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Black skin. Black products. Black market
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| My black beauty splurge |
There are many toning, bleaching and whitening products for
black women at every store, every drive-by ‘chemist’ selling drugs and beauty
products, Orijin and cheap weaves all in one dingy supply.
Hydroquinone costs barely N500.
It would seem the world is making a plea to black women: “Oh
hurry up in your process of changing yourselves, dear blackie”
You get the feeling that black is not enough. You need a lighter
hue to be prettier.
I bleached once, whilst getting an unremarkable degree in a tertiary
institution.
I bleached because every girl in that rundown school was
bleaching. Some bleached so hard that the only thing that gave away their true
complexion was tribal marks on cheeks that refused to yield to all that
chemical!
My bleaching experiment lasted all of two months. A cheap
hydroquinone tube of a ridiculous sum of N70.
My skin protested, huge bumps of rebellion appeared on my
neck and back. I stopped.
Lucky I didn’t get to scraping off bleached scales from
beneath my eyes before common sense kicked in.
Now I am approaching 40. The insouciance of cheap skin
products is gone.
Skin care and crazy amounts I spend to retain black skin is
an investment only my body can understand (and witnesses can appreciate).
Many black products are made to change your complexion. Bottom
line, you ain’t good enough, woman. Why not try to be white?
So the products that actually respect black skin without any
ulterior motives come with fat price tags.
It’s the same thing with black hair. It is easier to get a
relaxer and a weave. To get hair products that respect black hair for what it
is, you’d be spending more and going to tight corners of obscure stores to find
good products.
As usual, I splurged on beauty products yesterday. This time, I hit some high zeros in expense. Products that promise
to treat me with respect, but way too expensive. What can a black woman do?
It is my investment. In a world where everyone is trying to change
you- your opinions, your leanings and your complexion, you'll be spending more just to stay true to your authentic self.
Don’t tell me to change my colour. Make products that can
make this black woman shine.
So when you see me walking by, me and my gorgeous black
skin, don’t be shy, say hi...
He won’t mind *wink*
Lovely post, Joy. I agree 100%, it's more expensive to stay true to who you are. You're such a good writer.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, your skin does bear witness to your investment! The first time I saw you in person I wanted to gobble you up hahahahaha!
I have always loved my flawless dark skin, bleaching to me is a herculean task..
ReplyDelete