Skin bleaching at the expense of health in Senegal: It's like a drug. They can't break the habit, even while knowing the risks'

"Maimouna is from Leona, a village in the Louga region of Senegal, in the north of the country. In her twenties, she began regularly bleaching her skin, shortly before marrying the first man she shared her life with. I bleached my skin for my wedding, but it was to please myself, she explains. However, she then admits that it was really because her husband liked it. In fact, he was the one who gave her the money to buy the products."

"According to the village midwife, voluntary depigmentation during pregnancy is quite common. This is despite the potential obstetric complications for both mother and newborn, such as developmental delays, low birth weight, lower plasma cortisol levels, or a smaller placenta. Xeesal isn't a good thing. And the Muslim religion (Islam) doesn't like it, either. God wants us to be as we were born."

"Approaching 50 and despite having a grayish complexion, visible marks on her body and occasional skin reactions Maimouna has no intention of abandoning her beauty ritual. She continues to ignore health warnings: When I have skin problems, I take a break. I let [my skin] rest and then I start again. She didn't even stop the practice of xeesal the word used in the Wolof language to describe facial bleaching during her pregnancies."

Maimouna lives in Leona, a village in the Louga region of northern Senegal. She began regularly bleaching her skin in her twenties, shortly before marrying, and received money from her husband to buy the products. Approaching fifty, she has a grayish complexion, visible marks and occasional skin reactions but intends to continue xeesal. She pauses only when problems arise and resumes after resting. She practiced facial depigmentation during her pregnancies to look beautiful for childbirth and christening. A village midwife reports depigmentation in pregnancy is common despite potential obstetric complications for mother and newborn. Dakar houses the Dermatology Department at the Institute of Social Hygiene.

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