Have you ever taken the time to know the dangers of tanning your skin?
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“The sun’s UV rays damage the DNA of the skin’s epidermal cells, triggering enzymes that race to repair the damage. However, these enzymes do not always repair the DNA successfully, and all this unrepaired damage can lead to mutations that increase the risk of skin cancer. Also, repeated unprotected sun exposure can cause photoaging – wrinkles, sagging skin, and spots associated with sun damage.
Does all UV radiation harm my skin?
Scientists divide the solar UV spectrum into three wavelengths – UVA, UVB and UVC. Once, UVA and UVC were thought harmless, and only UVB was believed dangerous. UVC is still deemed no threat, since it is absorbed by the ozone layer. But UVA accounts for up to 95 percent of solar UVR reaching Earth. Though far less capable of causing sunburn than UVB, UVA is present during all daylight hours year round, while the amount of UVB in sunlight varies by season, location and time of day.
By the 1990′s, scientists knew that UVA exacerbates the cancer-causing effects of UVB, and is the main wavelength behind photoaging. Recently, an Australian-U.S. study found that UVA may be more carcinogenic than UVB. It penetrates more deeply and causes more genetic damage in the skin cells (keratinocytes) where most skin cancers arise. The National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization now designate both UVA and UVB as causes of cancer.”
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Not too long ago when news reports began to surface here in the US that some Black women in places like Africa, the UK and the Caribbean were using skin whitening cream, the Black online community was in an uproar. Article after article was written in an attempt to make this into an identity problem exclusive to Blacks. Here are some of the dangers associated with skin whitening.
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“What are the long term effects of using bleaching products on our skin?
Bleaching leads to increase thinning of the skin and stretch marks.
Bleaching is associated to being a carcinogen. (Cancer- causing agent).
Bleaching pills are toxic and can cause damage to internal organs such as kidney and liver.
Bleaching leaves odour which is anything from stale, mousy, to fishy
Skin bleaching can cause rough, blotchy skin, leaving it with a spotty cavier appearance.
Why do people use skin bleaching products?
1. Uneven complexion tone (skin with blemishes).
2. Consumers being lured by marketing ploy.
3. Lack of basic information and education on why we are dark in colour (ignorance).
4. Social pressure (some consider bleaching as fashionable).
There is usually an underlying cause for uneven complexion tone. They include: Eczema, acne, poor nutrition. Visit a dermatologist, do not apply unprescribed cream on your skin! Manufacturers of skin bleaching products use marketing ploy to lure customers, i.e putting toning and lightening in the same sentence.”
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Both processes are damaging to skin. Yet it seems that when Black women do it, it quickly becomes a social issue. “Clearly these Black women are in self-denial of themselves and their race” is something that is said over and over again in commentaries posted all over the net. Yet, when a White man or woman intentionally cover themselves with oil in order to cook their skin under the sun or a tanning bed so that they can get darker a tan, it’s normal.
You can apply the same thing to hair. White women have been wearing wigs and weave hair for years. Yet when we do it, it is seen by some as “self-hatred”.
Seriously, we gotta stop building these mental prisons for ourselves.
