Reasons Not to Bleach

 Written By Indo Grace

The national agency for food and drug administration and control NAFDAC has placed a ban on skin bleaching products after it discovered that Nigeria ranked first among African countries in the use of skin bleaching products and the devastating health effects of these creams.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report in 2011 estimating that 77% of Nigerian women use skin lightening products regularly.    

   

Bleached hands Photo Credit: Stears Ng

 

Why do people bleach?

It may be difficult to understand why people choose to bleach, most people bleach because they feel inferior of their God given skin color.

This is a practice common with both the old and the young. Bleaching has its own negative effects.

And here are some reasons one should not bleach:

Health risks

Bleaching can also make your skin very thin which can easily expose it to injury and hard to heal from wounds. And during surgery your bleached skin can be a problem to stitching and healing.

False sense self esteem

When you bleach it gives you a false sense about yourself as most people tend to develop inferiority complex about the colour of their skin and think that by having a fairer skin can attract more favor which is not true.

Gives Negative perception about your identity

In our society, people generally have a negative perception of people you bleach especially for men.

This because when people see your bleached skin people it can get them irritated especially if the bleaching leaves patches of black skin colour here and there.

There is also other will argue that people who bleach their skin tend to have body odour and a lot of people are allergic to the toxicity of skin bleaching products.

And that means that if you are bleaching your skin you are not harming only yourself but the people around you are likely going to be affected as well.

Cost money

The financial aspect cannot be not left out as most bleaching products are quite expensive and bleaching to some extent becomes an addiction.

Young people who indulge in the act can go extra mile to get the money in other to get this cosmetic products and sustain the act.

The society's assumptions that a particular skin colour is superior and more acceptable than the other should be put an end, to avoid making people harm their health in the cause of pleasing it.

 So there could be many more reasons not to bleach.

Let us have your thoughts.