Many people are not happy about their appearance, with whites lying in the sun to get tan and darker folk using skin whitening products to lighten their look. Now medical professionals in Ivory Coast say that the skin whitening products used by many of their citizens are dangerous to their health and are to be banned in the West African country.
BBC AFRICA: Ivory Coast bans skin-whitening cream http://t.co/bhInystjQS
— EveryThingUneed2Know (@Naija_Stuff) May 7, 2015
According to the health ministry in Ivory Coast, there is a fear that the skin whitening products can cause lasting damage to the user’s skin and general health.
“Cosmetic lightening and hygiene creams… that de-pigment the skin… are now forbidden.”
The ban covers whitening cream and lotion products that contain mercury and its derivatives, as well as cortisone, vitamin A and often more than two percent hydroquinine. Hydroquinine is apparently a lightening agent used in the process of developing photographs.
Christian Doudouko, a spokesman for Ivory Coast’s pharmaceutical authority has warned that, “The number of people with side effects caused by these medicines is really high,” adding that the skin whitening products could also cause skin cancer.
Ivory Coast bans widely used beauty cream over serious health fears http://t.co/mbRGsZB84F http://pic.twitter.com/YA3FDE9Uae
— The Independent (@Independent) May 7, 2015
Elidje Ekra, a dermatologist with the Treichville University Hospital in Abidjan, says that the products can further lead to hypertension and diabetes, among other dangers.
While there is no official record of how many women use skin whitening products across the African continent, there are many advertising billboards to be seen in cities across Africa promoting the skin whitening products.
While the use is heavy in Ivory Coast, it is believed to be even more widespread in Nigeria, where 75 percent of women buy them, according to a 2008 UN Environment Program study.
Ekra explained that within their cultures, many people think women with a lighter skin are more beautiful, saying that this beauty standard tends to push many girls into using the skin whitening products to depigment their skin.
The problem is that many young African women feel they will be more attractive if they lighten their skin and they have reportedly been doing this for years.
Referring to the advertising billboards filling the streets of Abidjan, showing models with lighter than normal skin, he said, “What we see in the media is the lighter one’s skin is, the better one’s life.”
Ekra added that while the products are mostly used by women, some men are also experimenting with the skin whitening products.
According to the BBC, a British consultant dermatologist, Justine Kluk says the main concern is over unregulated skin whitening products, which are the products that tend to contain dangerous mercury levels and excessive amounts of steroids.
“If one thinks about steroids being present in these products, they’re often present in much higher quantities than we would prescribe.”
The Independent reports that according to Kluk, the products can bring out a number of health issues including, “acne, thinning of the skin, glaucoma or cataracts if applied near the eyes.
Even worse, if the user liberally applies the products to their entire body, this can “cause high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, weight gain, mood disturbance due to absorption of large amounts of steroids.”
These are dangerous threats indeed all for the sake of “beauty.”
Ivory Coast is not alone is banning the skin whitening products, although in the case of The Gambia, people are still using them, despite the ban.
In South Africa the most active ingredient, hydroquinone, has been prohibited, but according to a study run by the University of Cape Town, over one-third of South African women still buy the products.
According to the Independent, women in India and certain Middle Eastern nations also use the controversial skin whitening products.
Back in March, the Inquisitr reported that what was said to be Michael Jackson’s vitiligo skin disorder was becoming a fashion trend, with some people thinking he used skin whitening products to ameliorate the condition he was suffering from.
[Image: CC BY-SA 2.0 Adam Jones]
Skin Whitening Products Banned In Ivory Coast Over Health Fears is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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