For years, the quiet spread of skin bleaching across Nigeria has unfolded in salons, bedrooms, markets and social media timelines—often dismissed as a matter of beauty preference or personal choice.

While it’s nowhere near its early 20th-century peak, the dangerous practice of skin bleaching — using creams, injections, or other products to lighten one’s complexion — has never truly disappeared.

For years, the quiet spread of skin bleaching across Nigeria has unfolded in salons, bedrooms, markets, and social media timelines—often dismissed as a matter of beauty preference or personal choice.