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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Lightening For The Wrong Reasons



A member from the Bright Skin community sent me a link of an episode of the Tyra Banks Show and wanted to know my opinion on it. I don't usually watch daytime TV or talkshows so I didn't know this episode aired almost a year ago.

Some of the opinions expressed in this video literally just broke my heart. I am not a black woman, so I didn't necessarily relate to some of the notions they were discussing. I could definitley understand to a level their 'skin bleaching' fixation stemming from their parents as well as society since they claim in a sense they were 'programmed' to attain lighter skin.

My whole thing is: I view skin lightening as a skin care issue just like self-tanning. Skin lightening can be done for a variety of reasons (having an even tone, fading acne marks, hyperpigmentation, getting rid of past sun damage, lightening to a desired shade). The only thing I really care about is if it's being done in a healthy approach or not (meaning no harmful ingredients, making informed decisions and not doing it to please others).

The one thing that really stood out to me, was the woman who was 'bleaching' her child's skin tone to alter his identity. That is just plain wrong and bad parenting in my opinion. Skin lightening (like everything else) is a choice. A child cannot make a valid, well-thought out choice like that, and the fact that she is doing it to change his identity is only planting a seed of extreme low self esteem. That really saddened me.

I am posting this because I want to know your guy's opinions on this. It's long, but definitley worth it. Let me know what your viewpoints are on the video.

Labels:

posted by Mileena at 8:49 PM

6 Comments:

Anonymous Andrea said...

I watched a part of this awhile back and it came as shock to me. I think this is a small minority of people who are lightening their skin that think and act this way. A really small minority.

November 4, 2009 at 4:35 AM  
Blogger Mileena said...

I completley agree with you in that this is a small percentage out of the people who use skin lightening products. Particularily in western society.

What really gets to me is not only are they forcing their children to lighten to change their identity, but they are most likely also using harmful products. The products they are using probably contain hydroquinone or mercury. That is not only harmful to their skin, but their children's.

November 4, 2009 at 5:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG! got with an asian dude to get a lighter kid. that's the most fucked up thing i've heard. OMG! 5 years old!!! OMG!!! 3 boys! and they're so innocent too. that's horrible. the mother looks like she's under the influence of something. i completely agree with tyra. she's amazing.

November 4, 2009 at 10:41 AM  
Blogger Mileena said...

Yeah that is so messed up. These women definitley have some sort of insecurity and complex that is beyond skin lightening, it is about self-loathing.

Definitley she is most likely 'on' something. These women most likely hate themselves, they mistreat their bodies as well with substances (I am only assuming here, but it makes sense).

This is a issue that definitley doesn't speak to people who safely and SANELY use skin lightening products. These people in the video have some other deep rooted issues they need to deal with.

November 4, 2009 at 5:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry, but it's not a small percentage. It may not be an overwhelminly large percentage but it's not a small percentage either. Go into any black beauty supply store ad look at our "skin care" aisle. 80% are skin lightening products. All full of hydroquinone. It's sad.

Many use them for their intended purpose, elbows, dark spots etc. But you will also see a girl grabbing 4 or 5 tubes at once. She doesn't need all that for "a few spots". A lot of the products use code words, "for brightening", "for a glow", "even tone". In reality they are all just hydroquinone creams. We all know what people use them for! And it's not like when we go into a non-ethnic store the skin care aisle is 80% self tanning products!

It's sick.

December 8, 2009 at 1:38 PM  
Blogger Mileena said...

That is true.

This video really was an eye opener for me. Usually where I shop for products, I don't usually see hydroquinone products. A lot of times they are either banned or the store just doesn't carry them.

I wish more ethnic stores could realize how dangerous these harsh bleaching products are, and replace their products with safe, non-steroid, hydroquinone free products. It's also the people as well. They need to discover and understand the severity and dangers of these creams they are slathering on.

One of the main points of my blog, is that hopefully someone who is using HQ or a steroid/mercury lightener can see that there are alternatives out there. There is a whole other side to this.

December 8, 2009 at 2:22 PM  

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