Model Khoudia Diop, who last year became an Instagram sensation when her photos went viral, has revealed how she grew up feeling pressure to bleach her dark skin.
The Senegalese rising star, 19, who lives in New York opened up in a video for Real Women, Real Stories, saying that she grew up surrounded by relatives using skin bleaching products.
'It's a very big problem in my country,' she said. 'Around 12 or 13 my own cousin started asking me why I don't want to use those products.'
She explained that in Senegal advertising for bleaching products is everywhere and many varieties cost less than a dollar to make them accessible to as many people as possible.
Horrifyingly, those who couldn't buy them would concoct their own to burn their skin off.
'Even if they can't get those products they will use some medications for eczema. They won't use it the proper way.
They will use shampoo and all other kind of products and cook it together for skin bleaching,' she explained.
'They would put on pullovers and stay under the sun and that just made their skin pull off and it's just horrible.'
Thankfully, Khoudia resisted the pressure to follow suit, explaining that her older sister would have prevented her if she'd wanted to try.
'My sister wouldn't let me use it. She would definitely fight with me,' she explained.
'I felt like why would I change my skin. I didn't have to listen to nobody or look how anybody wanted me to look. I just wanted to be myself and look however I want.'
The model, who refers to herself as the Melanin Goddess has previously spoken about being bullied when she moved to Paris at the age of 15.
She said: 'I was teased a lot growing up, because of my skin tone. By other kids, and now even online sometimes, people will make comments.
'Growing up, I faced it by confronting the bullies. As I grew, I learned to love myself more every day, and not pay attention to the negative people, which helped a lot.'
She said the reason behind her nickname, which makes reference to the pigment that gives people their skin tone, is to encourage people to be confident in themselves.
'Because of my dark, melanin rich complexion and because I want to inspire young girls and let them know that we are all goddesses inside and out.
'The message I have for my sisters is that how you look doesn't matter as long as you feel beautiful inside,' she said.
Source: Dailymail
