Prevalence and patterns of skin toning practices among female students in Ghana: a cross-sectional university-based survey

Abstract

Objective The use of skin toning products has a deep historical background in low and middle-income countries. Yet, there is no empirical evidence on the prevalence, and patterns of skin toning practices among university students in Ghana. This study sought to examine the prevalence, patterns and socio-demographic factors associated with skin toning practices among female university students in Ghana using a sample of 389 undergraduate female students. Results 40.9% of respondents had practised skin toning within the last 12 months. Also, 51.3% used skin toning products such as creams (38.9%) and soap or gel (35.5%) to treat a skin disorder. Respondents aged 21 years were more likely to use skin toning products (AOR = 0.400, CI 0.121–1.320), those who had dark skin (AOR = 3.287, CI 1.503–7.187), attended public school (AOR = 1.9, CI 1.1–3.56) and those who attended girls school were more likely to use skin toning products (AOR = 10.764, CI 4.2–27.3). Furthermore, those who were in level 400 (AOR = 49.327, CI 8.48–286.9) and those receiving more than 500 cedis were also more likely to use skin toning products (AOR = 2.118, CI 0.419–10.703). Policy interventions that seek to reduce skin toning practices among university students should consider micro and broader socio-demographic factors. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-019-4327-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Prevalence, determinants and perception of use of skin lightening products among female medical undergraduates in Nigeria

“…The study reported the prevalence of skin lightening among female undergraduate medical students of the Niger Delta University as 40.9%. This is higher than the global and African prevalence reported by Sagoe et al 7 (27.7% and 27.1%) respectively, exactly same as that reported in Ghana (40.9%) 8 but lower than the prevalence of 64.9% among Nigerian undergraduates of University of Benin 15 and the 77.3% among Nigerian traders. 10 This is also lower than the prevalence rate of 52.2% obtained in a study by Yusuf et al among health science students in Somaliland.…”

“…7 Reported prevalence of skin toning among female university students in Ghana was 40.9%. 8 Nigeria has about the world's highest percentage of women engaged in skin lightening. According to the World Health Organization, 77% of women in Nigeria use skin lightening products.…”

“…It is believed that the effect of colonialism in some of these countries and the belief in white supremacy may have fueled the use of SLP in Asia and Africa as far back as historic times 6 A recent meta‐analysis global pooled lifetime data on use of SLP reported a prevalence of 27.7% and an estimated rate of 27.1% among Africans 7 . Reported prevalence of skin toning among female university students in Ghana was 40.9% 8 . Nigeria has about the world's highest percentage of women engaged in skin lightening.…”

Prevalence of skin bleaching and its associated factors among young adults in Ghana

“…A structured questionnaire was used to gather data for this study. The questionnaire was designed by the authors after reviewing relevant literature on skin bleaching 13,15,18,21 . To ensure the reliability of the data collection tool, the questionnaire was piloted among 30 young adults in the West Gonja Municipality.…”

“…This growing misconception about skin bleaching has pushed most women into patronizing cosmetic agents such as kojic acid, corticosteroids, and hydroquinone-based products 15,16 . In Ghana, the prevalence of skin bleaching is reported to range 30.0-65.6% 14,17 , predominantly among females 18 . Studies on skin bleaching in Ghana are limited, especially in Northern Ghana, despite the increasing rate of skin bleaching products usage in Ghana.…”