IS BLACK ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL?

The phrase “Black is beautiful” is said to have been coined by John Sweat Rock during a speech in 1858. This was probably to dispel the notion that black people’s features such as skin colour, facial features and hair are inherently ugly.

But is black really beautiful? If it is, why do we have many black women trying to make their skins lighter by using various types of skin lightening creams? I honestly do believe black is beautiful but I just can’t comprehend why some of our sisters fail to see that in themselves. I have seen many African women with blonde hair on their heads despite the fact that there are  no natural born blonde African woman.

There is nothing wrong for anyone to enhance their beauty but sometimes this is overdone and it reaches an extent where it seems like the person is ignorant or has a serious case of inferiority complex. Take for example women who bleach their skin with hazardous results. Many women have black hard skin under their eyes because at one time they used a complexion cream which destroyed their skin. Despite many examples of how the wrong application of these creams can harm the skin, many women still continue using these creams and joining the long list of disfigured women.

It is indisputable that women with lighter skin will be considered by men because they get noticed compared to those with a much darker shade and this could be one of the reason why black women are among the highest consumers of skin lightening products. This could also be the reason why most black women tend to risk their health by using creams which have adverse side effects.

Skin lightening may be considered a choice like lipstick, weaves, mascara etc, to make you presentable to the world. The only problem is most of these products are completely unsafe and some women do not use them properly. In desperation to look lighter, many African women have bought harmful creams with instructions written in a language that they can’t read.

Although there is not enough evidence, laboratory tests on rats have shown increased development of potentially cancerous tumors in rats exposed to hydroquinone, which is used in most of these creams. The potential of this chemical to cause cancer in humans has not yet been determined but it is safer to be wary. Hydroquinone also causes skin irritation, inflammation or a mild burning sensation. This may be the reason why some women that I have seen using these products have red spots under their eyes, which could be a result of scratching the itching skin.

In Zambia, some women who use these creams have very light skin which just ends at the neck. The rest of the body is a different colour. These women are called Coca Cola Fanta. They only bleach their faces because they probably find it more expensive to use the cream on every part of their body. Maybe it could be out of  ignorance? Some women also have blue veins showing through their skin which I think is uglier than a naturally black African woman skin.

Maybe society has played a major part in this because us men tend to like light skinned women more than dark skinned women. Ironically, even men do bleach their skins. It is not strange to see an African man with very light skin and a dark hairline. 

What if there are no side effects associated with using these creams? How would you see the people who use them? Are they not proud of who they are or their origins? We see white people tanning their bodies from the sun but that does not mean they are not proud of their skin colour. The same applies even to black women who bleach their skin to look lighter. I doubt very much if they do this because they are not proud of being black. They do it for the same reasons why a white woman tans her skin. It is for this that all black women must take a lot of care for their skins by using the right products and knowing how to use them. The only reason society condemns skin lightening creams is because of the harm that it causes to skin and not because it makes you lighter. After all we have Africans who are born naturally with a light skin.

Image courtesy of africa/freedigitalphotos.net