Feature: Skin lightening creams flood the Namibian market

Skin lightening creams have become popular in the world at large that it is no secret that Namibians are also following suite.

A 2012 World Health Organization report revealed that about 77 percent of Nigerian women use skin lightening products on a regular basis.

A study done by the University of Cape Town in the same year found that one in three South African women use creams and soaps to lighten the appearance of their complexions.

It seems that local street vendors and shops making the products very popular among the young and old in the country, with some people even bleaching young children.

The creams have flooded street markets in the capital Windhoek.

An interview with one of the shadowy dealers who smuggle the products into the country from Zambia shed more light on the severity of the problem.

The dealer says more and more people are becoming hooked on the products every day.

The dealer who prefers to be named Esther has sold these creams for almost 10 years, and although her business started very slowly, she says it has picked up over the years as more people discover the creams.

Esther admits that even though other countries control the sale of such creams, it is relatively easy to smuggle them into Namibia.

"In other countries, one cannot just sell to anyone because it is highly illegal since the creams have dangerous after-effects but not so much here," Esther said.

Esther, who originally comes from Malawi, said the local market has seen a marked increase in the different types of creams, with some known to be dangerous for the skin.

The market is also teeming with vendors who have moved from selling other goods to selling bleaching creams because they have become so popular.

The products range in prices from 15 Namibian dollars (1.3 U.S. dollars)to 40 Namibian dollars depending on the type, and sources say that the cheaper the product the more harmful it is likely to be.

The creams bleach the skin in such a way that it turns into an orange hue color while also making it very thin and therefore susceptible to cancer.

Enquiries with the police showed that no or little action has been taken to control the influx of these products.

City Police Chief Abraham Kanime said that as far as he knew the police had not taken part in efforts to curb the sale of unregulated skin whitening creams.

However, he said that it was up to the Ministry of Health and Social Services to see what the authorities could do because it was a health matter.

The Namibian Medicines Control Act does not allow the purchase or sale of such creams without a prescription.

Research shows that most of these creams consist of a cocktail of compounds like steroids, hydroquinone and trenoin.

Long-term use can lead to adverse health effects such as permanent pigmentation, skin cancer, liver damage and mercury poisoning, amongst others.

Many people who use bleaching creams seem to be unaware of their potential harmful effects. Most of the people interviewed said they started using them because they saw someone else using them.

Even when informed of the possible dangers some seem to just not care and say that they would rather be light and look beautiful than be dark. Endi