From Cream to Crisis: What's Behind Africa's Skin Bleaching Epidemic

African Currents · Apr 2, 2025 · 59m

Skin tone remains a social currency in many African societies, often shaping how individuals are valued and how they value themselves. While governments attempt to regulate the sale of skin-lightening products, entrenched beauty ideals rooted in colonial histories continue to drive demand. In Nigeria, an estimated 77 percent of women reportedly use these products - a trend echoed in Congo-Brazzaville (66%), Senegal (50%), Ghana (39%), South Africa (32%), and Mali (25%), according to the World Health Organization’s African Regional Office (2023). Speaking at a high-level workshop in Gabon…