The World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its latest report that 77 percent of women in Nigeria use skin lightening products, the world’s highest percentage. WHO, which has termed skin bleaching a global public health problem, said that the global lifetime prevalence was 27.1 percent in Africa, with around 25–80 percent of women regularly using skin-whitening products.

Indeed, Google Trends data from October 2022 to October 2023 found that search terms “Skin whitening,” “Skin lightening,” and “Skin bleaching” were most popular in West African and South Asian countries. The top five countries included Pakistan (100 peak popularity), Nigeria (74 popularity), Ghana (71), Sri Lanka (67), and India (56). “Skin lightening” searches were most common in African countries with the greatest popularity coming from Nigeria (100), Zimbabwe (98), Zambia (77), Uganda (77) and Ghana (73).

“Skin bleaching” was most commonly searched in the Caribbean and African countries such as St. Vincent and Grenadines (100), Jamaica (78), Ghana (54), Nigeria (53), and Zimbabwe (36). Nigeria and Ghana were present in the top five for all three search categories.

The disturbing issue is that skin bleaching is not a new beauty phenomenon but has its roots in the transatlantic slave trade and continued during the European colonisation of African nations. Since then, fairer skin was erroneously promoted as part of facial beauty and a way of attracting the opposite sex and increasing female confidence.

The number of people involved has become alarming more so as Nigeria is one of the largest markets for skin-bleaching products in the world. There has been upsurge of skincare brands centred on skin-lightening, ranging from bleaching creams and soap to glutathione drips, pills, injections, skin-lightening baths and currently the ‘Organic skincare’ trend which tries to drape a deceptive cloak on the skin-bleaching phenomenon.

It is so prevalent that it caters for different social classes and is available from bus or roadside vendors to high-end stores. It is such that in November 2018, American reality TV star, Blac Chyna, was in the country to launch his product brands.

Yet, these skin bleaching products contains corticosteroids, hydroquinone, mercury, and other agents associated with several adverse health effects such as dermatitis, steroid acne, discolouration, changes in skin thickness, inflammatory disorders, and conditions such as mercury poisoning, nephrotic syndrome and exogenous ochronosis. Their long-term use results in skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma.

Studies have shown that people with bleached skin have slower wound healing due to thinner skin layers, delayed skin regrowth, reduced tissue support and impaired tissue formation. It also increases the likelihood of wound infection, dehiscence (reopening of the wound), and bleeding, which is similar to wound healing complications caused by the use of steroids.

In addition, the use of skin bleaching is hazardous and potent substances are also linked to serious systemic problems such as diabetes, hypertension and renal diseases.

This has become big business as skin lightening products represent a major global industry with sales projected to nearly double to $15.7 billion by 2030. Though the importation and marketing of skin-bleaching products are banned or strictly regulated, many Nigerians ignore the known risk of negative side effects just as it has become a global public health problem that needs urgent attention.

We at Daily Trust call for strong regulatory actions by the Nigerian Agency for Food, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the regulatory body responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of regulated products in pharmaceutical products, including cosmetics and personal care items, skin-bleaching products inclusive. Moreover, NAFDAC, alongside the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN), a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Health, should conduct rigorous laboratory testing and analysis on all skin bleaching products to ensure that they meet the required strict safety standards.

We also call on the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria to stop the advertising of skin whitening products as such images of white or lighter skinned black women are prevalent in billboards across Nigerian cities, beckoning citizens to continue in the colonial-era beauty standards.

We also call on religious and traditional leaders to help in educating Nigerians on the fallacy of associating light skin tones with higher socioeconomic status and other wrongly reinforced beliefs across public and cultural life.

We also call on the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to lead in increasing public awareness about the dangers of skin bleaching, and to educate consumers about the importance of only products that have been tested for safety and instituting attitudinal changes.

The campaigns should also prod Nigerians to consult doctors before purchasing such products while highlighting the need for buyers to read product labels for warnings or potentially harmful ingredients.

There should also be synergy between the governments at all levels, industry and civil society in order to protect the health and wellbeing of Nigerians.

The media and the entertainment industry must join the campaign as their leadership is required in changing the narrative and reinforcing the reality that “Black is Beautiful.” Nigerians must be aware of the dangers of skin bleaching and it must stop. (The Nation Editorial)