If you are bleaching your baby, STOP IT - Effects of Skin Bleaching on Babies

There is no health benefit to skin bleaching. Results aren’t guaranteed and there’s evidence that skin lightening can result in serious side effects and complications.

Skin bleaching refers to the use of products to lighten dark areas of the skin or achieve an overall lighter complexion.

Skin lightening creams have commonly contained mercury, hydroquinone, and corticosteroids. Because these compounds can induce both superficial and internal side effects, they are illegal to use and market in multiple nations.

However, various chemical studies indicate that these compounds continue to be used in sold cosmetic products, though they are not explicitly declared as ingredients.

Prolonged usage of mercury-based products can ultimately discolor the skin, as mercury will accumulate within the dermis Mercury toxicity can cause acute symptoms such as pneumonitis and gastric irritation. 

According to a study by Antoine Mahé and his colleagues, mercurial compounds can also contribute to long-term renal and neurological complications, the latter of which include insomnia, memory loss, and irritability.

Some women who use illegal skin-bleaching products go as far as bleaching their children. Their two main reasons are first, believing that being light-skinned is beautiful and secondly, to hide the fact that they themselves are not naturally fair-skinned.

There is no health benefit to skin bleaching. Results aren’t guaranteed and there’s evidence that skin lightening can result in serious side effects and complications.

The Use of skin-bleaching products can cause irreversible damages, and the skin might not return to its original condition even after bleaching has stopped. Bleaching products strip the skin of melanin, which makes it more sensitive to the sun, meaning you need to cover up with clothing and not just sun protection, otherwise you increase your risk of skin cancer. 

Please, Mummies, let's be careful of the type of cream we use on our babies so that we won't have any regrets in the future.

Black is beautiful. God gave your baby that skin color for a reason...