Skin bleaching side effects is simply defined as all the ways bleaching destroys your skin and health.
Skin bleaching is a common thing in Nigeria, so much so that Nigeria has been declared the World capital of skin bleaching.
Almost every skin lotion, bath soap and bath gel contain some form of skin whitening agent.
The fact that the government is doing little or nothing to regulate the sale and use of these products is not even helping matters.
Do you know that the WHO (World Health Organization) stated after a recent survey that Nigerian women are the highest users of skin lightening products in the world?
Phew!
Because they found out that about 77% of Nigerian women buy and use skin bleaching products.
That is huge, isn’t it?
Let’s talk about skin bleaching for a moment? What is it?
Skin bleaching is the process of using products on your skin that contain chemicals that have the ability to whiten the skin.
These chemicals whiten the skin by hindering the production of melanin in the body.
Melanin is the pigment that gives the skin its dark color so the less melanin the body produces, the whiter the skin gets.
This could be a good thing except for the fact the melanin exists for a reason… right?
Plus, the fact that these bleaching chemicals aren’t healthy and have adverse effects on our skin.
SOME SKIN BLEACHING CHEMICALS AND THEIR SIDE EFFECTS.
All of these bleaching products contain one or more skin bleaching chemicals, like hydroquinone, mercury, steroids and also niacinamide.
These skin bleaching chemicals on their own are very harmful!
Mercury for instance, is one chemical that has the ability to cause kidney issues and damages to the nervous system.
Hydroquinone
This skin bleaching chemical, is very carcinogenic when exposed to the skin for a long period of time.
It is also cytotoxic which means that it is toxic to the cells in the body.
Steroids
These substances on the other hand, cause stretch marks, skin thinning, broken veins and bruising of the skin.
It can also cause cancer, sores and boils on the skin.
Overall, you can see that bleaching of the skin has very dangerous health side effect.s
And just because these effects don’t show up immediately, doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be taken seriously.
SIDE EFFECTS OF BLEACHING YOUR SKIN.
Skin Damage
The chemicals contained in skin bleaching products are very strong and dangerous with enormous side effects.
They make the layers of the skin get thinner which in turn causes the skin to bruise, get wounded easily and also get healed slowly and poorly.
These chemicals also cause stretch marks and make the skin age faster than it should.
People that bleach end up experiencing discoloration of the skin and eczema.
Cancer of the Skin
Hydroquinone and steroids, both chemicals found in skin-bleaching products have the ability to cause cancer and this isn’t just limited to cancer of the skin.
You are also prone to experiencing cancer of the liver, cancer of the kidney and leukemia (cancer of the blood).
One of the functions of melanin,is to naturally protect the skin from sun-rays.
However,when you bleach, you expose your skin to the effects of the sun rays making your skin prone to cancer.
Risk of Constant Skin Injury
Bleaching thins out the layers of the skin and the thinner it gets, the more easily you could get wounded at just minimal contact with objects.
These wounds also become difficult to heal and you become prone to getting infections.
It becomes difficult to even go through surgery because the skin is so thin and the probability that it’ll hold after suture is low.
Skin Bleaching May Cause Liver Damage
When skin bleaching products that contains hydroquinone are used, over an extended period of time, just expect to have liver damage.
This chemical is very toxic to the liver and having issues with your liver is a situation that I’m sure you don’t want!
5. Renal Damage: A Severe Skin Bleaching Side Effect
This is more like having damages to your kidneys caused by the mercury metal chemical contained in skin bleaching products.
The more you use skin bleaching products, the more you expose your body to the absorption of mercury.
Everything can keep going on well until the body maxes out on the total amount of mercury it can tolerate and you develop kidney issues.
Defects For New Babies At Birth
When pregnant women use bleaching products, there is a high chance that when they give birth to babies, that would have defects.
The chemicals in the bleaching products such as mercury, go on to affect the development of the brains of unborn babies.
7. Diabetes: A Skin Bleaching Side Effect.
Bleaching products do not directly cause diabetes. However, they trigger the excessive production of cortisol.
Excess cortisol in the body can lead to Cushing’s syndrome which can result to type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
The chemical responsible for this is the steroid.
Skin bleaching trigger skin reactions, which is a physical side effect, that can be seen with the eyes.
Aside the fact that you could damage your skin and get skin cancer, from skin bleaching, you also expose your skin to different reactions.
You need to know that there is no such thing as a “natural” bleaching cream or soap. Whatever product you use to whiten your skin contains these harmful chemicals.
These things could make your skin react in ways that are not normal.
Instead of having clear whitened skin, you get, ugly skin filled with scars, discoloration and skin reactions that are irreversible.
CONCLUSION
Skin bleaching is not advisable (except for therapies by dermatologists) and skin bleaching side effects are dangerous!
There are no two ways about it, irrespective of whatever name you choose to call it.
Skin whitening, toning or even bleaching, it still would not be advisable!
Not just for moral reasons but because of the health complications it could cause you in the long run.
Embrace your skin and love yourself.
