Changing Skin Colour - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

“The Good?”

What is good about enhancing/changing your skin colour? From what I have observed, I would probably get some of the responses below:

• “I feel and look Beautiful”.
• “People respond nicely to me”.
• “I get lots of attention from the opposite sex”.
• “People give me a second look”.
• “I feel good within myself” etc. etc.

There is a proverb that says “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”.

The Europeans, want to have darker skin and as a result regularly lie on sun beds, have spray tans or wear fake tan

The African/Americans prefer to lighten their skin, as they feel it looks better.

Asians – Some Asians prefer to whiten their skin. Example, What is considered more beautiful in Korea are pale faces. In Japan and the Philippines, whitening salons are not uncommon. In India, 60% of skin care sales account to skin whitening. The Korean Model on the right was disfigured by Skin Whitening.

Its nice to look beautiful and enhance one’s beauty but sometimes it’s at a cost. So, lets see the Bad in it - below.

The Bad

Tanning

Sun Beds - Ultraviolet rays from tanning lamps actually increase the risk of melanoma of skin and eye. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun also cause skin cancer. Energy from the sun is a form of radiation, consisting of visible light and other rays that we can't see. It causes sun tan/sunburn. People who do this tend to age quicker.

Lightening the Skin

There are two chemicals found in skin lightening products, Hydroquinone, a severely toxic and very powerful chemical used in photo processing, the manufacture of rubber and is an active agent in hair dyes.
Mercury, a toxic substance that can only be purchased via pharmacies.

The Ugly

I am not implying that these people are Ugly (as I believe that God didn’t create anyone ugly). I am just showing the Ugly effects of some of these products.

Its not my place to ask people not to Tan themselves or not to use skin-lightening creams. It does enhance beauty, but just do it in moderation and beware of the effects. E.g some people start using Tanning beds in their teens and do so every week into their 30s. Some African Americans’ use very strong creams and end up looking literally white overnight and men - be careful how you use them too.

Dangers of Tanning

Dangers of Skin Lightening

These will cause the skin to lighten by stopping production of melanin whereby, no brown pigmentation will be visible. Long term effects can cause premature ageing, skin cancer and mercury poisoning.

I have lived in Africa for a few years and noticed that on using these lightening creams, the skin gets very light but because people have to go out in the very hot sun, they then get burnt and its not a good sight. There are also situations where by the face looks so light and the legs look so dark – you begin to wonder if you are looking at the same person.

If you do use these products or plan on evening out your skin tone for a short period, please check the ingredients and ensure they do not have harmful substances. Some are even banned in some African Countries. There is a very big market for these products.

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