Nigeria has the world's highest percentage of women using skin lightening agents in the quest for "beauty".
Lagos, Nigeria - After carefully washing her
face, legs and arms, Taiwo Solomon vigorously rubs cream over her body.
She is meticulous and makes sure she covers her entire face. Soloman,
32, is bleaching her skin. She believes fairer skin could be her ticket
to a better life. So she spends her meager savings on cheap black-market
concoctions that promise to lighten her pigment.
This has been a
daily routine for the past 15 years. Now several shades lighter she says
her new skin makes her feel more beautiful and confident.