cannot even afford a thing on their own. Because of the economic situations, only a few can qualify but it seems as if many want to compete without looking at their own personal situations and backgrounds. Those who cannot afford doing this on their own will end up looking for Blessers or sugar daddies or even boyfriends just to get all the financial support they will need in this contest. And like I mentioned, most guys seem to be much more attracted to girls with light complexions. So many girls in order to be attractive and to be noticed will end up taking this route of bleaching.

Light skin has been associated with more positive personal attributes. Looking back at Slave Trade in countries like Nigeria and DRC, the darker you were, the more labour you would do. Even looking at the issue of racism, people bleach basing on that reason but honestly, bleaching does not make one look like white. On the other hand, colour black is usually associated with horrible things. In places like Nigeria, Togo, South Africa and Mali, the skin lightening product are selling like hot cakes. An example is whitenicious which was marketed as elbow and knee skin lightening which was sold at $150 for 60ml in Nigeria and its surrounding countries. My greatest fear comes from thinking why the selling of these skin lightening products is illegal, people should think of this before bleaching and also look up for the effects. Most of these bleaching products are made with Mercury (Hg) which is banned because it leads to kidney and brain poisoning. Rating this issue of bleaching, Nigeria is at the top with 77% followed by Togo with 59%, South Africa with 35% and finally Mali 25%. Nigeria has the most number of women who bleach.

Skin bleaching is one way white supremacy use to brain wash black in trying to make them feel like they are superior, which is a big lie. Most people who engage in such practices have a very low self-esteem and self-acceptance, which is why they try by all means to be someone else. The media companies which are mostly owned by white racists tend to show white as clean or better whereas black is evil and dirty  but the bottom line is that no matter how much you bleach, you will never be classified under white people so be proud of who you are. I honestly do not want to be white if I have the choice to. History even shows that the white men have done more killing and evil in thus world than any other people. They come to kill the local, take their land and enslave and brain wash them. This has been happening for generations and the only thing that has changed is the strategy, now it is more of divide and conquers wars and the media.

To ladies and a few men, do you know that bleaching lead to premature aging of skin especially when used for a long term? Many people who bleach experience poor wound healing. In cases of accidents or injuries, the skin of people who bleach gives doctors a difficult time when putting down back together the skin using stitches. The chemicals used in the manufacturing of skin bleaching products prevent the formation of melanin on the long run and melanin is one of the important elements needed for healthy skin. Melanin prevents the skin from cancer and people will end up being in the bleaching trap by trying to look for better substitutes once effects start to emerge. There are many other negative effects of skin bleaching which one has to put into consideration first before bleaching to avoid regretting in the future. To some, bleaching goes well with them so do not just copy before studying yourself and how you can react to things. Let us open our minds and think, research and decide well on things like this which will not be reversed once it starts affecting you.

Below are pictures showing the negative effects of bleaching;

1. Skin Cancer


2.Hyperpigmentation


3. Thinning of skin


4. Skin irritations