The Nation Newspaper

Tag: white

  • White is it!

    FASHION trends always seem to cycle through every era over and over. Do you know the colour of the moment, apart from yellow, black and beige? Well, it is no other than white which is often referred to as a ladies’ colour. Trust the ladies, they are living up to that saying; strutting out in white of diverse fashion item from clothes (especially tops and gowns), bags, shoes, hair scarves, neck scarves, hair ruffle, belts, beads, handkerchiefs, wrist and head bands. White is everywhere; white, like black, goes with virtually all colours, provided you get your combination and coordinating power right, because getting a perfect match also depends on the style and the accompanying accessories.

    For instance, you can brighten your black suit ensemble with a white shirt, hair band, ruffle or better still a white neck scarf. In as much as being the reigning colour, it must not be “overdone”, tone white with other colours, do not make it an all-round angelic affair.

    Your top could afford to come in white; if you are wearing a black or cream pant or skirt and it could be the other way round.

  • The perfect white outlook

    HUES are synonymous with fashion, though a specific colour rules per season. But in all, the white colour just like black, stands the test of time as the all-season colour, be it for a night gig or day-time event. It never goes out of the fashion scene, no matter how many new ones emerge. Its really a trend for this season, and if you are in any doubt, please take a look at the fashionistas who have successfully worn white dresses in the past months.

    White is super chic and adorable on every woman. It is an ultimate wardrobe essential.

  • My encounter with Obama after a call from White House —Ex-Miss Wheelchair Nigeria

    My encounter with Obama after a call from White House —Ex-Miss Wheelchair Nigeria

    HOW best could one describe you; a musician, an advocate for the physically challenged or an ex-beauty queen?

    What makes Grace Jerry’s life very interesting is that you can’t pin her to one thing. She is just an encapsulation of a lot of things. She is a recording artiste. What makes her an interesting recording artiste is that she uses music as a tool to create a lot of social good.  So, what I do basically is a blend of music and advocacy. That is why I say Grace is an embodiment of a lot of things put together.

    You mentioned music and social advocacy. Let’s talk about the social advocacy first…

    Grace is a disability rights advocate. I basically work to bring the issue of disability to the forefront. I do that through workshops, music and, as I mentioned earlier, through advocacy and campaigns. Interestingly, I co-founded an organisation called Inclusive Friends.  It is an organisation for and by persons with disability. We give faces and voices to people with disability and try to combat stigmatisation, marginalisation of persons with disability, and basically promote inclusion and equity for all.

    These are things you took on in your adult life. How was life with you before all this?

    Of course, you grow up with a lot of ambition. You want to be this and you want to be that. While growing up, I always said I wanted to be a journalist. There was this late broadcaster, Tokunbo Ajayi. I remember that whenever I watched her, I would say to myself one day, I would want to stay in front of the camera  and read the news. Of course growing up, all of that got to change.  I grew up in a family of singers. My mum happened to be a very strong chorister then in the Methodist Church. My auntie too. It was more of a singing family, I would say. So, singing kind of grew in me, and that is what I am doing till date.

    But then, going to school, I picked up other ambitions. I remember my first time in the university, I started with a diploma in Law. I wanted psychology, but eventually I found myself doing a diploma in Law. After that, I went back to start my degree programme in English Language.

    Interestingly, I am not doing anything pertaining to Law today. I am a singer and an advocate.  So, along the line, I think we just pick up things; we build capacity in a lot of things. I just found myself developing my knowledge in so many areas in line with development works, talking about the rights of people , especially the constituency that I represent.

    At what point did you decide that this is what you want you do?

    While in the university, I sustained the car accident that affected my spine. I sustained spinal cord injury. That happened on January 7, 2002. I was already in the university. Before then, I had never known the life of someone on a wheelchair. I had never been in close contact with anyone with disability. It was all strange to me. I had to learn to leave my life all over again.

    Were you a very active person before the accident?

    I was very active. I was very active in the church choir and very active in school. I was very sociable too. I would be the first on the dance floor in any party. I was really bubbling with life, and suddenly there was a change. I sustained the spinal cord injury and the doctor said I would have to be on the wheelchair for the rest of my life except there was a miracle. I remember it was a terrible phase for me at that period because, first of all, nobody knew I was going to survive. When I eventually survived it, adapting to my home first and foremost became an issue, because there was a staircase and here I was on a wheelchair. You know wheelchairs and steps don’t go together.

    There were also the bathrooms and so on. My environment was not just fit for the wheelchair. I remember there were lots of modifications that my parents had to carry out–knock off the steps so that my wheel chair could move freely. I had to start using one of the bathrooms in the house that was bigger, so that my chair could go through. I had to learn to put myself on and off the bed. It was not funny.

    After that, I was faced with the challenge of going back to school. Here was I in a school environment that there were staircases everywhere. My lecture hall particularly was even upstairs. Also, I couldn’t go back to church, because I used to be very active in church. In fact, the day the accident happened, I was on my way back home from a choir rehearsal. So, I could not even fit into my environment so to say. My home was modified, but my environment became my greatest challenge.

    I think that woke up something in me. I realised that if I didn’t draw the attention of people to accessibility challenge for persons with disability, they would never know or understand. This is because before it happened to me, I never knew, I never understood and I never bothered. So any opportunity I had… I remember my pastor had to make the church a little bit accessible for me to go in. After about a year plus, I was ready to be reintegrated back to my environment-to school, church and so on.

    Before you were physically reintegrated into the society, you must have fought some psychological battles. How was it?

    When the accident happened, at first when I was on admission at the hospital, I kept telling myself that in the next few days, I would be back on my feet. Three months on admission, nothing was happening. I was still lying down completely. They had to teach me to sit down. When I could sit down, they asked my parents to come with a wheelchair and my dad brought one. I started learning to sit on the wheelchair, to use the wheel chair and to move around the hospital environment. After three months, I was discharged to go home.

    I kept telling myself in the next one, two or three months, I would be back on my feet. One month turned into three months, one year, I just could not understand. The period of me being home, having to recover, a lot of my friends stopped visiting. I had a lot of friends in school. All of a sudden, they stopped visiting. I found that I was all alone most of the time. Friends from church too didn’t have time. So, I would always be home alone with my mum and dad.

    I remember it was so depressing, because I thought I had friends who cared. But all of a sudden, they were nowhere to be found. From morning till afternoon, I was all alone. I remember it was so depressing that I was venting it out on everyone around me. I became very violent and very rude. I would cry at the slightest provocation. I was so depressed to the point that I lost so much weight and my hair started falling off. It was terrible. However, I remember, I call it a reality talk that I had with my elder brother. He said to me, ‘Grace, if you are going to survive this, you need to make up your mind and survive. Nobody else will make up your mind for you. And if you want to rest, maybe you should make up your mind and die peacefully.’

    Because what I was doing was affecting everyone around me. People around me were not happy because I was not happy. Because for the first time after a long while, I had to think and I told myself that I was either going to allow disability define me or I define disability for what it is. That was a turning point in my life, because I made up my mind that I was going to be happy regardless of what had happened. I was going to get over this as quickly as possible, and I was going to use this a s a platform to talk about the challenges affecting people with disability.

    Immediately I did that, I went back to church. Any opportunity I had to hold the microphone, I would tell people that if they had houses that had staircases or public places that had steps, they should tell those in charge to create rams so that people that are physically challenged should fit into the society. So I started using the platform of the church to advocate for people with disability until I had the opportunity of a bigger platform; that was the first ever Miss Wheelchair beauty pageant that was to take place here in Nigeria.

    What they were looking for was a spokeswoman who would advocate for the rights of persons with disability. That was for about 22.2 million Nigerians as at 2010. They wanted a woman that would go round, influence policies, structures until the rights of persons with disability are captured. So, when this platform came, I knew that this would even give the opportunity to advocate on a bigger level for my voice to be heard. And that was it. I seized the opportunity.

    Was it just because you needed a bigger platform or you wanted to also keep yourself occupied?

    For me, it was an opportunity, because the only stage I had was the church. Then here was a national event that would give me a national platform to talk about these issues and it would reach faster. Because I had the boldness to speak, I was like, why not speak out for that woman or for that man, or for this group of people who are not as bold as I am? So, I seized that stage to become the voice for the millions of people with disabilities.

    Tell me about the experience.

    So, we came over to Lagos for the pageant. We had women with disabilities from parts of the country, including the FCT.  We were about 40 women with disabilities who came to contest the position of Miss Wheelchair Nigeria. I remember we were put in a hostel and here I was with 39 other women with disabilities from all over the country, who were very intelligent. It was interesting for me because every one of them had big, articulated dreams to change the cause of people with disabilities. These were women that were professionals, and just listening to each of their stories made me even forget why I was there.

    The main pageant then came. We went through the various stages and we were asked questions on what we would do to change the cause of people with disabilities. To cut the long story short, I emerged the winner and became the first ever Miss Wheelchair Queen here in Nigeria.

    You were picked as one of the YALI young African leaders for a training in the United States where you met President Barack Obama. How was that?

    The United States Department of States gives opportunity to young African leaders who are already change makers in their communities through mentoring, volunteering, and generally created one form of social good or the other. The opportunity is provided every year. It is an initiative of President Obama, and we were placed in top institutes in the United States. We had an intense programme at the University of Virginia. The experience was amazing. I saw firsthand what access means to a person with disability. I stayed in the United States for eight weeks and I did not see the need to ask anyone to assist me to do anything. My room, my environment were all accessible. Nobody was staring at me; I was one with everybody. I couldn’t wait to get back home to begin to talk about it, say it the way it is and push for it. This does not cost much to modify.

    One of the high points of the trip was your meeting with President Obama…

    The music side of me actually gave me that opportunity, which I didn’t even expect.

    How did it come about that out of about 500 young Africans, you were given the honour?

    When I got the call from the White House…

    You were called from the White House?

    We had an opportunity for community engagement and we were going to perform either in songs or in poetry. We were to showcase whatever talent that God gave us. Before I went to the Unites States, I did a song celebrating Nigeria. When I went to the US and there was an opportunity to sing, I decided that I was going to change the Nigeria in the song to Africa since we went there to represent Africa.  I did the song on stage for a small community. It blew the minds of everyone that was there. The song was recorded in video, put on Youtube and in less than 24 hours it had over 100,000 hits. We came together with the people from the presidency on how we could make that even bigger and it would become the official YALI tribute. So, we came together, shot the video in the home of one America’s past presidents, Madison, and it went on Youtube again. That was what attracted the attention of the White House.

    Seven weeks into the programme, we were going to hold the town hall meeting with President Obama, then I got the call. That was at the end of our six weeks programme. The seventh week was for the town hall. That was the week I got the call. The first thing they said was that we’ve heard your song. That was how I knew that it was the song that first caught their attention.

    How did you know it was really the White House?

    I knew it was the White House because the school knew the call was coming and they got me ready. But at that moment, it still came as a surprise. But they already knew. I was the only one that was not in the picture of what was about to happen. That was it. When they called, we were about to move from Virginia to Washington DC and they were ready to take it up from there.

    As soon as we got to Washington DC, one of the ladies that was attached to President Obama from theWhite House and people from the US Department of States rallied round me and made sure I put my speech together. They looked at it and made sure it was okay.

    Did you need any special preparation?

    Of course I was going to introduce the President of the World, so to say. It needed to be good. There were lots of preparations around it. What made it interesting was that they made sure I wrote my speech myself. I would read it to them and they would say okay, this place should be this, what if you put it like this? They would play some of his videos, the things he said, but they made sure they put together my speech and made sure I was very comfortable to deliver my speech and say it naturally.

    On the day of the town hall meeting, before the main event started, I had the opportunity to meet him (Obama) backstage. We had our own little interaction before the main event. He was fun to be with. He was like oh, Gracie!

    He already knew your name?

    He already knew my my name and knew what I was doing back here in Nigeria. He was in the picture of almost everything.

    He had done the back ground check?

    Yes, I was meeting him for the first time and he had already known everything Grace Jerry was doing. He was very nice. He told me, I heard you are the one introducing me today. I can’t wait to hear you do that. He was basically commending my work here in Nigeria. The interaction was centred around my work for persons with disabilities. He wished me well and I left and went up stage to introduce him. That moment for me was difficult to describe but it was just wonderful.  When I think about it, it is like a dream. I was wonderful. I shone on that stage.  I did my introduction and for the first time, the community of persons with disability all over the world felt so much pride. A friend of mine said now inclusion is on the global map, for a person with disability to be on that stage and introduce the strongest man in our world and in our time, it was so much joy for the community.

    Looking back to when you had the accident that changed your life, did you ever think it was a twist of fate that could propel you to this height?

    I am a believer and I hold on to this scripture that says ‘All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.’ That scripture makes sense to me every day that I encounter something in my life. What the enemy meant for evil, God has turned it around for good.

    Sometimes when things happen, and people would say this is bad, this is terrible, I would tell them you just watch it, God is about to use that experience to give something that you have never ever imagined.

    When I had the accident, I thought God had actually left me. I asked, ‘God, what did I do wrong? I have always served you and I have been a believer all my life. Why did you allow this to happen?’ I did not know that what was meant to crush me was what was going to be a stepping stone to bring visibility to the work of disability and to make Grace Jerry a big brand. I use my story to encourage people. I tell them whatever happens and you don’t understand, just trust God. He will take that thing that looks seemingly evil and make something beautiful out of it.

  • Men In White

    Men In White

    White is a classic colour that suits any situation and occasion. It is an attractive colour which gives a very powerful impression. White can be an awkward colour to style but it is quite easy and versatile, sophisticated if properly styled. It reflects light so you don’t have to feel too hot no matter the weather.

    White on white can be overpowering, it is better to spice it up with colourful accessories like belt, handkerchief, sunglass, hat and watch. Colours such as black, blue and brown will break up your white outfit beautifully without creating an overwhelming image. Avoid contrasting or odd colours with your outfit. Keep it cool and neutral.

  • Men in white

    Men in white

    WHITE is a classic colour that suits any situation and occasion. It is an attractive colour which gives a very powerful impression. White can be an awkward colour to style but it is quite easy and versatile, sophisticated if properly styled. It reflects light so you don’t have to feel too hot no matter the weather.

    White on white can be overpowering, it is better to spice it up with colourful accessories like belt, handkerchief, sunglass, hat and watch. Colours such as black, blue and brown will break up your white outfit beautifully without creating an overwhelming image. Avoid contrasting or odd colours with your outfit. Keep it cool and neutral.

  • GREEN WHITE GREEN TO HOLD WORLD PREMIERE

    FOLLOWING its selection for screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF in its City to City program, Green White Green, a movie which explores Nigeria’s history and evolution of violence, art and film told through the coming-of-age tale of aspiring artists in Lagos, will be holding a global premiere.

    According to the producers, the movie will have its world premiere at TIFF on September 14 at the Isabel Bader Theatre

    The movie is the story of three young men from different classes who band together to escape the monotony of their parents’ generational demands and chase their creative dreams. In a satirical stab at the old straight to video Nollywood, Green White Green is a modern dramatic comedy that asks that question, “What does it mean to be Nigerian?”

    “I fought to make this film come to fruition despite many limitations. With this film I wanted to express the experience of many young Nigerians who are lost inside a culture and history they are coming to grips with,” says rising filmmaker, Abba T. Makama.

    Green White Green is lead by a powerhouse team of creatives; Executive Producer, Rimini Haraya Makama, listed in Forbes 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa (2014) Abba T. Makama, director of African Movie Academy nominated documentary Nollywood, commissioned by Al Jazeera, award-winning actor Ifeanyi Dike Jr. has been named a Top 30 Nigerian under 30, Top 21 Young Achiever under 21, among other accolades, Veteran Film/TV actor and Thespian Bimbo Manuel.

  • Make it a date with white

    Make it a date with white

    White is one colour that is easy to find in every fashionista’s wardrobe and this colour never seems to go out of style. For so many reasons, white dresses have been ignored because we do not know what and what not to wear with them but this season, every woman who loves sophistication has to embrace the white in her wardrobe. White is super chic and adorable on every woman. It is an ultimate wardrobe essential. To make the colour white be your choice to formal events and anywhere else you want to look glamorous, here are tips from some of your favourite celebrities:

    Here, Genevieve Nnaji is wearing a peplum white dress with minimal jewellery and mild make-up. Try wearing your hair pack like hers and you are good to go!

    Seyi Shay’s white skirt suit looks sweet and perfect with the embellishment across the front; remember the rule? Keep your look as simple as possible.

    For the petite look, our dearest Chidinma’s all-white dress is worth copying. The white dress is very adorable. Complement your outfit with peep-toe shoes and keep make-up and accessories at minimal.

  • MEN’S IN WHITE OUTFIT

    MEN’S IN WHITE OUTFIT

    COLOURS are created to colour our life and make it fun. White are a colour of holiness, cleanliness, and a pure colour.

    Is white looks good for men too? Yes, it is if you have a girl and you have to accompany her to attend a party and she decides to wear white dress, you can wear all white outfits for men to balance her.

    All white outfits for men  include white long or short pant, white shirt, white coat, and white shoes. It is good to make your white outfit looks nicer. White oufits can be worn as formal and informal outfit. You can rock your white outfit with white Sneakers, white Oxford, white Nike e.t.c .White shoes are the perfect complement for a classy outfit.

  • Bleach white or die trying

    Bleach white or die trying

    NAKED, the skinny toddler lay swaddled in a blanket of sweat on the hospital bed. Splayed across the sheet like bruised violet, she cut the picture of a child in extreme agony. Time was 3.45 p.m. and the torrent outside had subsided to a drizzle but the tiny tot continued to drip with sweat. Few minutes later, her cherubic face yielded to a grimace, her pinkish lips twisted into a pout and her tiny fingers flailed across her belly to scratch at her back.17, 18, 19, 20 37 BLEACHING 7-2-15.

    Closer, she wasn’t such a pretty sight. Her clammy skin was a curtain of rash and scratch sores; every time she breathed, she whimpered like a newborn suffocating in a woolly shawl. Her name is Eva (surname withheld) and she is three years old.

    Contrary to the hospital doctor and matron’s initial diagnosis, Eva had developed no fever neither was she reacting to a clinical drug; the creepy rash on her skin, her mottled complexion and burdensome perspiration were direct consequences of her mother’s love for her.

    Call it twisted love if you like but Ndidi, a tailor and the toddler’s mother, professes uninhibited care for her daughter, and in a rare display of maternal affection for her child, Ndidi mixed Eva’s baby lotion with her personal skin whitener.

    Ndidi said: “Na so I dey mix am and use am for am since she reach five months. Nothing do am since I don dey use am for am…Na the cream save her colour because she dey get heat rash well well. Na hin make the heat rash go. I no fit kill my own child now…roughly translated thus: “That’s how I have been mixing it and using it for her since she clocked five months. She can’t come to any harm thereby…I do it to preserve her complexion and take care of her skin. It is what I used to cure her of her heat rash. I can’t harm my own child.”

    Ronke Egbeyemi, the Chief Matron of the Ijoko, Ogun State-based clinic where little Eva is recuperating, revealed that the three-year-old had been subjected to a heavy cocktail of skin bleachers by her mother. Further findings revealed that Ndidi has been spending an average of N4, 500 per month on skin bleachers on her daughter’s skin although the money could adequately pay for a pack of learning materials or multivitamins and baby milk for the malnourished child.

    “I do not know what is wrong with the mother but if the girl’s nanny hadn’t rushed her to our clinic, who knows what state the poor child would be in now?” said Egbeyemi. According to her, Eva’s nanny reported that the child had suddenly broken into a loud wail just before her lunch hour. “The nanny claimed that she tried unsuccessfully to pacify her,” stated Egbeyemi.

    Corroborating her, the nanny, who simply identified herself as Hadiza, noted that she had always wondered why little Angel was persistently covered in sweat. “That afternoon, she started screaming suddenly and tugging at her dress. When I pulled it off her, I discovered that she was sweating profusely and her body was covered in red sores.”

    Ndidi, however, refused to accept that it was the skin whitener she had been applying on her child that was responsible for her medical condition. According to her, “The cream no do am anything. Na im true colour the cream dey bring out. Before, dem talk say na malaria do am, today dem dey say na me poison am with bleaching cream. Make dem kuku talk say dem no know wetin do am,” roughly translated thus: “The cream didn’t harm her. It simply brings out her true colour. Earlier they diagnosed her of malaria; today, they claim I poisoned her with bleaching cream. They should simply own up that they don’t know what is wrong with her.”

    Maddened by her lack of contrition, Festus, her estranged husband and police constable, has decided to take his child away from her. “That (Eva) is my only daughter. I will not wait for her (Ndidi) to kill her for me,” he said, adding that he would be taking Eva away to live with him and his “legal wife.”

    Several kilometres from the Ijoko, Ogun State scene of the skin bleaching accident, in Mosalasi, Lagos to be precise, Felicia, a self-styled beautician and pub owner, operates a burgeoning business. While she plays the role of a general overseer, she lets her three daughters learn the ropes of the business by taking charge of it.

    Every day, the mother and grandma engage in a lucrative routine mixing skin bleachers for neighbourhood housewives, undergraduates and teenagers for as little as N1, 500 and as much as N3, 000. With their faces tone-bleached and heavily made up like the shiny moss crust coating the base of her brightly coloured beauty kiosk and makeshift pub beside it, you’d think they were primed to espouse a poetry of contrariety. Shades of red, green and black cast unattractive traceries along Felicia’s veins. Add that to her scaly and badly wrinkled skin and you have a perfect portrait for an anti-bleaching campaign. But Felicia argued that the rapid deterioration of her skin was caused by a minor bruise and “bad weather.” “I no dey bleach o. You call dis one bleaching? Na toning I dey tone,” she said, adding that her business is lucrative because she offers quality service at very cheap prices.

     

    ‘It’s not bleaching, it is light toning’

    Not a few women, irrespective of education, exposure and social class share a similar mentality with Felicia. “There is a difference between light toning and skin bleaching. Even those creams have it indicated on their leaflets if they are meant to bleach or slightly tone the user’s skin to attain its real glow. The cream I use for instance is meant for light toning and clearing of acme and dark spots. It doesn’t bleach,” claimed Bunmi Adedotun, an advertising executive.

    Corroborating her, Kikelomo Ayinde-Roberts, a clothier and beauty products importer, stated that “Bleaching is different from toning. And there is nothing wrong with bleaching if you can find the right cream for your skin type. The key is to find the proper cream or mixture that would interact well with your skin. You see, my skin type interacts well with a mixture I discovered three years ago; when my friend tried it, it burnt her skin. I had to recommend another cocktail for her. I also make recommendations for many of these society women you see around,” claimed the clothier even as she scratched a mottled spot on her chin.

     

    Skin lightening and global capital

    Besides established skin bleaching product line manufacturers, contemporary beauty circuits currently bloom with the emergence and preponderance of self-styled skin care and bleaching specialists. Many women and girls now concoct their own treatments or purchase products from self-styled beauty experts offering special creams, soaps, or lotions.

    The Nation findings revealed that the glutathione injection is valued between N200, 000 and N300, 000 for high end users. “However, to guarantee the effectiveness of the treatment, you have to buy and use glutathione capsules regularly. The capsules cost between N50, 000 and N70, 000,” disclosed Iyabo Senoma, a grocer who is currently undergoing the glutathione treatment at an exclusive spa in Ajah, Lagos.

    Further findings revealed that new fascination with skin bleachers and the status-enhancing whitening treatment has caught on in the upscale social circuits of Lagos. Predictably, dealers of skin lightening products have emerged with beauty parlors springing up within and about exclusive and commercial nerve centres of the city.

    Many of these spas and skin bleaching parlours often promise a lighter, radiant and spot-free complexion for clients at specified rates. Estimates by Global Industry Analysts indicate that the market for skin bleachers will exceed N150 billion globally by 2015.

    But while the affluent throng the trendy bowels of contemporary high end beauty parlours, less affluent patrons frequent the modest bleaching parlours. At Mama Tega Cosmetics (MTC) beauty parlour in Yaba market, the price varies for skin whitening cocktails. “And if you have a “Skin Mission” as per, whitening, and you don’t have up to the statutory N25, 000, she will recommend another product that fits your budget,” croons an MTC enthusiast. At BISMID Cosmetics, a jar of different skin whitener is available at N3, 000. Several other beauticians offer varieties of skin whiteners and mixtures at various prices depending on their clients’ purse.

    At low-budget, makeshift beauty parlours like Felicia’s for instance, skin whitening creams cost between N150 a tube to N5, 000 a jar.

    Rosemary Oruan, a dermatologist and ‘registered and internationally trained beautician,’ however, stated that many of the products are often ineffective sham products or else effective but containing highly toxic materials such as mercury, hydroquinone and lead.

     

    Bleaching at a glance

    Bleaching is a process by which different products are used for the purpose of lightening normally dark skin. These agents remove the melanin pigment but do not destroy the melanin producing cells. Thus, daily use combined with minimization of exposure to the sun is required for persistence of the lightening effect. The race to be white has however attained an alarming proportion in Nigeria.

    Skin bleaching or lightening is a global phenomenon; however, in recent years, the practice has come under fire because of its potential negative health effects and association with colonialism and self-imagery. There is evidence that some types of skin-whitening products use harmful active ingredients such as mercury and hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is banned in many other countries and can only be prescribed by a doctor.

     

    Why bleach?

    Several social pressures favouring lighter skin tone among Africans have been previously identified. Grace Nwogu, a dermatologist, blamed “mischievous media advertisements which usually glorify lighter skin tone at no cost” for the prevalence of use of bleaching cosmetics by Nigerian females. According to her, “these products are sold solely in local shops patronised by Africans, rather than traditional pharmacies or cosmetic shops. Most are sold as cosmetic products in non-medical stores without warning about adverse effects or contraindications. With persistent usage, most users of these products end up with badly damaged skins.”

    On another note, Mariam Alebiosu, a consultant clinical psychologist, identified the rating of skin colour as a determinant of social class as one of the many factors pushing uninformed Nigerians to try out skin bleaching. “At the end, in their search for prestige, they end up with badly damaged skin,” noted Alebiosu.

    There have been local and transnational campaigns to stop the manufacture of products containing mercury in the EU and efforts to inform African consumers of the dangers of their use and to foster the idea of black pride. Governments in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya have banned the import and sale of mercury and hydroquinone products but they continue to be smuggled in from other African nations.

    17, 18, 19, 20 37 BLEACHING 7-2-15.Despite these efforts, the use of skin lighteners has been increasing among modernised and cosmopolitan Nigerian women as well as their African peers. The prevalent situation undoubtedly contradicts the situation back in the 1970s when typical skin lightener users were constituted mostly by prostitutes, desperate spinsters, divorcees and the rural poor. The media often portrayed women who bleach as naïve, irrational and gullible. But nowadays, ladies are no longer ashamed to bleach or even talk about it with pride in some social circles.

    More worrisomely, local entertainers to whom several youngsters look up to as role models engage in a scramble for skin bleachers. Many who had black skin now flaunt extremely whitened complexion in the wake of heavy application of skin whiteners to their skin.

    In early January 2014, Reprudencia Sonkey a.k.a Dencia, a Cameroonian artiste with notable presence in Nigeria, launched Whitenicious, a skin care line. Within 24 hours, the product sold out and “before” and “after” pictures (that is, testimonial pictures) of the artiste generated buzz on the internet. Three weeks later, demands for the product escalated to 20,000 units and showed no signs of slowing down. Although the product promotes itself as a “7-day fast acting dark spot remover,” Dencia received knocks for not only promoting skin lightening, but self-hatred among women of colour and more specifically, African women.

    In the heat of the backlash, Dencia stands behind Whitenicious, arguing that she is in fact helping women overcome an obstacle. In an interview with United States-based Ebony Magazine, Dencia defended her product line, stating: “This product doesn’t have hydroquinone, it doesn’t have steroids, and it doesn’t have mercury.” Dencia claims the skincare cream is intended to remove dark spots, and that it is out of her control if customers use it to whiten their entire skin. Defending her own drastically altered appearance since she started using Whitenicious, the singer asserts: “I was never that dark in real life… And guess what? I don’t even care because [critics] are bringing me business.”

    According to the World Health Organisation, 77 per cent of Nigerian women use skin lightening products on a regular basis. It is also reported that some women use these products for as long as 20 years. The number is growing by the day. It is generally believed that this practice is influenced by deep racial inferiority, ignorance of identity or a crisis of identity but it is important to note that there is more to it than this.

    For some of the women, skin lightening satisfies their need for attention, their desire for beauty as seen in magazines where models and celebrities have light coloured skin. It can be seen as perpetuating the colonial belief that being lighter is better.

    Today, it is the upwardly mobile Nigerian women, those with technical diplomas or university degrees and well-paid jobs, who are driving the market in skin lighteners. A recent study by Mictert Marketing Research found that one in 13 upwardly mobile black women aged 25 to 35 use skin lighteners frequently.

     

    Dangers of skin-bleaching

    A recent study carried out to assess immunologic skin tests and hematological indices in the users of skin lightening creams in Nigeria produced worrisome findings. The test, which has been published in international medical research journals, was carried out by a team of researchers led by Ganiyu Arinola (PhD) of the Department of Chemical Pathology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (UI), Nigeria,Ibadan, Oyo State.

    The laboratory test featured 60 participants; 30 of them were skin bleachers who had used lightening creams for average of 4.9 years, while the remaining 30 who had never bleached their skins, served as the control group. The subjects were recruited from various locations within the city of Ibadan. All the participants gave willing consent after the nature and objectives of the study were explained to them. Those with history of asthma, tuberculosis infection or BCG vaccine (confirmed by the mark on the upper arm) as well as those on medication (e.g. immunosuppressive or antibiotic drugs) were excluded from the study. The study had the approval of the University of Ibadan/University College Hospital Joint Ethical Review Committee, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    The laboratory investigations performed included full blood count, packed cell volume (PCV), total and differential white blood cell count), Mantoux skin test (In vivo measurement of Type IV hypersensitivity) and skin prick test (In vivo detection of Type 1 hypersensitivity).

    Results: The mean values of PCV and neutrophils (white blood cells) were significantly lower, while the mean value of lymphocytes was higher in the users of skin lightening creams when compared with the control group. There was significantly increased diameter of skin reaction to Mantoux test in the users of skin lightening creams when compared with the controls. Skin prick test also showed significantly increased reaction diameter with dog epithelia antigen in the users of skin lightening creams when compared with controls.

    Significantly higher proportions of the users of skin lightening creams were positive to GS2 cockroach antigen, standardised mite antigen and mouse epithelia antigen when compared with the controls. The epidermis layer of the skin plays important role in the body immunological defense against pathogens (disease causing bacteria and other parasites).

    “Whenever the skin immune defence mechanism is impaired, the skin is expected to become prone to various infections. The presence of infectious agents will mobilise the polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) to the site of infection, thereby causing reduced circulating neutrophils, that is white blood cells. (White blood cells are needed to protect the body from germs or deadly infections.)

    “In this study, the mean level of circulating neutrophils (white blood cells) was found to be significantly lower, while the mean level of circulating lymphocytes was found to be significantly higher in test subjects compared with the controls. Thus, suggesting possibility of localised infection of the skin.

    “The mean level of packed cell volume in test subjects was significantly lower in the test when compared with the controls. This might be due to red blood cells destruction by skin lightening creams that entered blood circulation through permeabilised skin.

    Positive Mantoux skin test reaction suggests the presence of activated phagocytes (Phagocytes are cells that protect the body by ingesting (phagocytosing) harmful foreign particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cells) due to infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis or environmental Mycobacteria.

    Conclusion: According to Dr. Arinola and his team, “The study shows that skin lightening creams cause disruption in the normal immunologic functions (Types I and IV hypersensitivity states) of the skin and certain hematological parameters. There is need for public awareness programme to enlighten the populace about the danger involved in the practice of skin lightening. Skin lightening disrupts primary innate immune function of the epidermal skin leading to susceptibility of the users to localized or systemic infections since lightening creams used for long duration, on a large body surface area and under hot humid conditions enhanced percutaneous absorption.

    “In addition, higher susceptibility to infections in these people may lead to an increased of phagocytes in response to infections which generated free radicals, increased utilisation of antioxidants, thus lowering the antioxidant potential which may lead to a state of oxidative stress and increased in the rates of skin cancer. Other side effects of skin lightening creams are damage of elastic fibers of the skin, skin wrinkling, ochronosis, acrodynia, contact allergy, stretch marks and ache. This study is designed to investigate the possible effects of skin lightening cream on skin immune status by determining the skin responses to environmental antigens. (An antigen is any substance such as chemicals, bacteria, viruses, or pollen that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against it,” stated the research team.

     

    More gruesome news…

    Prolonged use of bleaching agents, with the loss of the protective effect of melanin pigment, combined with sun exposure can theoretically lead to an increased risk of skin cancer, according Fortune Okerereke, a dermatologist. According to her, incessant use of skin whiteners also causes premature aging as the harsh chemicals in the creams cause serious damage to the elastic fibers of the skin. Hydroquinone causes a paradoxical increased pigmentation of the skin, called ochronosis. This results from pigment deposition in the deeper parts of the skin. Other complications include eczema, as these agents are often irritating to the skin. With steroid use, the main side effect is the increased risk of skin infections, for example, fungal infections and scabies. There is also skin thinning, with the development of stretch marks and acne. Furthermore, with the uncontrolled use of steroids on the skin, individuals may experience poor wound healing.

    With the use of more potent steroid creams, applied over a large body surface area, there is a risk of systemic side effects, including the development of high blood pressure and diabetes. Mercury agents12 when applied to the skin in sufficient quantities can be absorbed leading to mercury poisoning, which is manifested by a range of symptoms, including psychiatric, neurological and kidney problems. Mercury of course is highly toxic, and sustained exposure can lead to neurological damage and kidney disease. Hydroquinone (originally an industrial chemical) is effective in suppressing melanin production, but exposure to the sunhard to avoid in Africadamages skin that has been treated.

    Systemic side effects of some of these agents (including mercury poisoning) may also be observed in babies if they are used by pregnant or breast feeding women. According to local dermatologists, skin lightening disrupts primary innate immune function of the epidermal skin leading to susceptibility of the users to systemic infections since lightening creams used for long duration, on a large body surface area and under hot humid conditions enhances absorption. In addition, higher susceptibility to infections by users may lead to a state of oxidative stress and increase in the rates of skin cancer. Other side effects of skin lightening creams are damage of elastic fibers of the skin, skin wrinkling, contact allergy, stretch marks and ache.

     

    Skin bleaching as a mental problem

    Dr. Daudi Ajani ya Azibo, an independent scholar and expert in African-centered (Black) Psychology, postulated through his “Azibo Nosology,” the only diagnostic system of mental disorders directly linked to African-centered personality theory. The body of work is currently the fifth most cited article in the history of the Journal of Black Psychology (JPB).

    According to Azibo, within every culture, one might find as an exception an individual who is radically out of step with his or her culture regarding a given behaviour. The notion that there may be individual bleachers or lighteners who engage in the behaviour for reasons far removed from the abnormal is basically according to him. Such behaviour is often more inappropriate and pathological than “normal,” he claimed.

    The behaviour of so-called “odd duck” persons or persons marching to their own drum, so to speak, is evaluated as not mentally ill so long as it is not anti-self/anti-African in motivation or actuality and is neither harmful to maintaining African civilisation nor the African individual himself or herself. However, the moment it begins to constitute harm to the skin bleacher, it becomes a criterion for abnormalcy in every abnormal psychology textbook. These principles would appear reasonable. Fathoming the psychology of individuals who bleach or lighten without violating these principles does not seem possible, especially in the light of their reactive status as occurs under Eurasian domination of Africans, he argued.

     

    Taming a monstrous trend

    One often-proposed solution to the problem is re-orientation that stresses the diversity of types of beauty and desirability and that valorises darker skin shades, so that lightness or whiteness is dislodged as the dominant standard. But while such efforts are needed, it is noteworthy that focusing only on individual consciousness and motives distracts attention from the very powerful economic forces that help to create the yearning for lightness and that offer to fulfill the yearning at a steep price.

    Seyi Akinwumi, a Lagos-based lawyer, recommended that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and other government regulating agencies in control of the regulations and importation of cosmetics and pharmaceutical products should ensure that such undesirable products are not registered or allowed entry into the country. She also suggested a follow-up action to educate young girls on the implications of using skin whiteners, toners, soaps and other toxic products.

    Urgent steps need to be taken to outlaw the economic forces responsible for the influx of dangerous skin whiteners in the country, argued Adebola Adele, an international businessman and economist. According to him, the manufacturing, advertising, and sale of skin lightening cream has become a major growth market for giant multinational corporations with sophisticated means of creating and manipulating needs. The multinationals produce separate product lines that appeal to different target audiences. For some lines of products, the corporations harness the prestige of science by showing cross-sectional diagrams of skin cells and by displaying images of doctors in white coats.

    Dark skin or dark spots become a disease for which skin lighteners offer a cure. For other lines designed to appeal to those who respond to appeals to naturalness, corporations call up nature by emphasising the use of plant extracts and by displaying images of light-skinned women against a background of blue skies and fields of flowers. Dark skin becomes a veil that hides individuals’ natural luminescence, which natural skin lighteners will uncover.

    For all products, however, dark skin is associated with pain, rejection and limited options; achieving light skin is thus seen as necessary to being youthful, attractive, modern, and affluent, in short, to being “all that you can be.”

  • Mesmerize in WHITE

    Mesmerize in WHITE

    THE color of the outfits we wear usually depicts our mood, as well as the statements that we intend to make at a particular event. There are times when it is better to opt for bright colours to mesmerize others, as well as times when it is better to look mature and simple in dull colours like black, grey and navy-blue. One other color that has an edge over others is white. You can explore the white outfit and stand out at that special event that you are planning for.