Bleached beauty has become a popular term as we see more and more women whiten their skin claiming they looked beautiful being lighter and do not feel the same way with dark skin shade.
Bleached beauty was the hashtag a trending hashtag in 2014 when a Kenya model and socialite made news for bleaching her skin.
Many Nigerians, Africans, and dark-skinned people all over the world have internalized and reinforced the message that whiter is better. And with this trend still moving upward, dark-skinned women are gradually becoming a minority among women of colour all over the world.
According to a 2013 report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria has the highest percentage of women who use skin-lightening products. A whopping 77 percent, the report says. In Togo, about 59 percent of the women use skin whitening products, while in Senegal, 27 percent of their women bleach.
Whether it is skin lightening, toning, whitening, or brightening, whichever fancy name these women chose to describe the process – the goal is the same.
While there are several black women who have chosen to alter the colour of their skin, these 7 bleached beauties made news headlines for their drastic skin colour change and became famous for it. And some of them even became famous and made more money after bleaching and changing their skin colour.
SEE ALSO: Bleached Queens: More Photos Of Black Women Who Whitened Their Skin.
Dencia
Dencia is one bleached beauty that did not only whiten her skin but claimed she made millions of dollars from the sales of her skin whitening products. For some time now, skin lightening has been an issue in Africa. But in 2014, when Nigerian-Cameroonian pop star Dencia (whose real name is Reprudencia Sonkey) launched her Whitenicious skincare line after bleaching her skin, she and her product became a trending topic in African blogs.
To fuel the heat, Lupita Nyong’o made a reference to Dencia and her Whitenicious cream in a letter she claimed was written to her from a young black woman who wanted to bleach her skin with Dencia’s cream. This was during her Essence Black Women in Hollywood speech after winning an Oscar and was the media darling.
The topic became very heated from the controversy and Dencia’s constant attack on the “Twelve Years A Slave” star for talking about her product. Dencia made sure she made a lot of news from the publicity. And she actually received a lot of attention and was interviewed by international and well-known media houses. And according to the “Beri Beri” singer, the controversy brought her a lot of sales.
See this post where Dencia tried to differentiate bleaching, skin whitening and skin lightening.
Irene Major
Former Cameroonian model, Irene Major bleached her beautiful brown skin to look like a living ghost. The wife of oil tycoon Sam Malin says skin lightening is unrelated to ‘changing race’ while on This Morning. She claimed she did not know one’s race was equivalent to being in ‘a box’.
“When my skin is lighter, I just feel prettier,” she said while admitting to changing her skin color. “It’s a taboo subject, and people get judgmental about it, but that’s how I feel,” she added. And in her quest to have lighter skin, Irene said she has tried all kinds of skin lightening products including exclusive services from the dermatologists in Harley Street, London.
ALSO SEE: 10 Black Men Who Whitened Their Skin
Vera Sidika
The hashtag, #BleachedBeauty trended last year after the Ugandan model, Vera Sidika made news for admitting to bleaching her skin. The Kenyan socialite who is originally from Uganda revealed she has spent 15 million Kenyan shillings ($170,000; £100,000) on skin lightening procedures and products.”Looking good is my business'” she said in an interview on Kenyan TV. “”My body is my business, nobody else’s but mine,” she added. She also said bleaching her skin has increased demands for her services.
Nomasonto Mnisi also known as Mshoza
Nomasonto Mnisi is another bleached beauty from South African. A few years ago, the musician who is popularly known as Mshoza made news headlines sparking outrage and controversy when she admitted she was using bleaching creams. During an interview for the November 2011 feature article in Drum Magazine, the singer said she started bleaching because she was ‘tired of being ugly.” She also said she will look like a white person from head to toe by the time she achieved her desired skin tone.
The kwaito star, who is open and unapologetic about her bleaching said she consulted three dermatologists to help her bleach her skin. Apart from bleaching, Mshoza has undergone other body enhancement surgeries that included boob and nose jobs.
“I’m consulting three dermatologists. They have completed the first phase. I dont really look pale at the moment. But yes, when everything is said and done I will look like a white person. From head to toe. I might also have to redo the rhinoplasty to fit my new skin. But this doesnt mean I`ll start singing pop music or act differently,” she said.
“I’ll still be the same person my fans know,” Mshoza added.
“I love the fact that I look younger and my skin is clear. I want to be like Michael Jackson. I know that black is beautiful. I don’t hate being black. I’m just enhancing my beauty. I loved myself when I was dark, and I love myself now that I’m lighter,” Mshoza told Sunday Sun.
Thelma Omone O’khaz
Thelma Omone O’khaz bleached beauty who whitened her skin bleaching with bleaching products. The Nigerian actress made news headlines when photos of her extremely bleached skin surfaced. Within a period of one year, the Nollywood actress went from having a caramel skin tone to looking like Casper the ghost.
Mariam Abdul Rauf
Mariam Abdul Rauf is a Ghanaian model who felt she was ugly being dark-skinned and bleached her body to have a lighter skin tone. Mariam, who won Ghana’s Most Beautiful beauty pageant title in 2009 says she sees nothing with lightening her skin. At the time she was crowned, she was still rocking her naturally dark skin tone.
The Ghanaian celebrity who is also popularly known as Nasara says she has no regrets bleaching her skin and that it was her choice to do so. On her bleaching controversy, the mother of two said: “in life we are all entitled to what we want to do…I choose to tone my skin and I don’t think it’s a problem because if it were a problem to me, I won’t do it.” She added: “I love it.”
Talking about how today’s skin bleaching products have improved, Nasara said: “Unlike “those days when the creams were so harsh and cheap now there are better creams that will just tone your body…and will just befit you.”
On not being afraid of the negative consequences of skin bleaching, the model said: “In life, everything comes with the bad aspects of it…when you are doing something, sometimes you don’t really need to think about the bad part of it. I am just doing it because I am comfortable with it and I don’t even think about the negative part of it.”
In 2012, the bleached beauty model made news headlines when she was accused of stealing a makeup kit and a mobile phone belonging to Miss England. Mariam denied the theft allegation but was consequently stripped of her Ghana Most Beautiful title.
Proud Facebook Bleached Queen
The young women above made news last year after bleaching her skin and making a viral post. She made a collage of her before and after skin whitening photos and made a post insulting black women with dark skin. She said there was nothing beautiful about being black. Ironically, she also “No matter what. You are stuck being a nigger and you will always be one,” even after saying she was prettier being lighter.
She wrote: “I bleached my skin and I’m proud. Here’s me before and after. I shit on you dark-skinned people. I feel sorry for you because you really shouldn’t be proud of looking dirty. I have been told that I look much better now and finally black men stopped saying I’m too pretty for a dark-skinned girl. Now I’m a pretty light-skinned girl. No matter what. You are stuck being a nigger and you will always be one. You people better go interracial because ain’t nothing cute about being dark and having dark tar babies.”
Unknown Bleached Beauty
The bleached beauty above got her 15 minutes of fame when she posted a photo of her before and after skin whitening photos online. The photo went viral and got many people talking.
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