Photo Credit: RFI/Pearl Akanya Ofori
In Ghana, skin whitening or lightening is as widespread as it is in parts of Africa due to unfettered access to various brands of bleaching creams, often blamed on the continent’s lax regulations. Beauty standards, often promoted by the media and advertising companies, have reinforced the bias that lighter skin tone is more desirable, forcing men and women of colour to bleach.
"Here, light skin is equated with beauty and most of our women and even the men do it because they believe it’s prestigious,” Naa Dei, a resident of Chorkor-Chemuenaa, a coastal community in Ghana’s capital, told Africa Calling.
Among certain Ghanaian ethnic groups - such as the Ga - skin whitening is seen by both sexes, including the old and young, as a symbol of beauty, attractiveness and self-esteem. Women from Dei’s neighborhood bleach more, especially during festive seasons like naming ceremonies and Christmas celebrations.
“When our women give birth, they bleach to look more beautiful and be admired during the naming ceremony of their new born babies. It’s community thing,’’ she says, holding a cream she bought from a pharmacy to treat a skin rash but ended up altering her skin colour.
What drives the decision to alter the skin varies for each individual. Men and women engaged in the act do so because of factors such as insecurities, family influences or the desire to move upward in their social circles.
Newer forms of bleaching
In many other African countries, the practice of skin bleaching is a lucrative business, raking in billions of dollars annually.
Skin-bleaching products are reported to contain ingredients that prevent the production of Melanin, the body chemical that darkens skin. One such ingredient is hydroquinone, a depigmenting agent used to lighten the skin. Even though the practice has been associated with a number of adverse health effects including skin cancer, kidney, liver or nerve damage, there appears to be no end in sight.
Pills and injectables containing bleaching ingredients like glutathione have now become the new frontiers for those seeking a lighter complexion. Such infusions, mostly patronized by the affluent cost a minimum of €175 a shot.
n Ghana, the sale of glutathione injections are mostly done online with some marketers claiming it corrects uneven skin tone.
“Now the fastest way to bleach is to do the intravenous which quickly changes their complexion because it goes directly through the veins and it is very dangerous,’’ warns Professor Edmund Delle, a dermatologist with Accra based Rabito Clinic.
“What is sad is that the users don’t even know the chemical composition of what they are spending so much of their money to buy. These newer forms pose greater risks to health as they expose users to irreversible skin conditions, can damage the liver and lead to all manner of life-threatening diseases like cancer and even lead to deformation of unborn babies,’’ he explains.
In October, Ghana’s regulatory Food and Drugs Authority warned citizens against the use of glutathione for skin bleaching.
It follows a similar move in 2017, when it banned all creams containing hydroquinone due to its damage to the skin. This however, has not stopped importers from bringing the products into the country by either using illegal routes of entry or concealing them from being seized by authorities.
Despite regulatory bans and warnings, the use of skin bleaching products is still on the rise, often attributed to the country’s lax regulations and failure on the part of authorities to sanction those who break the law.
Looking forward
In Accra, many skin care advocates including female skin care specialist, Nikki Boa-Amponsem, are campaigning against skin bleaching.
‘’Now everyone is bleaching and it is even the educated and wealthy ones who are deeply involved-- even more alarming is the fact that mothers are bleaching their newborns,’’ says Boa-Amponsem who is deeply concerned about the rising trend.
“I decided to educate people against the dangers associated with it because anything that affects the skin is something I am interested in,’’ she adds.
Currently, there is no documented data in Ghana on how many of these skin bleaching products are imported into the country and those who are actively using them, making it difficult for researchers to know the extent of use.
Even though several warnings and campaigns against skin whitening and its consequences have been publicly communicated, many believe that the quest for a lighter complexion will not stop as long as the act is seen as a pinnacle of beauty.
