There is a saying “experience is the best teacher”. However I hold a different view that “the experience of others is the best teacher”.
There are many things in life which we may not have personally experienced but we can still learn from the consequences of others who took certain actions.
I am of the view that life will be very risky if we all want to find out certain things for ourselves before we learn from them. We would surely be in deep waters if we did that.
I was listening to a radio program on Joyfm call that’s is my opinion, I was surprise to hear Nana Kwao Ansah IV expressing as shock at the rate at what our pastors which are supposed men of God taken to the act of breaching.
Well, I must say that before I was seriously thinking and asking myself why are our ladies this day becoming fair?
As a journalist walking on the streets of Accra I find it difficult to understand why these trend is becoming the order of the day so I decided to take writing the number of drugs and the amount this ladies and pastors use in buying this drugs.
There are no doubt our ladies are pretty and beautiful but one would ask why are our ladies trying to breach?
There is one phenomenon which has been going on for ages. It is the use of skin lightening creams mainly among those of dark complexion.
In many parts of the world a fairer lighter skin is highly valued and many women start using skin lightening creams when they are quite young.
There are many people walking around with damaged skins, yet many young women want to experience what it’s like to have damaged skin!
I have evident of a woman who can best be described as a wonderful and respectable woman in my society who has vein looking green as I closely looked at . Her skin had been subjected to years of skin lightening creams leaving dark patches on her face which were rather unsightly.
I have great difficulty in describing anyone as not good looking but some people are working very hard to earn that description.
Many pretty young ladies have unfortunately fallen for the use of skin lightening creams and one of the attendant effects is the development of an offensive body odour.
I recently saw a lady who I had not seen for nearly a month and immediately noticed that she was looking fairer than usual.
Why do I feel so strongly about this issue? The reasons are very simple and not very hard to understand.
A lot of these skin lightening products contain steroids.
Although steroids can be useful in treating some skin diseases, such as psoriasis and eczema, this must take place under supervision of a skin specialist and when these are not monitored can lead to many health problems.
Steroids may cause permanent skin bleaching, thinning of skin, development of visible blood vessels, uneven colour leading to a blotchy appearance, redness, intense irritation, and blue-black discolouration of skin.
Apart from steroids many skin lightening creams contain hydroquinone which can cause cancer. It may also cause increased appetite and weight gain, deposits of fat in chest, face, upper back, and stomach, swelling, acne, muscle weakness and thinning of the skin.
Skin lightening products reduce the amount of melanin making the body more vulnerable to the ultra violet (UV) rays and thus to skin cancer and ageing.
Last year the Ghana Standard Authority disclose that there many skin lightening product in the system and that this year they will ban all the products.
The question I asked is are they trying to remind us that there are such product in the system and therefore our ladies should go and buy before the ban is imposed.
Many people will rarely admit that they are using such creams to lighten their skin. The skin creams can indeed reduce the appearances of skin blemishes and discoloration and so many people will tell you they use the creams to even out their skin tone because of irregular pigmentation and because certain areas of the skin are darker than others.
The truth is that most skin lightening products don’t actually bleach the skin. They actually limit the output of melanin.
They often contain a compound known as hydroquinone which has been considered the most effective skin whitening agent which but makes your skin look like a grater.
whenthis happens the damage cannot be corrected. You will be false to live with in your entire life.
People often ridicule the singer Michael Jackson for looking more white than black. The truth is that he suffers from a skin condition called vitiligo which results in loss of skin colour in patches throughout the face and body.
More than a decade ago he used powerful skin-lightening medication to blend his naturally brown skin colour with the area of his skin which had white patches.
As long as there are advertisements in the media encouraging people to change or hide what they don’t like about their looks, the practice of using skin lightening creams is likely to continue.
Given that chemical skin lightening has a range of serious side effects, the best advice would be to stay clear of such products and be happy to be in your skin.
You certainly do not need experience to teach you what it’s like to have a fair skin in my view. I sincerely think that our women want to look more beautiful and attractive to men but my little advice to our Christian women and those who do not have Christ in their life to stop using these products.
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