adminAnne Ruthenburg Fashion Diary
HI there readers, how are you doing this week?
The obsession of skin whitening never seems to go away, does it? I am starting to think the more we say no to it, the more people do it! I do not think us darker skinned people realise how damaging these things are. This means there will be long term health issues to us. The sad thing is a lot of these healthy issues are so common, one would not think it is caused by the lightening products. Anyway, my job is not to simply say NO! But to expose the issue as a whole, so here we go.
Whatever the reason, the skin whitening beauty industry has made a tremendous amount of money selling pills and creams that focus on lightening the skin. But then again, whatever reasons people may have, they still wind up trying the same whitening pills to get the skin colour that they want. It is just like fake hair – it is not going away no matter how much advice we give people to stay natural. So here we go . . .
International medical science has presented some studies to show several skin whitening pills present certain side effects to some people. The following are the effects I found out about:
1. Allergic Reactions – Some people get allergic reactions from certain skin whitening pills just like with the creams. Some of areas of your body could develop swelling or even skin rashes. If this happens, stop using the product immediately and contact your doctor.
2. Cancer Causing Ingredients – Are you familiar with one of the ingredients in most skin whitening products called hydroquinone. If you are, it is best to know studies show that this certain ingredient has possible cancer-causing factors. Some countries ban the use of hydroquinone because of studies that reveal this.
3. Disruption Of Normal Skin Functions – Some skin whitening ingredients have shown to interfere with the normal production of melanin on a person’s skin. Some ingredients could also affect the body’s hormone levels.
4. Physical Stress To The Body – Some ingredients for lightening products may cause symptoms, such as insomnia, depression, mood swings, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, headaches and many others.
5. Liver Damage – Constantly taking pills could be harmful, no matter what type they are. The reason behind that is when a person consumes a pill, their liver could be damaged because there is a possibility of this organ overworking itself. Do they work? Of cause, just look around you at the changing colour of your friends around the city. Yes Mutare has always been known to have beautiful lighter skinned women, however now we have a larger number of fairer women and not all of them are natural.
I can’t stop you trying to lighten your skin, all I can say is make sure to do the necessary research, so that you could protect your body from any harmful effects of certain pills.
Pills that contain glutathione are said to be beneficial for not only skin whitening, but also because it is a potent antioxidant, which could help boost your immune system. It also protects the heart from some medical conditions and slows down the process of aging. For that reason, many people opt in taking glutathione pills instead of standard whitening pills because of its positive effects to the body. Many people have actually claimed to see results of lighter skin after taking the pills for at least four to six months (that’s a long time to be taking any form of medication when you are not ill).
It is better to know about the difficulties of skin whitening pills before you try them. This is not meant to scare you so that you will not try lightening pills; rather it is to let you know about realistic scenarios regarding this type of skin whitening.
That’s it from me folks, food for thought! Until next week, God bless!
◆ Anastasia is an ex-photographic model, a blogger (annruthenburg.blogspot.com) , a writer, and a fashionista and can be messaged on 0772 933 845 or emailed at [email protected]
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