I was surfing round the internet and I felt we should have at least an idea of this. MOTUNRAYO JOEL, in this concluding part of a two-part series,writes about women who have stopped bleaching their skinbecause of the side effects arising from such practice and the alternatives to bleaching for those who would like to lighten their skin Vivian Eleta, 23, is a fair-skinned petty trader with a love for beautiful things. Five years ago, Eleta hit on an idea to look evenbmore beautiful for her husband. She opted to lighten her skin with bleaching creams. “I bleached in order to look good for my husband. When I first started bleaching my skin used to look nice. But after a year orbtwo, I noticed changes in my body: some parts of my legs werebfair and other parts looked really dark,” she said. By this time Eleta had formed the habit of spending a significant amount of the proceeds from her trade on bleaching creams every month.“These changes got me really worried, especially when people began to stare at me and my husband also began to complain.Then, I also noticed that whenever I injured myself, the wound took a longer time to heal. Later I learnt that it was the fragility of my skin that prevented the wounds on my body from healing fast,” she said. Although Eleta has since stopped using bleaching creams, the spots on her body remain, serving as constant reminders of her futile quest to be more beautiful.Mercy Omowale’s experience is also similar to that of Eleta.Omowale started using bleaching creams two years ago. Nowadays, she is quick to grumble about the challenges of living with the side effects of bleaching creams.“The sun is my problem. It is a big challenge. Anytime I walk in the sun it would be like my skin is burning. I really want to stop bleaching, but I don’t want my skin to turn dark too. I like my fair skin,” she said, with resignation.Health experts say complications from skin bleaching are not only unhealthy for the sufferer, but may also be offensive to those around them. A 2008 study by the International Society of Dermatology published in thegrio.com , revealed that people who bleached their skin over a prolonged period of time developed a body odour that smelt like rotten fish. The condition is called the “fish odour syndrome.” Scientists say this syndrome is caused by the excretion of a chemical called trimethylamine in the sweat, saliva, urine and vaginal secretions.Exogeneous ochronosis However, an offensive odour is not the only headache that bleachers have to cope with. A Consultant Physician/ Dermatologist Skin Surgeon, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Michael Akolawole, said people who bleached for several years would usually develop a condition called exogenous ochronosis. The symptoms of exogenous ochronosis include skin darkening, blue and grayishhyperpigmentation and bumps on skin.Exogeneous ochronosis is a term that Bunmi Adeoye, who is in her late 30s, knows very well. She said people assumed she is in her late 40s, because of her bleached skin. She said, “(Some years after I started bleaching) My skin, all of absudden, began to turn pale and lose itsbelasticity. I alsobdeveloped a dark pigmentation around my eyes and on mybforehead. When I went to the hospital, my doctor called thebcondition ochronosis.b“I am quite pained anytime I look at my face and skin. Despite the fact that I have stopped using bleaching creams, I cannot reverse my skin to the way it was, prior to my bleaching.”Kayode Lawal, the chairman of one of thepopular markets on Lagos mainland, does not know the name of the condition that has made him sun shy for many years. Lawal bleaches his skin. At the market, unlike other traders, Kayode does not stay in his shop. Rather, he supervises his ‘boys’ from a salon close to the market. He seats in the airy salon from morning till evening for fear that sunlight or heat would cause further damage to his skin. Lawal refused to speak with our correspondent but a fellow trader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, sa


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