At a beauty shop in downtown Nairobi, shelves packed with so-called skin lightening creams in luxurious packets and names such as Fair & Lovely, Venus, Lady Diana and Fairever fill almost an entire aisle.
Jeanne, who is on a visit from Rwanda, is selecting a cream and notes they are very popular in her homeland as "the women want to brighten their skin. Our men like light women," she says.
Jeanne has used skin-lightening creams for six years, and says she does not plan to stop.
"My husband and other people give me compliments now," she says, but admits that she sometimes gets black spots on her face.
Skin-lightening cream is no ordinary facial cream. Some contain mercury, which is known to cause neurological and kidney damage, speech and hearing impairments, and can also lead to psychiatric disorders.
The other ingredients in skin-lightening creams include hydroquinone, which can cause blue-black discolorations and also lead to neuropathy, a disease of the nervous system. Numerous studies worldwide have shown that women using the creams have suffered mercury poisoning. Modern lightening creams are somewhat milder, but can still bring unwanted results.
Patrick Munyiri, a cosmetician at a beauty center and school in Nairobi, discourages his clients and students from using them.
"You can use it for a while, but after a few years you will see the repercussions. You get pimples, rashes or black spots that turn into wounds. Often they don't heal. You're stuck with it".
He says young girls know the creams are dangerous, but do not heed the warnings.
Angelica, a customer at a downtown beauty shop, says she once tried a lightening cream.
"But my skin reacted very badly. Now I would not try it again. And I think it looks weird to have different colors in your face and on the rest of your body," she says.
The wish to look lighter runs deep in many African societies.
In Nigeria, where the use of skin-lightening creams is widespread, an estimated 77 percent of women use them. In Senegal, the figure is 52 percent, in South Africa 35 percent and in Mali 25 percent.
Researchers in South Africa have pointed out that "society has a significant impact on the misuse of skin-lightening agents. It is known that the majority of black men prefer light-skinned women as partners, girlfriends or wives."
These opinions resound at shopfloor level.
"Our men make us do it! Most girls and women know its dangerous, but they don't care. If a lighter woman walks in to a room, she'll get all the looks," says Macerlin, a beauty shop assistant.
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
RSS