VITILIGO

Are Women of color ruining their skin with monobenzone ?

It's a sad but true fact, some women of color are using monobenzone as a depigmenting agent in their quest to achieve a lighter skin color. What many women do not understand and grasp, are the permanent and damaging effects that monobenzone will always have on normal and regular skin. Not only does monobenzone usually cause devastating and unpleasant effects on the skin of a person without Vitigilo; Monobenzone also permanently destroy skin tone while causing the user to become permanently allergic and hypersensitive to even limited 15 minute sun exposure!

As you sit there, you are probably asking yourself, so what exactly is monobenzone?

Well, monobenzone is a part of the hydroquinone compound. People who want to drastically lighten their skin (because of impatience or special events), at times resort to drastic measures.

*Monobenzone is a substance commonly used to treat people with Vitigilo. It is STRONGLY advised that individuals without Vitigilo refrain from using monobenzone as a depigmenting agent.

A short history of Monobenzone :

Monobenzone was discovered in the 1930's by workers who were wearing gloves that contained monobenzone, after some time they started noticing lost pigment in their hands.

Monobenzone's undesirable results to normal healthy skin:

From the 1940's to 1950's Monobenzone was used to treat hyperpigmentation and was at large successful, but later on, doctors discovered that with some patients certain areas that were not treated were loosing pigmentation, which lead to the realization that applying Monobenzone to just one area of the body (such as the face) eventually worked also worked on other areas and lighten maybe your left arm , or chest, and this kind of risk in the medical world is considered extremely harmful.

VITIGILO and MONOBENZONE

Monobenzone is only advised by doctors for individuals with Vitigilo:

If you have never heard of Vitigilo or If you have never encountered or known of someone with Vitigilo, you probably have a few questions of your own. - Even if you know about Vitigilo, curiosity remains as to why, how and what.

So out of curiosity, what exactly is Vitigilo?

Vitigilo is a result of an abnormal pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that produce skin color) in the skin are destroyed.

So what are the causes? Vitigilo so far has no real proven causes, however many doctors and scientists have said that genetics does play a part in a person's disposition towards acquiring Vitigilo later on in life.

Who does Vitigilo affect ? Vitigilo can effect any one from Caucasians, East Indians, Asians, Middle Eastern, e.t.c; But Vitigilo is more obvious and easily recognizable in people with darker skin tones.

Are people born with Vitigilo ? Sometimes babies are born with Vitigilo, but many times it is a skin disorder that sets on as toddlers, preschoolers, teens or young adults - Vitigilo can affect any person regardless of age, however the majority of people with Vitiligo will develop it before their 40th birthday.

Is Vitigilo more common in males or females ? Vitigilo affects all races and sexes equally.

So what are the symptoms ? The person with Vitigilo usually develops white patches on the skin on areas such as the hands, feet, arms, face, lips and nostrils. Some people with vitigilo usually have already prematurely gray hair.

Does Vitiligo spread ? Sometimes it spreads over the years, other times, Vitiligo spreads to other areas of the body very quickly.

Common Medical Treatments :
- Removing the color from other areas so they match the white patches
- Medicines (such as steroid creams) that you put on the skin

Vitigilo has no cure as of present.