LET’S TALK: MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE THREE-OUNCE TUBE

Name: Aisha Koroma
Age: 26
The three body parts that I love are my EYES, LIPS, and definitely my SKIN TONE


Four years ago, I experienced stubborn acne breakouts. After months of experimenting with various beauty products, the bumps were gone, but the scars remained. Frustrated with the tiny dots on my face, I went hunting for a miracle product. Tried different things but nothing worked until a friend introduced me to a tiny little three-ounce tube. With no questions asked, I started using the product in the tube. Two weeks later I noticed the fading of my scars. Filled with excitement, I purchased another tube. Months later, not only did the scars disappear, my entire face was smooth and bright.


Loved what I saw so I was like “ummm, face is bright but the rest of my body isn't … How about using the “tube” on the rest o f my body.” A few weeks went by and saw minimal results. Then I upgraded to a “cocktail” of tubes and soap bars. With these cocktails came a ritual. Every morning and night, I glazed my body with a cloud of soap mixture followed by a polish tube twirl. A year later I went from being a 60% Hershey dark chocolate to a caramel milk chocolate.

I’ll admit, for a while, I fell in love with the “new me.” Then I took a closer look in the mirror one day and realized that I was still the same person but with a lighter/brighter complexion. Asked myself, “who is this ‘new girl?’ Is she any better than Aisha with the darker skin tone?” Answer, I was the same person with the same amount of melanin production. The only thing different was the increase levels of chemicals/toxins in my skin.


Had a moment and I said “STOP!!!” The color of my skin at that moment didn't make me any better of a person than I was nor did it bring me inner satisfaction. Difference: my skin was lighter. Bleaching my skin had no positive contribution to my personal well-being so I stopped intoxicating my beautiful dark skin with chemicals. Unlike others, I didn't just wake up one day and decided to become “yellow bone.” It was a process … Not a justified process, but something led to my encounter with the three-ounce tube.


As we try to educate others, it is necessary for us to trace and understand all roads that lead to a certain destination. Sometimes we fail to educate ourselves before educating others. When this occurs, you’ve intentionally displaced the significance of schooling. Ask, analyze, and understand before you teach/preach … Let’s get REAL … Bleaching your skin may change your perspective of what defines beauty, but it won’t change WHO you are … If there is a dissonance between what you see and what really exist, I urge you to dig deeper for a MERGE.

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