Now I’m postive that the Great Master Cecil has addressed this before in a discussion about “skin bleach,” but I’ll be damned if I can find it. So I’ll revisit the question.
Firstly, I know that Michael Jackson suffers from vitiligo which causes the loss of skin pigmentation. But a recent article about his anti-Sony antics made a wise-ass remark about his loss of pigmentation, using the words “whether naturally or artifically.”
Now, I’ve always assumed that he simply used make-up to help smooth things out a little, so that his skin tones wouldn’t appear “patchy.”
So here’s my question:
Is there a process that actually can do such a thing as cause you to lose skin pigmentation all over and evenly?
Part two of the question:
How the heck does it work? (I’m envisioning frightening side-effects and stuff.) Would it affect things like hair color too?
Part three of the question:
Generally, what kind of side effects are there with repeated surgical alterations? (MJ’s face looks like something is very wrong with its elasticity.)
I’m quite naive about cosmetic surgery, so I’m quite curious.
First, you don’t know that MJ has vitiligo, you just know that he (and perhaps a trained monkey/physician) said that he does. No, there is no systemic procedure for skin-lightening; to my knowledge, such things are done with skin-bleaching creams (in my cosmetic chemist days, these contained hydroquinone–nasty stuff, causing photosensitivity in some and dark brown splotches in others).
Second, the skin bleaches work by destroying melanin; thus, they need to be applied at intervals, and no they can’t affect hair color unless you smear it on your hair (maybe not even then; I never tried it).
Third, the main problem with repeated surgical alteration is the scarring, and the risk of excessive scarring from any particular procedure. Yes, that could cause a loss of elasticity, but so can a thick layer of pancake makeup. So could nerve damage from a botched surgery (well, not elasticity, but movement).
IANAD, and I haven’t concerned myself with this stuff in years, but it’s a start.
True. But I thought that it would be a needed dislaimer, in the event that the question generated any MJfan protest. And vitiligo is common enough, that I don’t actually doubt it all that much. I’ve been assuming that he’s been using pancake make-up (or a higher tech equivalent) based on the “crumbly” look his face gets around his mouth in some picutres (I’ve seen that when actors are wearing FX make-up and have to use heaps of the stuff.).
Wow. I thought perhaps there was some kind of product, but I was dubious. Not so dubious about the existence of the stuff, but rather the effect of it (couldn’t imagine it could give anyone a uniform hue) and the side effects. I was imagining some kind of horrible oral medication that destroyed the body’s ability to produce melanin and/or other pigments… and that gradually ate away your kidneys or liver as a result of long-term use.
Thanks Nametag that really is interesting. The idea of destroying melanin is kind of creepy. What we be the effects of long-term use, or is that really known?