The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly Truth About the Skin Bleaching Phenomenon Sweeping Jamaica Maybe you've heard about the rising trend in skin bleaching that's sweeping through Jamaica right now? Where people there are going to extreme lengths to get brighter toned skin. Lengths that go beyond just using traditional, safe creams and lotions and see people using harsh chemical brighteners, peroxide and bleach! Which can lead to nasty life-long skin problems and complications. So what's actually going on here and why is this happening and at what cost to the people of Jamaica? Let's talk about the good the bad and the ugly side to skin bleaching and Colorism!
Why Are Jamaicans Bleaching Their Skin? In Jamaica there is a kind of stigmatic belief in Jamaican society where lighter coloured skin is considered to be more “elite like� and is associated with with people who have more privileges or advantages in life and could perhaps help with getting hired and getting a job. So much so in fact that there is even a term known as the "Snow White Complex" that some lighter coloured people are referred to as having as though they will have more of an advantage in life. This is also greatly powered and affected by the media who regularly use only light and fair skinned people in commercials, programs and the media conditioning this into people to want lighter skin.
The Ugly Truth About Chemical Skin Brighteners Many off the shelf skin brightening products are often created using harsh chemicals and are what make up a large part of the skin brighteners being used in Jamaica. In a lot of those, the chemicals and ingredients used within them have actually been banned from being produced and sold. However many people are still making full use of them and it's not hard to find these for sale quite easily on the black market. Some of them only use gentle, all natural agents. But some of them don't and these are the ones that are knock off's of the original and safe skin brightener products and they often contain harmful chemicals and ingredients. What is more, these cheap knock off's are regularly sold at cheap prices by street vendors which makes it very easy for many people to get hold of those skin brightening ointments.
Skin Bleaching Kills and Destroys Your Skin and Looks The sad thing is, those people don't often know exactly what it is they're putting on their skin. And they're so desperate to have brighter skin that they even resort to using household bleach mixed with