THE USE OF BLEACHING AGENTS BY WOMEN FROM BAMAKO - AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC-STUDY

In Mali, the cosmetic use of bleaching agents by black people has beco me a social phenomenon. How wide is this practice is not precisely kno wn. We report the results of a survey conducted in Bamako among women aged from 15 to 45 years in order to evaluate the prevalence of this p ractice and its socio-economic factors. Two-hundred and ten women were questioned during the cluster survey. Among these, 53 (25 p. 100) use d bleaching agents which were topical cortico-steroids (37), hydroquin one-containing products (21), mercury derivatives (11) and products of unknown composition (16). Dermatological side-effects were observed, but they did not hinder the use of these agents. Bleaching was particu larly frequent in unmarried women (39 p. 100), literate women (34 p. 1 00) and female students (45 p. 100).