Why People Risk Their Lives To Bleach Their Skin | Shady | Refinery29 - video Dailymotion

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On this episode of Shady, our host, Lexy Lebsack travels to the Philippines to uncover the toxic reality of skin bleaching. This cultural trend is practicing world wide even with deadly side effects. Watch this week's Shady to understand the truth about skin bleaching!  ABOUT SERIES Shady is the side of the beauty world you haven't seen. Hosted by Refinery29 Senior Beauty Editor, Lexy Lebsack, the series swivels between the unexpected and uplifting, dives deep into the dark underbelly of beauty, gives a voice to those trampled by this quickly growing industry, and questions what it’s all worth. From counterfeit makeup to skin trafficking for cosmetic procedures, we go there.  ABOUT REFINERY29  Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life.  RELATED CONTENT The Truth About Where Hair Extensions Come From  https://youtube.com/watch?v=VlZ1SWLBfPE Why Fake Kylie Jenner Lip Kits Could Be Dangerous https://youtube.com/watch?v=G-VsdEy9IF8 The Terrifying Danger Of Wearing Makeup In North Korea https://youtube.com/watch?v=ppplOhy-Tn0  SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29 Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29  TALENT Follow Lexy Lebsack on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexylebsack/ Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/ Follow OnHerTurf on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onherturf/ Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/

Transcript

00:01One of the fastest-growing sectors of the beauty industry is also one of its most controversial.

00:10Skin bleaching.

00:11All right, so we just pulled up to this market and we're looking to connect with his colleague who's going

00:15to be doing it every time.

00:22When the color of your skin can determine your future, how far would you go to be lighter?

00:32Having a light skin, I think it is important here.

00:36Skin tone matters nowadays and they prefer the white ones.

00:39When I was younger, they would always call me pretty but, pretty but dark.

00:45Whatever that fair girl embodies in my head is just someone that's a little better than me.

00:51Skin bleaching, also known as skin lightening or whitening, is a global market expected to grow to over $24 billion.

01:00In the next decade, advertisements peddling products can be seen across the globe.

01:05Asia holds the lion's share of the market and at the heart of it lies the Philippines with one of

01:11the highest rates of use in the world.

01:14The Philippines is a country on the economic rise and its new money fuels the possibility of rapid social mobility.

01:21One of the most popular strategies to get a leg up is skin bleaching.

01:28But at what cost?

01:32It's estimated that one in two Filipinos have tried skin whitening products.

01:36I wanted to understand why, so I went to meet someone who's shaping the face of beauty.

01:41Not only in the Philippines, but across the world.

01:45Dr. Vicky Bello.

01:47It's almost a status symbol like having an Hermes bag.

01:50It just sounds so politically incorrect that I'm having a hard time.

01:54She's a celebrity dermatologist who's built a skin lightening empire.

01:58What kind of treatments do you do here for whitening?

02:02We do scrubs, lasers, wet and dry dermabrasion, capsules, intravenas.

02:07So we treat it from the inside, we treat it from the outside.

02:11My motto is to make the Philippines the most beautiful country in the world.

02:14And for many, that means skin whitening.

02:17Today what do you want to do? Your usual gluteal drip? Your Cinderella drip?

02:22One of the most popular procedures here is an IV drip.

02:25Lean back. You okay? Are you comfortable?

02:29You're right.

02:30So we are about to see the Cinderella drip.

02:33So that's a vein finder.

02:35Which is a mix of glutathione and I didn't see.

02:41The star ingredient, glutathione, is a controversial antioxidant to lighten the skin from the inside out.

02:50It hasn't been approved for cosmetic use by the FDA.

02:54Still, Dr. Bello's clients are willing to drop hundreds of dollars per session, taking on the risk in hopes of

03:02getting whiter.

03:03I've done some Hollywood celebrities, people coming in from London.

03:07While off-label glutathione requires more research, Dr. Bello argues that it's at least being done under medical supervision.

03:14I think you really get what you pay for it.

03:17Because some people, they just go for price.

03:20People will actually risk their lives just to get whiter.

03:23Things that are coming in with mercury and the creams, that's very destructive.

03:27That's really poisonous actually.

03:29Videos online and in the news have emerged showing harmful side effects for some of these products.

03:35The whole body is the result of the pantal.

03:40The first thing I've seen is that I've also tried.

03:42And then we've also gone to her bedroom.

03:45Across the Philippines, women have reported signs of mercury poisoning.

03:50The culprit? Cheap whitening creams that often sell for a little over a dollar.

03:55I wanted to know what these products were and why people would risk using them for paler skin.

04:01It's a serious concern.

04:04This kind of cheap skin whitening creams, you can buy it everywhere.

04:08There's one man fighting this issue on the front lines.

04:12Tony Daizan, an activist at Eco Waste Coalition.

04:16We discovered that skin whitening is a product that has mercury concentration and that there is a risk.

04:25A variety of ingredients can be used for skin whitening.

04:28The basic idea is to slow melanin production.

04:32The less melanin, the lighter your skin.

04:34Vitamin C, hydroquinone and kojic acid are some of the most common ones.

04:40But one of the cheapest and deadliest is mercury.

04:44A heavy metal that can be toxic for humans, even in tiny doses.

04:49Repeated exposure, like smearing it on your face every day, can lead to tremors, kidney failure, and even birth defects.

04:58So mercury isn't just an incidental contaminant, it's actually what's bleaching your skin.

05:04It's a serious concern, a public health concern.

05:09I couldn't believe these products were allowed on the market.

05:12It turns out, they aren't.

05:18Because they're so toxic, these mercury-laced creams are banned by the government.

05:24But they're still flooding into the country at an alarming rate.

05:28And the reason behind it is shocking.

05:30Some customs people would hate me for this.

05:34Customs employees are in collusion with the smuggling.

05:40What do you mean in collusion with the smugglers?

05:42They know that these container vans contain beauty products, and they just let them slip through, and they receive some

05:53bribes.

05:53It's a culture in the Bureau that it is immoral to let drugs and firearms slip through customs.

06:05But beauty products don't seem to fall under that?

06:08No. In fact, some have this perception. They are helping Filipinas improve their appearance.

06:16It's almost like the culture around skin bleaching allows for this proliferation of illegal bleaching creams.

06:24Yes, definitely.

06:27It's baffling.

06:28But customs agents actually think they're doing people a favor by allowing cheap creams with mass appeal to hit the

06:34market, since few can afford high-end treatments.

06:38It makes for an uphill battle for Tony, but he's determined to crack down on this illegal activity.

06:45I'm riding along on an undercover buy, on the condition that I stay in the car and protect his colleague's

06:51identity.

06:54What we're going to do is we're going to put a hidden camera to her. She will do the actual

07:02buying.

07:03So the hidden camera has been positioned in her bag, and it's pointing directly outwards, and she's going to wear

07:08her bag on the front.

07:09She's mic'd up, and they have a couple of different people standing throughout the market to both safety and to

07:14capture different angles.

07:27And what's bestseller?

07:31Success.

07:33Success.

07:33Ah, it's safe to, Ate, eh?

07:35It's not that I'm going to use it.

07:37Really?

07:38What are the things that I'm going to use before it's safe?

07:41I'm going to use it. I'm going to use it. I'm going to use it.

07:45It's safe to, Ate. Thank you.

07:50Alright, so they just did the undercover buy, and let's look at some of the products that you got.

07:56Armed with these creams, the next step is to take them back to test just how dangerous they are.

08:03But why do people take these risks at all?

08:06Do you think that people who are buying the products, like in that store, for example, know how dangerous they

08:11are?

08:12I don't think they don't know. I want them to be aware.

08:15What do you think about all the whitening products?

08:17Some of my friends told me that skin bleaching is so effective.

08:21They told me to try those things because I'm so, I'm not white.

08:30Sa panahon kasi ngayon, mas edge na kasi na isang babae ang pagiging maputi.

08:35Kaya gumagamit ako ng mga whitening products.

08:39Yes, I lighten my skin to use soap and lotion.

08:44Skin whitening products that I use were glutathione pills, papaya soaps, whitening soaps, and lotions.

08:50They're not looking to be white like a white person.

08:55They're just looking to be like lighter skinned because historically that's what they perceive as not only beautiful, but as

09:02also powerful.

09:03For more than 400 years, the Philippines was ruled by one foreign power or another.

09:09Spain, the United States, and even Japan for a brief period of time.

09:14Japanese occupation was celebrated by the invaders with a parade through the center of the city.

09:19The island nation finally declared its independence in 1946, but centuries of outside rule have shaped beauty standards to prize

09:28pale skin.

09:29It's a legacy that's very much alive today.

09:34Charlene Pega is one Filipina who attributes much of her success to her skin tone.

09:39She's an influencer with over 200,000 followers.

09:45Hold that. Looking great.

09:48On my Instagram, there are a lot of countries following me.

09:51They're like, oh, you look so great. Your skin is so fair.

09:55In the Philippines, if you have a fairer or lighter skin, you're more prettier, you're more beautiful.

10:01And you have a lot of advantages.

10:04Like many Filipinas, Charlene's beauty routine includes a daily whitening regimen.

10:10I have morning and I have evening routines. So this is the Kojisan soap. I'm using this for six years

10:16now.

10:17And you use it all over your body and your face?

10:19Yes, I use it on my body. I use it on my face. So I drink this once a day

10:23before I sleep. Looks like this.

10:26And in the morning, I feel my skin gets glowy.

10:31So today, I don't whiten my skin. I gave birth to a dark, beautiful baby girl.

10:38And I don't want my daughter to feel the same insecurity that I went through.

10:44People lighten their skin just to increase their attractiveness to the opposite sex.

10:48My self-confidence is higher. My feeling is better. My feeling is better when you feel better.

10:55I was starting to understand. Skin whitening is pervasive in the Philippines because for so many people, it represents the

11:03opportunity for something more.

11:05Skin tone isn't just about skin. It is about class.

11:09Everybody who uses these products are very clear about the economic benefit. That far outweighs any risk.

11:17Back at the Eco Waste headquarters, I'm about to find out just how much risk there is.

11:23Why are you putting gloves on?

11:24Yes, because since this product has chemical, so we don't want to expose. Especially I will be touching the product.

11:33And at the same time, we open up the windows. Because since we suspected that this product has mercury, this

11:42is a point-and-shoot device.

11:44The screen will show the concentration of mercury.

11:48So I have sort of an idea of what these numbers mean. What are the legal limits of mercury in

11:52these products?

11:53For our country, it has a limit of one part per million.

11:57One part per million?

11:58Only one, yes.

11:58Yes.

11:59Okay. All right. So this cream here is like this bright yellow, almost like custardy consistency.

12:06I'm trying to hold my breath.

12:13Now you will see.

12:16Wow. So this is over four times the legal limit.

12:21More than, more than, it's 42,000.

12:25This is in percent. So if you're gonna convert it times 100 or times 1,000, then this is 42

12:32,000. Way, way beyond.

12:34I thought that it was shocking that it was four times the amount that it's allowed. It's 42,000 times

12:40the amount.

12:41Tony and I tested every cream they bought.

12:44Way beyond the limit.

12:46Jar after jar contained mercury at illegal and alarming levels.

12:51It's a little bit lower, yeah, but it still has mercury.

12:55So these products here are banned, they're illegal, but we just bought them today.

12:59Is that safe to say then that they're still being imported, they're still being smuggled in?

13:04Exactly.

13:05With results from our testing in hand, Tony's come to Quezon City Hall to demand the government remove these products

13:12from the streets.

13:12Yes, yes, we have a meeting. And the guest of Councillor De La Armente.

13:17Okay.

13:18We don't want this situation to worsen up.

13:21We don't want to hear any more victims of this mercury exposure.

13:27Echo Waze, please.

13:29What is at stake with the work that you're doing?

13:31It is very important, especially in the country, because nobody does.

13:35Echo Waze is the only one doing this.

13:37The reality is, people in the Philippines and across the globe will continue to use skin whitening products.

13:45And until the culture that privileges lighter skin changes, it's people like Tony who look out for consumers to make

13:52sure products are safe.

13:54We've been out here for a few hours waiting for Tony, waiting on the news of whether or not the

13:58government's actually going to take action to try to seize all of these really toxic, illegal products.

14:06Yes! We got it! We got it!

14:09The meeting is a success.

14:10Wow, so what happened?

14:12One, of course, we got the support of all the agencies who will do the law enforcement action.

14:19So because of your investigation, they're now looking into it and you're going to get these products off the street.

14:24Yes, and we will still continue.

14:25Your victory moment.

14:26Yes, victory moment.

14:27It may seem like a small step, but Tony's tireless work makes the world of beauty a little bit safer.

Why People Risk Their Lives To Bleach Their Skin | Shady | Refinery29

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