On TikTok, an influencer touting a baby skin whitening product causes a scandal
Skin whitening products are on sale in markets in other African countries, such as here in Dakar.
© Guillaume Thibault/RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In Côte d'Ivoire, a video posted on TikTok by a seller of skin-whitening products went viral and sparked a flurry of comments.
The shopkeeper exhibits a fair-skinned baby and touts the merits of her products, which are prohibited by law.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan,
François Hume-Ferkatadji
Despite its prohibition and the proliferation of information published for years on its dangerousness, depigmentation is still widely practiced.
Many Internet users were therefore offended after the publication on TikTok
of a video of an influencer
advocating the process for babies.
They report abuse.
🛑 An Ivorian tiktokeuse sells baby whitening products, She even applies it to her newborn…
More details here https://t.co/tDQkYC8p6D pic.twitter.com/HQiUzyDM7c
— Smart Mag (@smartmagazine10) October 21, 2022
Diabetes, high blood pressure, infections...
Yet banned since a 2015 law, skin whitening products are very easy to find in Abidjan: "
Everywhere, on every street corner, in every market, there are many women who make cosmetic products
", testifies Mariam, a woman who applied lightening creams to herself for about ten years.
In Côte d'Ivoire, it is common to see television presenters or models with depigmented skin: “
For some, they say to themselves that men like clear women, for others, they are complexed.
Me, I can say that it was followership, that I was doing like the others
, ”she adds.
Dermatologist Blaise Goli lists the long list of complications that depigmentation can cause: "
Diabetes, high blood pressure, infections...
".
This kind of process can also cause acne, fungus or spots on the skin.
Worse still, these products are accused of causing menstrual disorders and kidney failure.
► To read also: Fatimata Ly: "depigmentation of the skin can cause cancer"
"
Look, my child is all clear
”
And despite these risks, the dermatologist regularly receives in his office women who wish to lighten their complexion.
"
I don't go a week without someone coming to me and saying,
'I want to whiten my skin,'" he says.
And the reasons are many, says the practitioner.
Some religious claim to want to resemble Jesus Christ.
"
When we are shown a white Jesus, you see that they are going to depigment themselves, we see them
", says the dermatologist.
It also testifies to mothers who dream of a clear complexion for their toddlers.
“
The mother was even proud, she said to me: “
look, my child is all clear”.
I replied:
"No, your child is not pretty".
In reality, says the doctor, the child was puffy and had visibly a retardation of growth.
Following the TikTok video, judicial authorities have yet to announce the opening of an investigation.
► Also to listen: Depigmentation, a scourge that can lead to tragedy
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