Prevalent among 77% of Nigerian women –WHO
By Ngozi Nwoke
Skin bleaching products kill skin cells and destroy the body’s production of melanin, which is the pigment that plays a vital role in enriching human colour. Bleaching products have been used by men and women, not only for the purpose of lightening their skin complexions but also to fade dark knuckles, blemishes and black spots. 
Consequently, many users are often ignorant that the bleaching products contain mercury, which poses risks to their skin and health.
The World health Organisation further explained the health risks caused by mercury in bleaching products: “Mercury-containing skin lightening products are hazardous to health and as a result have been banned in many countries. Even in some countries where such products have been banned, they are still advertised and available to consumers via the Internet and other means.
“Mercury can be eliminated from skin lightening products by working with health and environmental ministries and raising public awareness about the dangers to health from mercury and other hazardous chemicals (such as hydroquinone) in skin lightening products. To stop the manufacture, import and export of skin lightening products in line with the Minamata Convention, regulatory actions by governments are needed, including training of customs agents – as well as major media and advocacy campaigns.”
Similarly, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced that the governments of Gabon, Jamaica and Sri Lanka have unanimously embarked on a $14 million project to eliminate the use of mercury in skin-lightening products. The initiative is meant to support a holistic approach to phase out harmful chemicals and promote the beauty of all natural skin tones.
In the same vein, the director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Christiana Adeyeye, in an address, spoke on the dangers of bleaching creams in Enugu State, recently.
Last year, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, acting on the resolutions of the Senate, wrote to NAFDAC, stressing the need to take stringent regulatory actions to stem the dangerous tide of rampant and pervasive cases of Nigerians using bleaching creams.
She implored the media to assist NAFDAC in publicising and disseminating knowledge to the public, and further applauded the media for their collaboration with NAFDAC to get rid of the menace of fake medicines, expired products, corrosive cosmetics and other substandard regulated items.
Adeyeye said: “We immediately took some decisive steps such as sensitization of the public through different media outlets, enforcement through intelligence and raids in trade fair complexes that have resulted in large seizures and destruction of violative products. One of such sensitization actions was the flag-off of media sensitization workshops organized for journalists in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and, today, in Enugu.
“Today’s sensitization workshop is, therefore, a fulfillment of my promise to cascade it to the six geo-political zones in the country as a deliberate strategy of mobilizing, educating, sensitizing, and challenging Nigerian health journalists to play frontline roles in our concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of bleaching creams and needless waste of scarce resources in Nigeria. This sensitization workshop is a training the trainers’ programme, with the great expectation that participants will assume the role of champions in the vanguard of the campaign against use of bleaching creams.
“It is pertinent to mention that during my recent press conference in Abuja announcing my second tenure in office, I promised to continue the transformative agenda of my first tenure but intensify and widen the scope of our publicity and public awareness campaigns. I wish to assure you that NAFDAC will, henceforth, constantly engage the mass media as we strive to bring down to the grassroot level positive impacts of our regulatory activities.
“Even though I have assigned some of my competent officers to carry out this training exercise, it is imperative for me to warn that some of the harmful effects of bleaching creams include cancer, damage to vital organs of the body, skin irritation and allergy, skin burn and rashes, wrinkles, premature skin ageing and prolonged healing of wounds.
“A World Health Organization (WHO, 2018) study revealed that use of skin-bleaching creams was prevalent among 77 per cent of Nigerian women, which was highest in Africa, compared to 59 per cent in Togo, 35 per cent in South Africa and 27 per cent of women in Senegal.
“This scary statistic has shown that the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multi-faced regulatory approach. Part of the multi-pronged approach includes consultative/sensitization meetings such as this and heightened raids on distribution outlets of bleaching creams. It is a great pleasure for me to declare open this media sensitization workshop, while urging you to assist NAFDAC in publicizing and disseminating knowledge acquired to the general public. I thank you for your collaboration and support for NAFDAC to rid the country of the menace of substandard and falsified medicines, unwholesome foods, corrosive cosmetics and other substandard regulated products.”
A medical expert, Chinonso Egemba, says users of skin-lightening creams, which contain steroids, are more likely to have severe illness or die from coronavirus disease.
Egemba noted that some bleaching creams and soaps contained steroids, which can cause kidney and liver damage, as well as reduce body immunity.
He described the immune system as the body’s defence force against disease-causing bacteria and viruses such as coronavirus and other organisms that humans touch, ingest and inhale every day.
“If you are bleaching, stop it because it is reducing your immunity and people or patients with low immunity suffer more and may likely die from the virus. Steroids are basically anti-inflammatory drugs and inflammation is one way our bodies dispose of foreign substances. It could be via body swelling in the form of boils or redness of the skin.
“So, steroids reduce the body’s response to anything that could cause inflammation.
“Now, there are different types of bleaching creams and soaps but some particular types contain steroids and can bleach the skin or cause skin lightening. When you use such a cream or soap for a long time, it’s not just on the surface, your skin absorbs the steroids in the cream and it reduces your body’s immunity,” he said.
Egemba said some unlicensed aestheticians or skin specialists also give their clients steroids as tablets, under the guise that it would help lighten their skin. He urged Nigerians to imbibe healthy lifestyles so as to help boost their immune system.
“When you take such tablets, you are reducing or weakening your immune system. So, in relation to COVID-19, having strong immunity is one of the major ways patients are surviving the disease and if you have low or weak immunity as a result of bleaching, you suffer more and may likely die from coronavirus disease. Stop smoking, drink little or no alcohol, sleep well, eat a balanced diet, eat fruits and vegetables, take regular moderate exercise and reduce stress. These acts help our immune system to be in the best shape possible to tackle pathogens and even coronavirus.”
“If you look at my skin now, you will know that it is fake bleaching cream that caused the damage; you would be angrier at me if you had seen how my skin was before I started rubbing the bleaching creams,” said Mrs. Dora Ubong-Bassey, 42, who was in regrets due to the severe burns on her face caused by bleaching creams.
Ubong-Bassey, who said she began bleaching her skin in 2020, described the act as an unknown endeavour to destroy one’s skin, adding that she was full of regrets for allowing peer pressure becloud her mind by getting involved in skin bleaching and not being satisfied with her former complexion.
The Akwa Ibom indigene, a caterer, said bleaching her skin was one of the biggest blunders she ever made, as all efforts to correct the damage on her skin have been futile, especially with the unaffordable cost.
“It all started in 2020 when I complained to my neigbour that my skin was getting darker by the day. I was worried because, naturally, I am a light-skinned person. My mother is light in complexion. So, I took after her complexion. But since I relocated to a new environment and began to use the water to bathe, my skin began to itch and change in tone to dark.
“So, my neighbour who I approached asked me to buy a particular brand of bleaching cream that was white in colour and then mix it with coconut oil and apply it every morning and night. For the two weeks after I began applying the cream, I started experiencing acne on my face, after that week, it spread to my neck. I complained to a skin therapist, who advised me to stop using it and recommended another product for me. At first, the cream lightened my skin and I was excited, but things changed when it began to give me burns and patches all over my body. My face turned red,” she lamented.
Looking troubled and full of regrets, she said she never knew that her decision to bleach her skin would cause irreversible damage to her skin as it was costing her a fortune to repair her damaged skin: “I have spent a huge amount of money to repair my skin and to have my face back to its normal state. Unfortunately, all my efforts are to no avail. I have applied different facial creams recommended to me by skin therapists; there are still no improvements. The stigma and shame I get when people look at my skin, because of how irritating it looks, gives me mental instability. It causes me big embarrassment and discomfort because of the manner people avoid me.”
A consultant dermatologist and founder of Hush’D, Abiola Ahmed, told Daily Sun that the damaging effects of skin-lightening products were numerous, adding that skin-lightening products have the capacity to weaken the organisms that protect the skin, thereby leaving it exposed to contaminating infections and might be difficult to repair damage caused by skin-bleaching products, even if the person stops using the products.
Said Ahmed: “People need to know that self-worth is not got from bleaching the skin. A healthy self-esteem begins by finding what is indestructible inside and then letting it be. The painful part is that you see so-called role models such as artistes, celebrities, brand ambassadors campainging for these fake product manufacturers. Unfortunately, these respected celebrities and brand ambassadors are supposed to speak against this degrading and self-destructive act of people bleaching their skins.
“We should stop buying into the lie that a lighter skin means beauty. It is a misconception. It is appalling to see in Nigeria how people are so addicted to become light skinned thereby using all sorts of harmful chemicals in the name of wanting to be light-skinned. When I see people paying unlicensed and unprofessional self-acclaimed experts for bleaching creams, I feel pity and angry because they are ignorantly paying for to have their skin destroyed. The damaging effects of bleaching goes beyond the skin, this act has been found to cause psychiatric disorders, asthma, nagging acne, liver damage, neurological and kidney damage. This explains why we have an alarming statistics of Nigerians with various degrees of kidney problem. Skin bleaching and lightening has reached an alarming rate and it is high time we collectively spoke about the health dangers to the body. Many countries have taken a bold step in banning these bleaching creams in their countries. The Nigerian government should fiercely intensity the ban of bleaching creams.”
Ijeoma Onah said staying true to one’s natural skin tone builds self-esteem and saves the person from health issues.
“The benefits of sticking to your natural skin is the best for your health and self-esteem. I feel that people who apply bleaching creams do so to boost their self-esteem and not just to cover black knuckles or acne. I have maintained a particular skin product for over a decade and nothing will make me for anything different. People should be informed of the dangers involved in applying bleaching creams. I was telling a friend that bleaching creams affect the kidney and liver, she was shocked. My friend said she had never heard of such facts before and she used these skin-lightening products. At least, I have informed her and she has learnt. That is the case of many skin-lightening cream users who are unaware of the risks involved,” Onah said.