Despite Risks, Skin Bleaching Still Prevalent Among Blacks, Other People Of Color, Study Shows
The use of skin lightening products is prevalent mostly among women of color across the United States, but few of them are aware of the dangers, a new Northwestern University Medicine study published July 13 in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology found.
About 21.3 percent of the 455 people surveyed – 238 of them Black – said they use skin lightening agents. Roughly 75 percent of them used the products to treat skin conditions, including acne and hyperpigmentation.
All the other respondents used the products only to lighten their skin. The study found that colorism, a type of discrimination within racial or ethnic groups that favor people with lighter skin, can be a powerful motivation to use the products.
But many of these products include ingredients that could be toxic to skin, including steroids and mercury. The researchers said the Food and Drug Administration received reports in 2020 about skin lightening products with hydroquinone causing side effects, including facial swelling and skin discoloration.
The FDA announced in 2022 that it issued warning letters to 12 companies for selling over the counter skin lightening products containing hydroquinone that fail to meet legal requirements for over the counter sale.
“The most surprising finding was the lack of awareness of ingredients in products being purchased over the counter and their potential detrimental effects,” said lead investigator Dr. Roopal Kundu. “These products are bought from chain grocery stores, community-based stores or even online and do not undergo the same type of regulation as large-chain store or prescription products.”
Kundu, a Northwestern University dermatology professor, said one of her patients who used hydroquinone for skin lightening now has permanent hyperpigmentation, a condition that makes some areas of the skin darker than others.
The study also found that most people who use skin lighteners fail to consult a medical provider, who sometimes prescribes certain products for skin conditions such as melasma, which causes skin spots that are darker than the natural skin tone.
