The ugly truth behind this beauty trend.

Posted on by aviyr

For as long as time fair skin has been viewed as more beautiful. Fair skin became popular because those with fair skin were often upper class. Your skin tend to be lighter in color if you did not spend your days working in the fields or under the hot sun. This trend is something that occurred across cultures, globally. Even in countries where there were no Caucasians, those that had the luxury to stay indoors were of significantly light complexion.

People wanted to have a lighter complexion so they can boast of being from a higher class, or being better off financially. Unlike current times, historically marriages took place within the same class, it was usually difficult to marry up. And so began the trend of skin bleaching.

What do I need to know about skin bleaching? Skin bleaching works by reducing the amount of Melanin in your skin. Melanin protects your skin from Radiation caused by the sun and protects your from sunburns or SKIN CANCER. Now let’s be clear people with high levels of Melanin can still get skin cancer but our risk factor is lower. So by stripping away the melanin from your skin you are increasing your risk of getting certain illnesses.

But this alone is not enough to dissuade many from the trend of skin bleaching.You can always apply some sunscreen to protect yourself from the sun right?

Well truth is skin bleaching is just not as safe as we are led to believe.  Studies have found that on average 25% of skin whitening products made in Asia and sold outside of the US contains Mercury. That’s one out of four products tested. Many of these products are meant to be used as spot treatments for acne scars or age spots, etc. Using them on your whole body can lead to mercury poisoning. High levels of Mercury can harm your brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system. You can experience insomia, muscle atrophy, tremors, headaches, changes in nerve response, twitching, weakness, emotional changes, impair vision, speech and hearing, lack of coordination, etc. But hey, that’s just with 25% of  the products on the market, with the other 75% we’ll be fine right?

Well not exactly. Many skin whiteners contain Hydroquinone as their active ingredient. This works by reducing the production of Melanin. If your body produces a lot of Melanin you need to keep using this product long term to keep the results. Side effects include: severe skin redness (burning or stinging), severe skin dryness (cracking or bleeding), blisters or oozing, blue of black discoloration of the skin. Now call me crazy but if your are trying to fix skin discoloration, discoloration should not be a side effect? Honestly, Hydroquinone is safer than Mercury and some people will use this with 0 side effects and that’s great. But I’m not convinced that it is safe to use daily for the rest of your life.

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What many people overlook is the fact that your skin is the largest organ on the body and it’s highly absorbent. It absorbs roughly 64% of what you put on it. This is something we should all be aware of not just with regards to skin whiteners but all products that you apply on your skin. The skin on your face, under arms and genitals have signification higher absorption rates (up to 100% in some areas). What you put on your skin doesn’t stay outside, it gets absorbed into your body.  Reading the ingredients list on your products is just as important as reading the ingredients of your food. Yes it’s long and 95% of the time you don’t know what they are talking about, but that’s why we have google. If you don’t know what something is, google it to be sure it’s safe to use.

Now let’s be clear there may or may not be safe methods to whiten your skin. This post is not meant to be a product review post and as such I will not be name calling any products that you should avoid or products that your should choose. This is an informational post to highlight some of the risks associated with this beauty trend.

Personally for the treatment of spots caused by acne scars or hyper pigmentation is use a DIY. I mix juice from 1/2 lemon, 2 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. I put it on the spots I need to lighten for less than 2 mins, wash it off and then use my regular moisturizer. I do not use this on my whole body and I do not recommend this for full body bleaching. As far as my testimony I can only vouch for it’s effects and safety as a spot treatment.

I hope this post helps you all make safer choices with regards to skin bleaching! But most importantly you are beautiful regardless of your skin color. Don’t feel the need to change the way you are to be beautiful. Our differences are what makes us beautiful!

 

XOXO

Avi

 

 

35 thoughts on “The ugly truth behind this beauty trend.”

  1. .. miss avi that so so good blog..
    I been use whiting product when I’m Philippines and my sister also..
    I use that time because white peoples is more beautiful and advanced. They don’t like so much tan there. White girl have more attention get and more beautiful..
    They racist they always say me I’m ugly…after I read your blog I don’t never use whiting product.. I must love may self the way I’m .. thank you . ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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    1. Hi dear,
      I know how you feel. I’ve been called dirty, ugly and many other awful things just because of my skin color. But I’ve also been complimented on my flawless skin and beautiful skin color. It was a long time before I learned to love myself. But I’m confident you will be much happier when you love all of you! Good luck on your self love journey! Don’t let the bullies get to you.

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      2. I hated having brown skin growing up- being called the p word & worse. It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable in my skin, and I wouldn’t say I’m even 100 % there yet. I’m thankful I didn’t know about skin lighteners growing up because I fear I may have turned to them after being called a hurtful name. Thank you for this article xo

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    2. If i read this i am
      Glad i have A fair skin… 😳
      Those are things that actually nobody knows or want to Know…
      good that you show the facts so we are Up to date 💋❤️🌹

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  2. Great research. It is true, I had hyperpigmentation due to a hormonal inbalance and bleached the spots. My skin became very red and excessively dry. I used a product Say Yes To Coconut to hydrate my irritated skin. It took a week and two congainers to rejuvenate my skin. I must say I had heard bleaching skin would cause cancer but had no idea about the specifics of it all. I will try your recipe for skin lightning. So glad you took the time to post this.

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      1. Your so beautiful Avi! I also love how honest you are. So glad I found your blog, such great information. Your skin is beautifully flawless too. Look forward to reading more. 😄

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  3. I’ve always loved the look of olive skin. I think it is so beautiful!! I love laying out and seeing tan lines throughout the summer. (In moderation of course!),💝

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  5. Very informative. I use coconut oil daily because of the beneficial prpomerties for the skin. Lemon juice is wonderful to lighten/brighten the skin, just remember no sun when you use it.

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  7. WOW I didn’t know about the hazards asociated to skin bleaching. I’ve never tried it. I actually love the color of my skin. Those products should have warnings on them. Thank you for the eye opening report.

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  9. Pingback: My Argan Addiction – Avi Y R

  10. I changed my WordPress password just to be able to comment on your blog. Lol (finally)
    I think your skin color, my children’s and my hubby’s skin color are beautiful. It’s ironic because pale people like me tan and medium to darker skin people want lighter skin. We all need to learn to love ourselves – and others – just as we are.

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  14. Unfortunately this beauty trend has attacked Pakistan very looong ago,on our wedding days,they put an extra white base (way out of what the bride’s skin tone is) ,and make her look like a complete ghost ! Thankfully on my wedding day I found the perfect makeup artist,who matched my skin toneand worked!

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  15. I have tried many face creams for being my tone whiter but unfortunately no result was found 😭 So Everyone said to use natural remedies..can’t get to know what to do I was so confused..But now my skin tone is little fairer ❣️❣️am loving it

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  19. I like this post. I’ve honestly been feeling so insecure because my skin got so much darker and I don’t like it. I feel like it doesn’t suit me and I feel it’s not a pretty color. Recently I discover I have a yellow undertone and that made me feel worse. It’s hard cause makeup doesn’t look good and I can’t afford makeup that is good for my skin. I can’t afford anything for my skin whatsoever actually. Sometimes I feel pretty and I tell myself “You can’t do anything about it. You have to learn to love your skin” but most of the time I feel so ugly to be honest. My ig pictures look like that cause of the natural lighting but I look much darker and yellow-ish and I don’t like it. PMS doesn’t help at all. But I’m learning step by step. I was really considering bleaching my skin but thankfully I can’t afford it and I also researched the side effects. I definitely don’t wanna take the risk of having skin cancer.
    Thank you. It’s a great post.
    xo

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  20. Wonderful article and thank you for sharing with us your DIY. 😊 I am a proud dark skinned girl and nothing can ever change that. The mindset of people needs to be changed.

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  21. Im going to try the lemon juice baking soda and coconut oil today thanks for the recipe and all your input

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