MORE THAN 70 MILLION NIGERIANS ARE BLEACHING THEIR SKINS.

Nigerian cosmetologist, Pela Tonye Okiemutie, ‘the bleaching expert’.
His cosmetological miracles include his own personal journey through bleaching, as well as helping many.

Abuja, NIGERIA:

According to one estimate, more than 70 million people in Nigeria use skin-lightening products regularly, making Africa's most populous country the capital for skin bleaching. Some women reject the trend, saying their natural dark skin is beautiful. But, Nigeria remains a huge market for skin-whitening products.

Twenty-five-year-old Nigerian model and actress Goodness Ben visits a cosmetic shop in Abuja.

She wants to be famous and says bleaching her skin could increase her chances at getting more movie roles.

"Yes this is Nigeria, a fair skin is business. In the movie industry most times the director wants you to like glow, in fact you should be camera friendly. You know most times dark people tend to...will I say resist? But they are more beautiful and catchy when they come in contact with camera,” Ben.

Pela Tonye Okiemute, is widely known as the King of Bleaching in Nigeria, and he sees nothing wrong in turning himself into a white man from his original dark skin.

The Rivers State born dude claims to be a beauty and skin whitening expert and is gradually getting invites to celebrity events and parties.

According to a 2011 estimate from the World Health Organization, 76 million Nigerians, mostly women, use skin-lightening products regularly.

Some darker-skinned Nigerians are pushing back against the idea that lighter is better. They say black is beautiful with the so-called “Melanin Movement.”

The arrival of an American reality TV star to launch her skin-lightening line in Lagos stirred up some controversy in on, December 2018 as people debated how harmful skin-bleaching is and if it's appropriate for celebrities to promote such products.
That said, if you take a stroll down the cosmetics section of any Nigerian market or superstore, there is a high chance you will come across a variety of skin lightening products ranging from soaps, creams, and serums. Blac Chyna's arrival aside, Nigeria is one of the largest markets for bleaching products.

Blac Chyna came under fire after she took to Instagram to announce she is launching a skin lightening cream, with beauty brand, Whitenicious.

The global market for skin lightening products is growing and is estimated to reach $20 billion by the end of the year, driven by strong demand among men and women across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Skin lightening products are unbelievably popular in Nigeria. The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report in 2011 estimating that 77% of Nigerian women use skin lightening products regularly. This is in comparison with 59% in Togo, 35% in South Africa, and 27% in Senegal. In fact, bleaching products are reportedly the fourth most sought-after household item by African women, alongside essentials like soap, milk, and tea.

In Lagos, the skin lightening market has found a permanent home. The industry is so huge that it adequately caters to individuals of different social class. Product prices range from as little as ₦5,000 to as high as ₦150,000, depending on the brand and method of application. The amount of people who use skin lightening products is quite alarming in a country where the minimum wage is only ₦18,000. And, unsurprisingly, the exposure to popular western culture has also led to a demand for more expensive foreign products and consequently led to higher prices.

Tina Ohanu says she doesn't need to bleach her skin.

"My confidence really doesn't come from my skin, it comes from within... and I still get as much attention from the male folks as every other lady should, so I don't think it has anything to do with my confidence,”
Ohanu said.

Bleaching products usually contain hydroquinone, corticosteroids or mercury as key ingredients.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), Mercury is a common ingredient found in skin lightening soaps and creams. It is also found in other cosmetics, such as eye makeup cleansing products and mascara.
Skin lightening soaps and creams are commonly used in certain African and Asian nations.
They are also used among dark-skinned populations in Europe and North America.
Mercury salts inhibit the formation of melanin, resulting in a lighter skin tone.

Mercury in cosmetics exists in two forms: inorganic and organic.
Inorganic mercury (e.g. ammoniated mercury) is used in skin lightening soaps and creams.
Organic mercury compounds (thiomersal [ethyl mercury] and phenyl mercuric salts) are used as cosmetic preservatives in eye makeup cleansing products and mascara.

Some manufacturers are no longer using mercury as a preservative in mascara and eye makeup cleansing products as a result of consumer pressure. However, most jurisdictions

still allow the sale of makeup products containing mercury compounds.

These chemicals could have a range of side effects when used regularly, according to skin experts.

"You can have stretch marks, the skin becomes fragile, doesn't heal properly, sometimes you can have...some of them can give you abnormal skin odor, abnormal odor, excessive sweating, poor wound healing...so, and then it ages faster,”
Haroun said to Voice of America(VOA)

The beauty industry in Africa is worth several billion dollars and increases by 8 to 10 percent every year.

Nigeria is one of the prime destinations for many beauty agents produced abroad.

Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Rwanda banned all whitening products while Nigeria joined South Africa in barring those with harmful chemicals.

While these moves help promote natural and healthy skin tone, however, the Melanin Movement is still dwarfed by Africans' demand for skin-lightening products.

Comments

CUBA CLAIMS CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER IS FIDEL CASTRO'S SON.

The suicide note left by Fidel Castro’s eldest son has rocked the Cuban nation this week, with the most astonishing revelation being the claim that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was his half-brother and the son of the late Fidel Castro. The handwritten note left by Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, 68, the eldest of Fidel Castro’s children, appears to confirm the longstanding rumor in Cuba that Fidel Castro fathered Justin Trudeau after a public tryst with Margaret Trudeau in 1970. “ Castro Diaz-Balart, who had been attended by a group of doctors for several months due to a state of profound depression, committed suicide this morning ,” Cubadebate website reported. The death of the high-profile government nuclear scientist, also known as “Fidelito”, or Little Fidel, because of how much he looked like his father, stunned the nation, however it is his “ explosive ” suicide note that has set tongues wagging in Havana. Amid a wide-ranging barrage of compl...

NAMIBIA VOWS TO GRAB FARMS FROM WHITE FARMERS.

Okahandja, NAMIBIA: Vibrant rows of neatly lined plants grow on a patch once trampled by the cattle of a large commercial farm run by a family of German descent in Namibia. From that 2,400 square-meter rectangle of sand in the northern Otjozondjupa region, Kornelius Hamasab, 69, now produces spinach, onions and tomatoes. Hamasab is among the 16 percent of black Namibians owning arable land in the semi-desert southwest African nation. White Namibians, who are descended from former colonizers Germany and South Africa and make up six percent of the population, own 70 percent of the land. "It doesn't seem right to me," said Hamasab, who acquired his land as compensation five years after the farm downsized into a guesthouse in 2000 and laid off its staff. "The government should do something about it," he added, while his family picked and rinsed collared greens to be sold in the capital Windhoek, 150 kilometers away. Namibia adopted ...

TWIN SISTERS ARE TRYING TO CONCEIVE WITH THE SAME MAN.

Anna and Lucy DeCinque with their boyfriend Ben Byrne. Image: Instagram. Perth, AUSTRALIA: Two sisters self-described as “the world’s most identical twins” aim to get pregnant by their shared boyfriend and, if the law would allow it, marry him. Besides looking alike, the sisters also share everything together, including their bed and even their boyfriend of eight years electrical mechanic Ben Byrne. 'We would like to have babies with Ben,' they said in a video. But before going into details, the siblings questioned whether it was possible for them to fall pregnant at the same time. Anna and Lucy DeCinque, who made their announcement on an Australian morning show, confirmed that their communal boyfriend is "very happy" with the plan. The DeCinque twins, 33, appeared on the show Dec. 3 to discuss their decision to eschew plastic surgery despite embracing such procedures in the past, but they soon doubled down on claims that they were plannin...

THE TRIBE THAT WORSHIPS PRINCE PHILIP AS 'GOD'

Prince Philip corresponded with the villagers over the years, and sent pictures of himself holding a ceremonial club they gave him. Image: REUTERS. Tanna, VANNUATU: As Britons mourn the death of Prince Philip, they are joined by a tribal community on a Pacific island half a world away. For decades, two villages on the Vanuatuan island of Tanna have revered the Duke of Edinburgh as a god-like spiritual figure. A formal period of mourning is now under way. On Monday, 12, April, scores of tribespeople gathered in a ceremony to remember Prince Philip. Image: REUTERS. "The connection between the people on the island of Tanna and the English people is very strong... We are sending condolence messages to the Royal Family and the people of England," said tribal leader Chief Yapa, according to Reuters news agency. For the next few weeks, villagers will periodically meet to conduct rites for the duke, who is seen as a "recycled descendant of a very powerful spirit or god th...

MALARIA VACCINE PROVES HIGHLY EFFECTIVE IN BURKINA FASO.

A vaccine against malaria has been shown to be highly effective in trials in Africa, holding out the real possibility of slashing the death toll of a disease that kills 400,000 mostly small children every year. The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Jenner Institute of Oxford University, showed up to 77% efficacy in a trial of 450 children in Burkina Faso over 12 months. The hunt for a malaria vaccine has been going on the best part of a century. One, the Mosquirix vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, has been through lengthy clinical trials but is only partially effective, preventing 39% of malaria cases and 29% of severe malaria cases among small children in Africa over four years. It is being piloted by the World Health Organization in parts of Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. The Oxford vaccine is the first to meet the WHO goal of 75% efficacy against the mosquito-borne parasite disease. Larger trials are now beginning, involving 4,800 children in four countries. Prof ...

"PAINTING COW TO LOOK LIKE ZEBRA REDUCES FLIES BY 50%", JAPANESE RESEARCHERS.

Painting a cow to look something like a zebra has been found to reduce fly bites by 50%. Researchers believe painting stripes on to cattle is a world-first and could become an environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides. The study, published by Japanese scientists in the journal Plos One , found fly attacks were “significantly reduced” by the disguise. The scientists believe the striped pattern confuses the fly’s motion detection and deters the pests. In what was a five-minute process for each animal, researchers painted white, 4cm to 5cm stripes on six pregnant Japanese black cows. The stripes were drawn freehand, using “commercial waterborne white lacquers” that faded easily. The laquered bovines were then observed. Two of the cows were painted with white stripes, two with black stripes and two were left unpainted for a control. The process then repeated so, over nine days, each cow spent three days striped, painted black or unpainted. Only 55 flies ...

NIGERIAN-BORN TO BE FIRST BLACK DEPUTY TREASURY SECRETARY OF U.S

Washington DC, U.S: Speaking at a Washington think tank in the summer of 2016, Adewale Adeyemo, President Barack Obama’s international economics adviser, warned about the perils of protectionism, explained how a growing Chinese economy was good for the world and talked up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal he helped negotiate that Democrats ultimately rejected. Four years later, such talk might sound out of touch with a Democratic Party that has become even more hawkish on China and increasingly wary of sprawling international trade deals. But that was not a concern for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who this week tapped Mr. Adeyemo to be deputy Treasury secretary, solidifying his team with another stalwart veteran of the Obama administration who would bring center-left economic ideas, deep experience and diversity to Mr. Biden’s top ranks. Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo (born 1981) is a Nigerian-born American attorney and political advisor serving as the first presi...

WOMAN WHO HAD 44 CHILDREN BY 36 YEARS-OLD BANNED FROM HAVING MORE BABIES.

Kampala, UGANDA: Mariam Nabatanzi had her first set of twins when she was just 13 and has since had another five sets, three sets of quads and four sets of triplets Mariam Nabatanzi suffers from a rare genetic condition and had given birth to 44 children by the age of 36. Tragically, Mariam has been left to raise her massive family alone after her husband walked out on her almost four years ago. Now 40, doctors have taken action to stop Mariam having more children after it emerged her father had 45 children with several different women. Mariam has three sets of quadruplets, four sets of triplets and six sets of twins and incredibly manages to care for and feed them all on her own. The fertile mum was just 12 when she was married to her husband, who at 40 was 28 years her senior. Just a year later she gave birth to her first set of twins. Now, she and all of her kids have no choice to live in appallingly cramped conditions in just four ...

A 26-YEARS-OLD WOMAN ADOPTS 14 AFRICAN ORPHANS.

London, ENGLAND: A young British woman has become mum to a staggering 14 Tanzanian children she met after volunteering in an orphanage on her gap year. Letty McMaster, 26, was just 18 years old when a month-long trip volunteering at an orphanage in Africa changed her life forever. She ended up staying for three years to support the children she had met, and when the orphanage shut down, Letty took in nine youngsters who would have been left homeless. Seven years on, she lives with the children after becoming legal guardian to them ALL - as well as five more kids she met on the streets or at a safe house she runs. Letty McMaster. Letty, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: "These children are my whole life, I raise them all on my own and they keep me going through the long hours of juggling everything. "I'd always had in mind that I wanted to help street children so my family and friends weren't surprised but I never expected to end up doing all this. " I am the pa...

"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOTS IN ETHIOPIA", KHOI KHOI DESCENDANTS URGES MALEMA.

Following the continuing restlessness by EFF Julius Malema and the Black Land First leader, jointly demanding for a return of the land, a new group comprising of Khoi Khoi descendants have issued a lengthy white paper detailing the true situation of the land transition and ownership. According to the group’s spokesperson Hung Sangawe, who vehemently warned Malema to go back to Ethiopia were it is alleged he has biological roots. Hung Sangawe. Sangawe noted with dismay that the group was sick and tired of the perpetual racial tension orchestrated and perpetuated by Malema to further enrich himself, by exploiting the high level of illiteracy and youth unemployment in South Africa. Subsequently, the tenacious group unanimously issued a strongly worded white paper, that he Malema must stop claiming the land he knows nothing about: “White people didn’t steal the land, other black tribes invaded it' The so-called Bantu speaking South Afri...

Kioo17 Journal

Search This Blog