Colorism, Finding Comfort in the Beautiful Skin You Came Here With
Bleaching African American Skin
Colorism, shadeism … here you are with yet another “ism” that’s meant to have you think less of who you are. These two “ism’s” are defined as prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.
Interesting.
Who taught you to have discrimination against individuals among people of your same ethnic group? You were taught to speak negatively about darker skin tones and feel superior if your complexion was lighter? Who taught you that?
Who taught your ancestors to dislike their complexion if it was darker and love the lighter shades of your community? Is this systemic behavior?
Does the Beauty Industry Perpetuate Colorism and Shadeism?
The answer to this question will differ depending on who you ask. However, if you take a look at mainstream fashion and beauty magazines, and their covers, advertisements and content before 2016 – 2017, you will find that it’s a novelty to see dark skin women on their interior pages let a lone the covers.
And now that you see more black or dark skin tones on the covers, it’s not out of concern for you as a beautiful black woman. It’s to keep the companies that are not black owned and produce cosmetics and sell to you … in business.
Essence, Ebony and Jet magazines were established as magazines for Black Women. Therefore, you expect to see Black Women of all shades throughout the magazine.
There are more and more skin and hair care companies being started to speak to your unique beauty. Search them out and support them.
Colorism, Wait there’s more …
Can we talk ingredients? Did you know that mercury and hydroquinone are ingredients that were very high in percentage in skin and hair care products for black women?
Yes!
While they are banned for the most part in North America and European countries, the Caribbean and Africa are flooded with these products in the form of skin bleachers and lighteners.
What would prompt you to bleach your skin if you didn’t feel that you where not beautiful with the skin The Creator gave you? What form of teaching or messaging makes a person feel that if their skin isn’t of the lighter skin tones, they are not beautiful?
What’s scary about this for Black Women, is that in this day and time 2020 as of this writing, there are those of you that still feel the need to bleach your skin in order to be accepted.
Accept the beauty that you came here with. That’s your uniqueness. Don’t allow others to define what beauty is to you. Your complexion is envied all around the world.
Think about it, people spend hours in the Sun just so they can brag about how bronze and tanned their skin is. If someone is willing to risk burning their skin, to darken their complexion so that they can have a golden tan … what does that say about your natural beauty?
Don’t fall for the okey doke when you hear the term Colorism …
There’s nothing more beautiful than your natural bronze and deep dark complexions. Stop looking for skin lighteners and bleaching creams. You don’t need them. Using them causes you to strip away natural layers of your skin, exposing it to more bacteria and burning from the Sun.
Their ingredients have been known to cause damage to your internal organs. Marinate on that for a minute. Not only are you damaging the outer most layer of your skin, you’re risking the health of your internal organs as well.
That’s it for this week. As always …
Dedicated To Your Beauty,
Juliette Samuel
Esthetician/Author/Publisher
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