\n<\/p>\n
Good morning. The slogan \u201cblack is beautiful\u201d rang out from civil rights marches in the US and UK during the 1960s and echoed through liberation struggles across the global south. It became a rallying cry against racist beauty standards that had long cast Black skin, facial features and hair as undesirable.<\/p>\n
These movements urged pride in what had been denigrated for centuries, and their message was not limited to people of African or Caribbean heritage. Calls to embrace natural beauty resonated across Asia and much of the global south, directly challenging the colonial belief that lighter skin conferred greater worth.<\/p>\n
Yet decades later, that belief seems to endure. Across the world, women of colour continue to use skin-lightening creams, many laced with toxic ingredients, in the hope of meeting beauty ideals shaped by colourism.<\/p>\n
Now, we are learning that the results are becoming even more devastating. For the first time, medical journals have reported rising cases of cancers among women of colour using skin-lightening products. The industry, now worth US$10.7bn (\u00a38bn), is expected to grow to US$18.1bn by 2033. Some reports <\/strong>even describe these products being used on babies and young children.<\/p>\n To understand why skin\u2011lightening creams remain so prevalent, and what can be done to end their appeal, I spoke to Prof Ncoza Dlova<\/strong><\/em>, head of dermatology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. That\u2019s after the headlines.<\/p>\n Ukraine <\/strong><\/em>| Donald Trump told European leaders on Wednesday he would be seeking a ceasefire in Ukraine at his summit with Vladimir Putin on Friday and gave reassurances that he would not make any territorial concessions without Kyiv\u2019s full involvement.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n UK news <\/strong><\/em>| David Lammy has referred himself to the environment watchdog after going fishing with JD Vance without the required licence during the US vice-president\u2019s trip to the UK.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Immigration <\/strong><\/em>| At least 20 people have died after a boat capsized off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, a United Nations agency and local media reported on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n UK politics <\/strong><\/em>| Keir Starmer is to formally revive Northern Powerhouse Rail this autumn with an announcement expected before the Labour conference.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Palestine <\/strong><\/em>| The United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied territories has warned that moves to recognise a Palestinian state should not distract member states from stopping mass death and starvation in Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/span>Skin lightening, seen by some as producing a more desirable tone, removes melanin, decreasing natural protection from the sun.<\/span> Photograph: Simon Maina\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Recently, a patient walked into Ncoza Dlova\u2019s clinical office in need of support. She had dark-coloured pigmentations, known as ochronosis, and stretch marks on her face and neck. The marks were as a result of a skin-lightening cream she had used for three years. When Dlova asked why she used the cream, she told her that she wanted to look like a friend she felt was more beautiful.<\/p>\n Patients like this are now a daily occurrence for Dlova. \u201cI said \u2018I feel sorry about your situation, but unfortunately, I have to be realistic with you: there\u2019s nothing I can do to reverse your skin and make it look like it was before\u2019,\u201d Dlova remembers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a clear contrast between the face and the hand, with the hand being much darker and the face being much lighter. And then she broke down there and cried. I told her, I know this is painful, but now what I can offer you is using sunscreens to protect your skin from getting worse, or even getting skin cancers.\u201d<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s global health correspondent, Kat Lay, reported last month on a string of cases of women dying from cancer after using these products for several decades. Dlova and colleagues are now working on a paper that cites more than 55 cancer cases, from countries including Mali and Senegal.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t know the complications and side-effects. The patients I see who have side-effects regret it, and say they wish they\u2019d known,\u201d Dlova says.<\/p>\n When did this become an issue?<\/strong><\/p>\n The use of these creams isn\u2019t a new phenomenon. Reports of African women using skin-lightening creams and suffering harmful effects began emerging as early as the 1970s. At the time, these products often contained mercury as the bleaching agent, but their use was banned in South Africa in 1975 due to the risk of brain and skin damage.<\/p>\n Manufacturers switched to using hydroquinone instead. But in 1975, a professor at Pretoria University, George Findlay, wrote about the harms of hydroquinone in the British Journal of Dermatology. He explained that while the chemical initially lightens the skin, it later makes it rough with dark lumps that can turn into abscesses and ulcers. These effects seem to be accelerated by exposure to the sun, making them particularly dangerous for individuals who use them in African countries.<\/p>\n Dlova tells me this paper was groundbreaking and led to bans in other countries such as Rwanda and Ghana. But their use continues today due to weak regulation, while other companies are now using steroids in skin-lightening cream.<\/p>\n What are the side-effects?<\/strong><\/p>\n The melanin found in darker skin typically is known to offer some protection against sun damage (though people of colour should still wear sunscreen). Skin-lightening products work by removing the melanin and therefore this layer of protection, and can make some people look lighter, but they come with a whole set of complications. The combination of hydroquinone and steroids can be particularly dangerous.<\/p>\n \u201cThe immediate complication is the thinning of the skin, where you find that a person can\u2019t use any products. Whatever they use on the skin, it stings and it burns because the upper layer has been thinned. And then there\u2019s also fungal infections, which are common, because some of the steroids also are immunosuppressants,\u201d Dlova says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can also get steroid-induced acne or rosacea. And some patients, if they\u2019re using steroids, get excessive hair where they are using their products. There\u2019s stretch marks, because of the damage in collagens, and irreversible pigmentation, such as ochronosis.\u201d<\/p>\n The other side-effect increasingly raising alarm? Skin cancer.<\/p>\n The huge problem is that many women are simply unaware. A study Dlova recently carried out, of 700 women, found that 30% were using skin bleaching creams. And of those who were using the products, 90% of them didn\u2019t know about the side-effects.<\/p>\n Is this just <\/strong>affecting African women?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span>A brand of skin-lightening product available in India.<\/span> Photograph: Amit Dave\/Reuters<\/p>\n The overwhelming majority of Dlova\u2019s patients are women, though she does see some men. The reasons why are complex. \u201cIt\u2019s psychosocial, political, historical, but colonisation is at the root of it. Being lighter is seen as superior,\u201d she says. Research has found that lighter-skinned women often face shorter prison sentences, are seen as more intelligent in job interviews, and have greater career and dating prospects than their darker-skinned peers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much pressure for darker-skinned women to change their skin colour,\u201d Dlova adds. Just how much women are affected is still hard to say due to a lack of data. Across African countries, estimates <\/strong>in studies of its usage range from 25% to 80% of women.<\/p>\n But Dlova was keen to point out that the use of skin-lightening products affects countries across the globe. \u201cThis is not exclusively an African issue. It\u2019s a global phenomenon. It\u2019s as common in South Africa as it is in India,\u201d Dlova says, \u201cWe know about the caste system in India and we know about colonisation there and in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand. In all those countries, skin bleaching is pervasive. Even in South America.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to highlight that, because sometimes people say, \u2018Why are Africans changing their skin colour?\u2019 No, it\u2019s everyone who\u2019s Black or darker-skinned trying to be white because of colonisation.\u201d<\/p>\n How can we stop it?<\/strong><\/p>\n When a number of African countries banned hydroquinone, there was a slight reduction in the marketing of these products. But that\u2019s changed in the past decade because of social media, Dlova says.<\/p>\n Now, a growing number of beauty influencers on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook promote these products with a simple message of personal transformation, while their toxic ingredients are rarely acknowledged. Dlova believes regulation alone is not enough to push back on this worrying trend. She has called for public health campaigns to explain the immediate and long-term risks of using these products, as well as addressing colourism and colonial legacies.<\/p>\n Dlova is part of a global working group set up by the International League of Dermatological Societies to address skin lightening. She explains that the group includes dermatologists from across the world, including Japan, Korea, the Philippines, India, South America, Africa, Europe and the US. It also brings together anthropologists, historians, psychologists, community workers and patients.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Her hope is that by involving people from many disciplines and regions, they can develop a multi-pronged approach to the issue. \u201cWe just need to look at examples of advocacy that have been successful in the past, such as smoking, HIV, and see how they did it. It has to be sustained and continuous, not just a one-off. It must go on so that people become used to it and they know.\u201d<\/p>\n Of this campaign, she said: \u201cIt\u2019s something very close to my heart when I see these patients, some of whom are depressed or suicidal because they realise the damage from the products is permanent. It hurts me to see, it\u2019s very painful.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Eight-year-old Abdel Karim Wahdan spends his days between hospital beds and injections that he hates.<\/span> Photograph: Seham Tantesh<\/p>\n Since the blockade Israel forced upon Gaza in early March medical evacuations<\/strong> have slowed. This is a devastating account of the children waiting for treatment abroad. Saranka Maheswaran, newsletters team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n National police guidance<\/strong> will now include the ethnicity, and potentially the immigration status, of police suspects. The academic Nasar Meer makes a powerful argument as to why it\u2019s a huge misstep. Aamna<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n From Celine Song, director of the much-loved Past Lives, comes the Materialists<\/strong>. Peter Bradshaw reviews the film that prods at the debate of whether we marry for love or money, and if we can do both. Saranka<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n I chuckled my way through this piece by Joe Stone on how he tried to cut down his screen time<\/strong>, but ended up replacing one obsession (looking at his phone) for another (not looking at it). Aamna<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n A great bit of investigative work showing millions of litres of oil are seeping into UK soil from underground power cables. Yet more evidence of our crumbling energy infrastructure<\/strong> and another environmental headache. Phoebe<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/span>Jacob Ramsey\u2019s ability to play anywhere across midfield is admired by Eddie Howe.<\/span> Photograph: Neal Simpson\/Getty Images\/Allstar<\/p>\n Football <\/strong><\/em>| Newcastle are close to signing Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa for \u00a340m after resisting competition from West Ham for the versatile 24-year-old midfielder.<\/p>\n Tennis <\/strong><\/em>| Venus Williams will make her return to grand slam singles at the US Open after a two-year absence. At age 45, Williams will be the oldest singles entrant at the tournament since Renee Richards played there aged 47 in 1981.<\/p>\n Football <\/strong><\/em>| Marcus Rashford has offered a withering assessment of Manchester United\u2019s decline, claiming a lack of identity since Sir Alex Ferguson retired has marooned the club in \u201cno man\u2019s land\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/span>Guardian<\/span> Photograph: Guardian<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/strong> leads with \u201cTrump warns Putin faces \u2018severe consequences\u2019 if no truce agreed\u201d. The Financial Times<\/strong> takes a similar line: \u201cTrump warns \u2018severe consequences\u2019 will follow if Putin refuses to end war\u201d. The Times<\/strong> says \u201cTrump in warning to Putin on eve of talks\u201d, while the Telegraph<\/strong> reports \u201cTrump to offer Putin minerals for peace\u201d. The i<\/strong> has \u201cProtect Ukraine from \u2018bluffing\u2019 Putin, Zelensky urges Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n The Daily Mail<\/strong> leads on \u201cBBC climbs down over \u2018xenophobe\u2019 slur on top Tory\u201d. The Mirror<\/strong> reports \u201cArena bomber\u2019s brother on 3 murder bid charges\u201d. Finally, the Sun<\/strong> has \u201cGun plot link to \u00a364m Arsenal deal.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold banners and signs as they protest outside a Microsoft event.<\/span> Photograph: Jason Redmond\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n How Israel used Microsoft technology to spy on Palestinians<\/strong><\/p>\n Harry Davies<\/strong> on how Microsoft\u2019s cloud was used to facilitate mass surveillance of Palestinians.<\/p>\n <\/span> Illustration: Ella Baron\/The Guardian<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span>A water vole. <\/span> Photograph: Ian West\/PA<\/p>\n Natural England is celebrating the comeback of 150 previously struggling species, including the return of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly.<\/p>\n A series of targeted conservation projects have facilitated this recovery and demonstrated how a \u201cjoined up, collaborative approach\u201d can spell success for conservation.<\/p>\n Celebrations will take place at Brandon Marsh nature reserve, which has returned to hosting the Eurasian bittern, a wading bird which has found a renewed home in habitats of deep pools and reedbeds produced by the programme.<\/p>\n The work done by Natural England has set a positive precedent for further recovery of rare species.<\/p>\n Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n And finally, the Guardian\u2019s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Good morning. The slogan \u201cblack is beautiful\u201d rang out from civil rights marches in the US and UK during the 1960s and echoed through liberation struggles across the global south. It became a rallying cry against racist beauty standards that had long cast Black skin, facial features and hair as undesirable. These movements urged pride<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[2876,1043,6139,3678,1545,5526,2475,5600,1577],"class_list":{"0":"post-15686","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-beauty","9":"tag-briefing","10":"tag-colonial","11":"tag-created","12":"tag-industry","13":"tag-legacy","14":"tag-race","15":"tag-thursday","16":"tag-toxic"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Five big stories<\/h2>\n
\n
In depth: \u2018It\u2019s psychosocial, political, historical \u2013 being lighter is seen as superior\u2019<\/h2>\n
What else we\u2019ve been reading<\/h2>\n
\n
Sport<\/h2>\n
The front pages<\/h2>\n
Today in Focus<\/h2>\n
Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron<\/h2>\n
The Upside<\/h2>\n
Bored at work?<\/h2>\n