9 min listen
How South Africa banned skin-lightening creams
FromWitness History
ratings:
Length:
9 minutes
Released:
Jul 3, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In 1990, South Africa became the first country in the world to ban skin-lightening creams containing the chemical compound hydroquinone. For years the creams had caused an irreversible form of skin damage called ochronosis for the black and Asian South Africans using the products. Rachael Gillman has been speaking to Dr Hilary Carman, one of the activists who worked to ban the creams and Dr Ncoza Dlova who became one of the country's first black dermatologists.
Photo: A woman applying a skin-lightening cream to her face. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Photo: A woman applying a skin-lightening cream to her face. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Released:
Jul 3, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
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