Skin Absorption - UK's Skin Bleaching Trade Exposed

[Guest guest]

Hey y'all,

 

Read the last sentence .. correct it is and its in line with what many

of us have said for years on absorption .. RARE is the chemical that

can deeply penetrate HEALTHY skin.

 

Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

UK's Skin Bleaching Trade Exposed

 

* Story Highlights

* Illegal skin bleaching products a " major problem " among ethnic

groups in UK

* Skin bleaching common practice in Americas, Africa, Asia and now Europe

* Psychologists blame " colorism " on media's focus on fair-skinned blacks

* Dermatologists say abusing products can be dangerous over time

 

26 November 2007

 

By CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh

 

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Accompanied by body-armor vested London

police officers, Lambeth Senior Trading Standards Officer Ray Bouch

walks into a beauty and cosmetics shop on Brixton's Electric Avenue.

 

Bouch works for the London borough's Public Protection Unit -- tasked

with keeping everything from faulty condoms to illicit vodka off the

streets.

 

Today, he's in search of contraband cosmetics: illegal skin bleaching

creams British authorities say can be harmful to consumers. Within

minutes, he's found almost a dozen bars of soap listing a banned

bleaching agent on the box.

 

" Illegal bleaching creams and soaps are a major problem, " Bouch says.

" And once we eradicate it from Brixton, it will go to another borough

where there's a big Asian or Black population. "

 

Skin bleaching -- using chemical or natural products to lighten skin

color -- is common practice in the Americas, Africa, across Asia, and

increasingly, in Europe.

 

Psychologists say consumer demand can be traced to perceptions that

lighter skinned or white people are more successful, intelligent and

sexually desirable.

 

And as the UK's Asian, African and African-Caribbean communities grow,

so too -- cosmetics industry experts say -- does ethnic spending power

for products promoted to lighten skin tone.

 

But some of these creams, soaps and solutions contain hydroquinone, an

ingredient that is banned in cosmetic products sold in the United

Kingdom.

 

The United States Food and Drug Administration says based on

experiments done on animals, it " cannot rule out " hydroquinone's

potential cancer risk in humans.

 

Use of the ingredient in over-the-counter cosmetics is restricted, but

still legal, in the U.S., South Africa and other countries. And some

of these products are making their way to store shelves across the UK.

 

The police officers say they are stationed to keep the peace, as Bouch

asks the store manager why the banned products are for sale.

 

She says the bleaching soaps were an oversight: " The soaps are just

something that's come on our shelves without us realizing. To sell

this would be stupidity, " she says.

 

But Bouch believes some shops are continuing to sell illegal skin

creams despite the risk of fines because demand for the products is so

high. " The only thing I can say is that it is demand-led. Shop owners

are making a great profit from it, " Bouch says.

 

Cosmetics industry analysts say cosmetics companies are realizing

there's money to be made here. They argue minority communities are an

underserved market with a long tradition of buying bleaching products

-- legal or otherwise.

 

" Ethnic consumers in the UK account for around one in 10 people, " says

Alexandra Richmond, Senior Health and Beauty Analyst with Mintel

Research.

 

" We've noticed the number of launches of not just skin creams, but

soaps and deodorants that contain whitening and bleaching agents. "

 

Dr. Dele Olajide, a leading psychologist at King's College London,

blames consumer demand on the media centering on fair skinned blacks

like American pop singer Beyonce and British actress Thandie Newton.

 

" The image that the media presents about black people is that we are

inferior, we are not as good as everybody else. But those who are

successful and going places are those who are light-skinned people. So

one might say that the desire to be like white people underpins

people's wanting to be fairer-skinned, " Olajide says.

 

Recently in the U.S., an African American D.J. was roundly criticized

for offering light-skinned women free admission into a Detroit

nightclub.

 

So-called " colorism " isn't limited to blacks: A commercial seen on

Indian satellite channels and on YouTube stars Bollywood superstar

Shahrukh Khan promoting a skin cream called " Fair & Handsome. "

 

The commercial shows a remarkably glum dark-skinned Indian man who,

after using the skin lightening cream, turns many shades whiter. He

now walks with confidence -- and with a lovely lady running to his

side.

 

Dermatologists say bleaching creams with hydroquinone are safe to

reduce the appearance of age spots or smaller blemishes -- if used as

directed. Read what dermatologists in America say in defense of

hydroquinone.

 

But other skin specialists say abusing products, for example by

rubbing the product on the entire face, neck or body can be dangerous

over time.

 

" There is no safe way to bleach your skin beyond your natural color, "

says Sujata Jolly, a research scientist.

 

" Initially, [the bleaching cream] will appear to lighten the skin, "

she says. " The reaction between the sun and chemicals triggers an

oxidation reaction, which then starts turning the skin darker ... and

as the skin gets darker, one uses more cream more vigorously.

 

" By doing that you start to break the skin, and then the chemicals

will then penetrate into the bloodstream and reach your liver and

kidneys. And that's where it could cause more damage, " she says.

 

© 2007 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All

Rights Reserved.

[Guest guest]

, " Butch Owen " <butchowen wrote:

>

> Hey y'all,

>

> Read the last sentence .. correct it is and its in line with what many

> of us have said for years on absorption .. RARE is the chemical that

> can deeply penetrate HEALTHY skin.

>

> Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

>

> UK's Skin Bleaching Trade Exposed

>

> * Story Highlights

> * Illegal skin bleaching products a " major problem " among ethnic

> groups in UK

> * Skin bleaching common practice in Americas, Africa, Asia and now Europe

> * Psychologists blame " colorism " on media's focus on fair-skinned blacks

> * Dermatologists say abusing products can be dangerous over time

>

 

Thanks for posting this, Butch. It is so sad on so many levels. Self

acceptance is the

secret of real beauty. The attempts to change skin color - whether by bleaching

or staying

in the sun to darken light skin - is a deadly endeavor. Having dealt with one

instance of

melanoma, I learned to accept the color of my skin quite quickly - no more sun

bathing

for me! I will never be tan and that is just the way my life is in this

lifetime.

 

~Kathy