{"id":45775,"date":"2023-08-30T20:11:05","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T20:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country"},"modified":"2023-08-30T20:37:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T20:37:54","slug":"toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country","title":{"rendered":"Toxic skin tone lightners banned in many places still on sale in country"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. <\/strong><\/span>The desire to have a lighter skin tone is leading young people and adults, boys and girls, in Mozambique to use creams and other products that are potentially dangerous for their health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought this cream so that I could look better,\u201d says Abussete Nota, a 24-year-old bricklayer, who wants to look more like his \u201clight friends\u201d: he says that when they are together, their skin will be \u201ccompatible\u201d.<\/p>\n

His inconstant income has forced him to occasionally suspend his skin treatment, which has been going on for three years, in order to meet the basic needs of his newborn son.<\/p>\n

But in May, facial whitening became part of his routine again.<\/p>\n

The supply of this type of product \u2013 banned in other countries \u2013 is booming in local markets to meet the demand, which is mainly made up of middle and lower class consumers.<\/p>\n

There are soaps, creams, lotions, scrubs, pills and even injections designed to reduce the production of melanin, the pigment that gives skin its colour.<\/p>\n

They are sold at sufficiently attractive and affordable prices.<\/p>\n

A 100 millilitre bottle of skin lightener costs an average of 100 to 120 meticais (around 1.5 euros).<\/p>\n

The most expensive skin lightener with rapid effects costs an average of 1,000 meticais (14.4 euros).<\/p>\n

Abussete buys the cream from the stalls at the 38 Mili\u0301metros street market in Chimoio, the provincial capital of Manica, in the centre of the country.<\/p>\n

But there are side effects: drier skin and \u201cblackheads\u201d are sometimes visible marks of the creams \u2013 and at times, self-esteem suffers.<\/p>\n

Gina Mosse, who owns a hardware stall in the 38 Mili\u0301metros market, says she has used whitening products, but the results \u201cdepend on the products, because some end up spoiling the skin\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people get a tomato colour because they abuse creams,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Right next door, Gina faces condemnation from her saleswoman friend Ca\u0302ndida Paz.<\/p>\n

Ca\u0302ndida describes creams as products that \u201cdivide a woman\u2019s colour: one part becomes dark, the other becomes light, like \u2018fanta\u2019 on one side and \u2018coca-cola\u2019 on the other\u201d.<\/p>\n

There are very few cases in which there is no collateral damage from the improper use of skin lighteners without a prescription or medical supervision, explains Ancha Siaca, a general practitioner at Chimoio Provincial Hospital.<\/p>\n

The improper or prolonged use of products containing mercury, steroids or hydroquinone \u2013 which reduce melanin production but also cause damage \u2013 can be toxic and even carcinogenic.<\/p>\n

South Africa, Mozambique\u2019s neighbour, has some of the toughest legislation on the use of facial lighteners containing hydroquinone and was the first country in the world to ban them.<\/p>\n

Kenya, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Ghana and Rwanda followed in 2018.<\/p>\n

Studies estimate that the global skin-lightening products industry was worth around 4.8 billion dollars (4.4 billion euros) in 2017 and that the figure has continued to grow on the back of demand from middle and lower class consumers in Africa and Asia.<\/p>\n

Artur Semente, a wholesaler, confirms that demand is growing and says he\u2019s ready to meet it: he has \u201cat least 10 or 12 types of ointments to lighten\u201d the skin and guarantees that he can even find more, he just doesn\u2019t have them in stock.<\/p>\n

Sociologist Abi\u0301lio Mandlate believes that there is a generation trapped in the idea that \u201d pale skin is synonymous with beauty\u201d.<\/p>\n

Regarding the use of these products, he says: \u201cIt\u2019s bad in the sense that it jeopardises our own health and makes us lose the essence of who we are: our skin is dark and that\u2019s that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The university lecturer insists that the success of skin lighteners and the risks to public health should draw the attention of the Mozambican state and lead to restrictions on their use.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mozambique<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. The desire to have a lighter skin tone is leading young people and adults, boys and girls, in Mozambique to use creams and other products that are potentially dangerous for their health. \u201cI bought this cream so that I could look better,\u201d says Abussete Nota, a 24-year-old bricklayer, who wants to look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":45774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233,281,283],"class_list":["post-45775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mozambique","tag-mozambique"],"yoast_head":"\nToxic skin tone lightners banned in many places still on sale in country - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The desire to have a lighter skin tone is leading young people and adults, boys and girls, in Mozambique to use creams a ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toxic skin tone lightners banned in many places still on sale in country\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The desire to have a lighter skin tone is leading young people and adults, boys and girls, in Mozambique to use creams a ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-30T20:11:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-30T20:37:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2023\/08\/sm_1693411630.506738.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"775\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"517\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Toxic skin tone lightners banned in many places still on sale in country\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-30T20:11:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-30T20:37:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country\"},\"wordCount\":636,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2023\/08\/sm_1693411630.506738.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Mozambique\",\"Mozambique\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/toxic-skin-tone-lightners-banned-in-many-places-still-on-sale-in-country\",\"name\":\"Toxic skin tone lightners banned in many places still on sale in country - 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