skin whitening was popular in both the east and the west for millenia!
and this forum, and Sammy Sosa, are proof, it still is to this day!
obviously, having evenly dark skin is not a disease, or curse. it's simply beautiful combination of good genes for natural partial sunblock, and a healthy lifestyle under the sun.
however, lets not hesitate to admit that many of us are here because we finally stopped for a bit to realize amidst our busy, outdoors lifestyles, that our skins have darkened through the many years of sun exposure. and, often times, that darkening is not even. understandably, the most exposed parts are weathered the most.
theres nothing wrong or to be ashamed about, with wanting to go back to look more even-toned or to go back to your unweathered, less blemished skin tone from many years ago. or even to look brighter and clearer-complected.
that's what exfoliation, microdermabrasion, skin peels, vitamins, minerals, natural actives, masks, scrubs, and sometimes lasers, are for, a gentle, subtle lightening of the skin to make it look fresh, younger, and healthier.
hardly no one is not aware of the topic of SL these days, thanks to the media and diversity in our communities. case in point Michael Jackson, may he rest in peace, will always be remembered for not only his incredible talent but his major physical transformation. underneath all the layers of cloths and clown makeup even after decades of monobenzone use, all the way to his deathbed, are physical and spiritual scars that show right through! a look at most of his unedited photos reveals Jackson obviously attempted depigmentation but was left somewhat disfigured despite using monobenzone and who knows what else, for over 20 years! the unsightly aesthetic disfigurement of hyperpigmented macules show right through copious layers of makeup despite applied by perhaps one of the world's best makeup artists!we can only try our best to understand it, a lesson learned for all of us in the arena of skin lightening.
MJ was hardly the first in the quest for a perfect pallor, there was also Queen Elizabeth I!; and unfortunately, because of the boom in plastic surgery, plus easy internet access to prescription drugs, sadly, MJ probably won't be the last :-[ ...
much in agreement even with a world's leading dermatologist, Dr. Grimes, the medical consensus is that they are certain monobenzone used in any shape, strength, combination, source, form, or duration, (and perhaps its closest analog, mequinol) on skin not already afflicted with extensive vitiligo, may seem to work beautifully temporarily for the first year or so, but even when discontinued, ultimately results in a permanent, disfiguring complexion horror story for the rest of that risk-takers life, as exemplified by Michael Jackson.
similarly, one must avoid or tread carefully with normally prescription-only drugs including hydroquinone over 3%, corticosteroids, and possibly even Retin-A. some of these are not necessarily suitable long-term for skin lightening treatments or maintenances, and furthermore, contribute nothing to the healthiness or integrity of the skin, so why use them?? hydroquinone, mequinol (solage), and corticoids especially are basically just a quick fix and then possibly a dead end on dark or ethnic skin type. i might even call them the Terrible 3!
success in all your vanity endeavors is safely, healthfully achieved by coupling natural ingredient immersion, with patient positive thinking, including meditative light body activation or in other words applying the simple pensative rule of positive attraction.
blah blah blah....... onto da history...
HISTORY:
1200s - 1600s EUROPEAN WHITENING
Did you know that women during the Renaissance (1400s-1600s) used to obsess about getting their skin as pale and as white as possible? In those times, only very rich, white women pursued a porcelain skin. White skin was seen as a sign of modesty and virtue in a woman. Red lips were also coveted for expression of passion and beauty. The ideal combination was a white face with reddened lips and cheeks. However, a pure white, porcelain complexion is impossible for a healthy person to attain naturally, not even a white northern European! So much like today, those women used creams and other methods to whiten their skin, some of them quite dangerous or even lethal! One of the most popular methods back then was white lead powder. Women all over Europe used it to whiten their faces, necks and chests.
ASIAN WHITENING
At the other end of the planet, Japan already were ahead in the dangerous skin whitening question, observing an almost identical standard for beauty with the same pale white skin, red lips and cheeks in place, including for male dancers, at least as early as the 1200s. This white lead only acted as an opaque mineral makeup that sat on the skin as white clown paint, and did nothing for the actual skin. Unfortunately, lead was easily absorbed through the skin, leading to lead poisoning.
This caused hair loss, a deteriorating mental condition and muscle paralysis. Lead was also corrosive and ate away at the skin, which meant that thicker and thicker layers had to be applied over time. Prolonged use killed thousands of women, including Queen Elizabeth I. It was not classified as a poison until 1634.
Thereafter, the popular skin whitener became sublimate of mercury. Women often used it as a skin peeler to remove blemishes. As smallpox was prevalent then, removing smallpox scars was of vital importance. Mercury sublimate was also used to remove warts and bleach freckles.
Unfortunately, that promise of beauty with mercury compounds was also short-lived as prolonged use led to a premature aging of the skin. One doctor would often describe such a mercury-withered countenance as "the face of an ape". Like the lead, mercury chloride was easily absorbed through the skin and resulted in many deaths.
To make matters worse, another type of mercury was used to redden cheeks – mercury sulphide. (And still today, many skin lightening products contain various mercury compounds)
AMERICAN COLONIAL WHITENING (Including Blacks & Latinos) Much like the English language, it seems all the Anglo-Saxon colonialization, from the Crusades, to the Conquistadors, to the British occupations, the the US's extermination of native americans and their permanent military presence in Middle East and Asia, that a colonial mentality has embedded itself in our society firmy.
People from ethnic backgrounds with dark skin often show personal preference for fair skin, because their culture has been subjected to this colonization by white people as the powerful leaders of the dark, perceievedly "inferior" rest. When slaves were freed in America in the 1800s, creams with mercury were marketed from the 1930s to early 1970s.
However, in 1974, the FDA banned use of mercury in any skin lightening products because of poisonings and contamination of the environment. The skin lightening industry was forced to resort to the only other know whitening ingredient, monobenzone, which was discovered by accident to have been causing depigmented patches on black factory workers' hands.
But by the late 1970s, there was epidemic of disfigurements blacks using whitening creams containing monobenzone, suffering a mix of randomly hyper-and hypo-pigmentated areas of skin often described as chemical vitiligo or chemical leucoderm in Europe and Africa, where there were also outbreaks.
So this time by the 1980s the FDA ruled that the skin lightening companies may only use Hydroquinone as the approved active ingredient in their creams.
cont'd....
beards.org
beards.org
consult a physician first)
) rare examples & make them appear normative.
