Heather Robinson

Did you see an advertisement in Tuesday's Gleaner from the ministry of Health's Standards & Regulations Division? The ministry advertised the holding of a panel discussion entitled 'Bleachers Beware!' in association with the Jamaica Library Service. The forum is designed to "examine skin bleaching and its devastating side effects". The panel discussion was billed as the "launch of this important and informative series" for Thursday at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Library.

The advertisement encouraged persons to attend to have their questions answered by leading dermatologists, pharmacists, psychologists and sociologists. And it also stated, "Learn about the permanent damage skin bleaching can cause, and more!" The advertisement ends with a request for interested persons to call 926-3310-2 for information on when this forum will be held in your parish.

This advertisement caught my eye, because there is hardly a day that passes that one does not see men and women who are bleaching their faces. This is very obvious from the red blotches and sometimes swollen portions of the face. Usually, too, the face is a totally different colour from the hands and neck.

Men have now taken over

What fascinates me, however, is why is it that so many young men have now literally taken over this practice that was originally the preserve of women. I am told that schoolboys who have bleached their faces using various creams and home-made concoctions are sometimes forced to wear towels over their heads to protect them from the rays of the sun, and the general tenderness which accompanies bleaching.

The story is told of a boy whose face was in such a bad way that his teacher required him to bring his mother to school. Well, there wasn't much the mother could do. She complained that the boy would not stop using her bleaching products. This mother was also a bleacher.

Teachers now tell us as well that some boys have more facial and bleaching products in their school bags than they do school books.

It is my hope that the forum yesterday was the first in the series that will seek to explain the dangers of bleaching to our men and women, and boys and girls. Perhaps the Ministry of Health could take the discussion directly into the schools, where principals can ensure there is a captive audience.

And while some are bleaching there is another older generation that is hell-bent on getting darker. These are the dyers.

Why do men dye their hair? Don't they know that it makes them look old and tough? How many men have been successful in getting a compliment from a woman after dying his hair?

'Frequent dyer'

I recall when a man in his late forties started to dye his hair jet black. On this particular day he had on a beautiful white shirt. Well, as the weather is so unpredictable, suddenly there was a downpour of rain. And, as the rains came down, the black dye drained down on his immaculate white shirt. One would have thought that this was lesson enough to put an end to his dyeing, not so. To this day he is a 'frequent dyer', who now uses a rain-proof dye, and now also wears fewer white shirts.

Jamaican men who occupy leadership positions must by now be aware that even when the same 'beautiful brown' is used, the hair looks a different colour each time it is dyed. My wish for the new year is that we will have fewer bleachers, and that the Ministry of Health will conduct a forum for our male parliamentarian(s) on the disadvantages of dyeing. At the same time, those parliamentarians who have allowed time to have its way with their hair stand tall and continue to look distinguished.