Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin

By Rita Okoye
28 August 2015   |   10:27 pm
One thing great about the world, is that we all come into different skin shades from very fair to very dark. Wouldn’t it be a boring world, if we were all the same skin tone? It saddens me however, when I hear stories of children being called names, especially in their country of origin and…

Rita okoyeOne thing great about the world, is that we all come into different skin shades from very fair to very dark. Wouldn’t it be a boring world, if we were all the same skin tone?

It saddens me however, when I hear stories of children being called names, especially in their country of origin and especially concerning the colour of their skin. A lady based in Nigeria, shared with me recently that a teacher had called her daughter; ‘Blacky’ and this caused the child to have self esteem issues.

She came home and tried to scrub herself in order to remove the darkness and look like her lighter skin sister. The mother was furious with the teacher and took it up and challenged the school. I was horrified hearing that story because the teacher should know better. I decided to write this article to appeal to every girl to be comfortable in her own skin.

Colonial Days

The idea of fair skin being better started from colonial days when the slave master would divide and rule. They informed the lighter skin slaves who were mainly mixed race (having been at most times a product of rape) that they were superior to darker slaves. This colonial mentality of light skin being better does not only affect Africans but also affect Asians. The bleaching industries in both these continents are booming because most women want to be fairer or brighter.

Does Fair Equal Better

There is no proof to my knowledge that being light skin will make your life better or happier. Some may argue that it open doors faster. Even if that is the case, you still need talent and competence in most professional jobs or in business. I can speak for here in Lagos and say that companies want to see profit and not the colour of one’s skin. When I think of all the successful black women in the world, they are not all fair skin, which goes to show that you don’t need to be fair skin to be successful.

Health Risks

A lot of skin lighteners have dangerous chemicals in them and until one under goes a serious operation you may not realise how dangerous they are. Other risks include skin cancer. From what I have read, if you ever need an operation and you have been bleaching, it can be fatal because of the thinning that occurs to the skin.

Seek Inner Confidence

God doesn’t make mistakes and the complexion he gave you wasn’t a mistake. Be comfortable and confident in your own skin. Accept who you are including the tone of your skin. If you have skin problems, seek specialists to help you but be careful of products that contain dangerous ingredients such as . There are all types of beautiful girls and women and they all come in different shades.

Advice To Parents

Be cautious of relatives that make insensitive statements about your daughter’s skin tone. Build your daughter’s confidence by affirming her and reminding her of her uniqueness. Dont show disgust if your child’s complexion changes and they get darker. It happens especially during secondary school years when students are in the sun a lot. Fathers, pay attention to your daughter, especially if is an issue for her. Let her know that she is the apple of God’s eye and the apple of your eye too. Build her self esteem not based on how she looks but who she in God.

Finally, from someone who is darker skin in complexion, I absolutely love my chocolate skin tone. It is soft and smooth and when I get darker from being in the sun, it glows. I don’t use any harsh products or lightening products on my skin. Be comfortable in your own skin, accept and treat it with care.

0 Comments