Mozambique: Toxic skin tone lightners banned in many places still on sale in country

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Mozambique: Toxic skin tone lightners banned in many places still on sale in country

1:40 CAT | 30 Aug 2023

Image: Lusa

The desire to have a lighter skin tone is leading young people and adults, boys and girls, in Mozambique to use creams and other products that are potentially dangerous for their health.

“I bought this cream so that I could look better,” says Abussete Nota, a 24-year-old bricklayer, who wants to look more like his “light friends”: he says that when they are together, their skin will be “compatible”.

His inconstant income has forced him to occasionally suspend his skin treatment, which has been going on for three years, in order to meet the basic needs of his newborn son.

But in May, facial whitening became part of his routine again.

The supply of this type of product – banned in other countries – is booming in local markets to meet the demand, which is mainly made up of middle and lower class consumers.

There are soaps, creams, lotions, scrubs, pills and even injections designed to reduce the production of melanin, the pigment that gives skin its colour.

They are sold at sufficiently attractive and affordable prices.

A 100 millilitre bottle of skin lightener costs an average of 100 to 120 meticais (around 1.5 euros).

The most expensive skin lightener with rapid effects costs an average of 1,000 meticais (14.4 euros).

Abussete buys the cream from the stalls at the 38 Milímetros street market in Chimoio, the provincial capital of Manica, in the centre of the country.

But there are side effects: drier skin and “blackheads” are sometimes visible marks of the creams – and at times, self-esteem suffers.

Gina Mosse, who owns a hardware stall in the 38 Milímetros market, says she has used whitening products, but the results “depend on the products, because some end up spoiling the skin”.

“Some people get a tomato colour because they abuse creams,” she says.

Right next door, Gina faces condemnation from her saleswoman friend Cândida Paz.

Cândida describes creams as products that “divide a woman’s colour: one part becomes dark, the other becomes light, like ‘fanta’ on one side and ‘coca-cola’ on the other”.

There are very few cases in which there is no collateral damage from the improper use of skin lighteners without a prescription or medical supervision, explains Ancha Siaca, a general practitioner at Chimoio Provincial Hospital.

The improper or prolonged use of products containing mercury, steroids or hydroquinone – which reduce melanin production but also cause damage – can be toxic and even carcinogenic.

South Africa, Mozambique’s neighbour, has some of the toughest legislation on the use of facial lighteners containing hydroquinone and was the first country in the world to ban them.

Kenya, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Ghana and Rwanda followed in 2018.

Studies estimate that the global skin-lightening products industry was worth around 4.8 billion dollars (4.4 billion euros) in 2017 and that the figure has continued to grow on the back of demand from middle and lower class consumers in Africa and Asia.

Artur Semente, a wholesaler, confirms that demand is growing and says he’s ready to meet it: he has “at least 10 or 12 types of ointments to lighten” the skin and guarantees that he can even find more, he just doesn’t have them in stock.

Sociologist Abílio Mandlate believes that there is a generation trapped in the idea that ” pale skin is synonymous with beauty”.

Regarding the use of these products, he says: “It’s bad in the sense that it jeopardises our own health and makes us lose the essence of who we are: our skin is dark and that’s that.”

The university lecturer insists that the success of skin lighteners and the risks to public health should draw the attention of the Mozambican state and lead to restrictions on their use.

Source: Lusa