For centuries, human beings have endangered body and mind in pursuit of the toxic fallacy that pale skin represents the highest form of beauty.
The often-deadly bleaching agent white lead was a perennial favorite in Europe from the time of the Ancient Greeks. Enslaved Africans in British colonies in the 18th century used caustic cashew oil to achieve a paler complexion. The Victorian English, meanwhile, favored arsenic wafers. And recent evidence suggests the Chinese, too, were using lead in cosmetics as far back as 800 BCE.
Today’s skin-bleaching creams and lotions often contain mercury, a toxic metal that accumulates in water and can cause serious harm to the nervous, digestive and immune systems, organs, and eyes of all living things. Many also include hydroquinone, a derivative of the carcinogen benzene that is banned in many countries. In high concentrations, hydroquinone can lead to, among other side effects, organ malfunction, blood poisoning, nausea, abdominal pain, and convulsions ...
