Thou shall not bleach
“When a good girl go bleach, meaning sey she no hear wetin pastor dey preach”
NOTICE
Are men running away from you?
Are they finding it difficult to see you in a dark room or at night?
Have you suddenly become the gross darkness in the life of your family members?
Are people afraid of touching you because they think they will get skin stained?
Then we have the perfect solution for you.
Bleach and bleach and bleach until you can bleach no more.
As soon as you bleach all your problems-money, men, job, all your problems will disappear.
Bleach my people till the sun becomes your competition.
Nonsense!
The way people; especially girls have been bleaching these days ehn, it’s scary. It’s amazing how your sister whose name is Boma will leave the house and come back as Alexis the ‘yellow pawpaw’. My people, things are happening. Is there anything you will not see in this Lagos?
What even pains me the most is how ‘Oyibos’ are trying to tan and our pretty Nigerian ladies are trying to be white. One girl was saying she admires one white chic’s skin; that she’ll like to ‘tone’ her black skin to that color. I just walked away because if I had opened my mouth to talk, people would have thought we were fighting. Rubbish! I mean what’s this bleaching madness all about?
The Point
‘’You wan look like half caste now your body don cast: sun dey shine, now you no fir walk pass..yawa don gas.’’
For those of you that surprisingly find it difficult to believe that people don’t engage in the transforming exercise of Bleaching, let’s get things very straight; Bleaching is ‘very very’ real. People actually switch colors like Chameleon over night!
Let me give a brief definition of bleaching-‘It is when a black person turns white overnight as a result of the consistent application of mixtures, concoctions and ‘what have you’ on their skins.’
The end!!
The Issue on Ground.
I read this girl’s gist on Aljazeera recently. So, I’ll share it with you.
After carefully washing her face, legs and arms, Taiwo Solomon (just had to be a Yoruba ‘bae’…in fact it’s the ones that bleach that we should be calling ‘bae’. Therefore, bae is a girl that was a babe but lost her status because she got uncomfortable in her skin) Taiwo will vigorously rub cream all over her body. She is meticulous and makes sure she covers her entire face. Taiwo is 32 by the way and is obviously bleaching her skin. She believes a fair skin could be her ticket to a better life. So, she spends her meager savings on cheap black market concoctions that promise to lighten her pigment. She has been on this matter for 15 solid years my people. She is now several shades lighter and she believes it makes her feel more beautiful and confident. “Bleaching just makes me feel special, like I’m walking around in the spotlight,” she told Al Jazeera.
Before you start judging her, ask yourself sincerely, honestly, my brothers and sisters, “Am I bleaching?” Because I’m about to do some ‘honesty time moment’ here.
First, let me begin by saying that according to WHO (World Health Organization) stats, 77% of women in Nigeria use skin –lightening products, the world’s highest percentage. That compares with 59% in Togo (of all places), and 27% in Senegal. When I saw the stats, I checked and checked to see if I would see Ghana or Kenya on the list. Omo! I didn’t see them o. And these are the same countries that we would makes memes of pain black pictures and say ‘meet my friend Kweku, he’s from Ghana.” Diarris God!! It made me wonder if these guys were truly satisfied with their really black skin. I mean what’s so wrong with having a black skin?
Secondly, what is this silly idea that people have of light skinned girls have a higher potential of being successful, of meeting the richest/society guys and having the prettiest children ehn? If we were judging by that, then Genevieve and Mercy Johnson and Uche Jumbo and all the black people in Africa will just be sitting in their houses; watching only Tonto Dike and Omotola and Rita Dominic na. It will be a ‘Light Skinned only’ world system. People will literally be stoning Patience Jonathan because she’s dark and she won’t have the right to be telling us to stone people! I mean come on!!! That’s an absolutely insane thing to say.
You know of recent, I’ve noticed that if you ask a friend who is bleaching if she or he (yes I said ‘he’ and wait o; I’m coming to that one) is bleaching, they will tell you something like “no o, I’m not bleaching. I’m just toning a bit you know; just even my skin color. I used to be very fair when I was younger (as if you asked them). Now, this sun in this country is spoiling my ‘original’ color”. All lies! Even if it’s true, for this sake of this post, it shall be considered a lie! ‘Bleach’, ‘tone’, ‘even’, whatever word you choose to use, as long as the procedure transforms you to the point where your secondary school mates sees you and yells ‘ wait o!!! Are you bleaching?” Broda, sista, you are bleaching!!!
Now, Men!
Stop this thing.
Seriously, stop it!
Why should you be bleaching? Why? No. I need you to give me one reason!
What is the bleaching for? To look like Van Vicker or Majid Micheal?
Take a long look at Obasanjo, he didn’t have to
bleach to rule Nigeria. In fact, have you not noticed that almost all Nigerian past Presidents were black except those who were bleaching (and we didn’t vote for them *rme* Ahn! That wasn’t exactly smart…lool!! But you get me shey )?
Honestly, I want to understand why men even think of bleaching. This thing became an issue when Tutu and I discovered her gate man was bleaching. If you see his ankles, it’s like the black pigment have stood their ground; they look stronger than the yellow part…the bleaching part looks slow and weak (if you get the picture).
Whatever happened to ‘tall, dark and handsome’? ahn!
SIDE EFFECT
Let’s get this straight, bleaching is not cool. It was not and will never be cool. It’s not mainstream or ‘irregular stream’. It’s not urban, rural, retro, vintage or future! It belongs nowhere and never will.
And if you didn’t know what could happen to you when you bleach, I’ll give you a bit of some information I got from a dermatologist.
Skin bleaching comes with hazardous health consequences. The dangers associated with the use of toxic compounds for skin bleaching include BLOOD CANCERS such as LEUKEMIA and CANCER OF THE LIVER AND KIDNEYS as well as severe SKIN CONDITIONS. You see, this is a serious issue. Stop it and thank me for trying to save your life! Seriously.
If you are a hardcore bleacher or you know a hardcore bleacher (all those ones who use illegal ointments containing toxins like mercury; a metal that blocks production of melanin, which gives the skin its color but is really toxic), please know that you are/ the person is at a very high risk of kidney failure because of the mercury present in the ointments. You even at a risk of having Eczema (you know how dirty that thing makes people look? Imagine someone that’s bleaching and now have eczema ‘on top’), skin pigmentation amongst a long list of other skin infections.”
So, if you like cancer and infections, please, do not hesitate to go ahead- go hardcore with your bleaching…sorry, toning exercise.
WAY FORWARD
“Your beauty is given.
Every being is born beautiful.”
Saying a light skin could be your passport to a better life is like saying your gender determines your success or omo, I don’t even know what to use to compare again (it’s a tiring something).
Your skin is yours and it’s an essential part of your beauty-embrace it!! Personally, I think black is an amazing color. It hides your flaws (on a lighter note). Have you not noticed that it’s easier to notice a fair person that’s not so ‘pretty’ than a black person who is not?
That aside, I’m not here to debate on which skin color is better. I’m just saying your color is yours and its insane to peel your melanin just because you think a dark skin is a stumbling block to bigger things. That’s so shallow!
So, what do you do if you do not have an amazing skin?
Read. Ask questions. Do researches on how to have a better skin.
Personally, I’ve come to discover the effect of fruits consumption. It gives an amazing fresh effect on the skin. Sometimes, it’s even the food and junks you consumes that makes you think your skin is not at its best. Look, there’s so much nature has for you and you will only find out when you seek.
So, like we agreed, a bae is a girl that was a babe but lost her ‘babe’ status because she feels uncomfortable in her skin.
Bleaching is more evil than good.
Fruits will help you achieve a fresh skin.
Research will help you know what to do to have a better skin.
A lighter skin is in no way a determining factor to your success in life.
Learn to love yourself-flaws and all and the rest of the world will adjust!!!
Remember, every being is born beautiful.
Till the next time we talk, we’ll love to hear from you.
Have an amazing weekend.
Nokulture 