USAGE OF SKIN LIGHTENING PRODUCTS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY COLLEGE STUDENTS AT KUSHINGA PHIKELELA POLYTECHNIC, ZIMBABWE

Abstract

The pursuit of appearance, and beauty became a dominant attribute of human society at the turn of the century. Skin lightening soaps and creams, high-heeled shoes and tight clothing, have become the central point of twenty-first-century fashion. The purpose of the study was to investigate the usage of lightening products by the college students, focusing on Kushinga Phikelela Polytechnic students. The research design used was the descriptive research with a population of six hundred students. The sample of the study was made up of three hundred students. A close ended questionnaire which consisted of forty-eight questions was used as the instrument in data collection. The questionnaire was given to the Solusi University experts for face validity. The pilot study was carried out on 50 students from Harare Polytechnic. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined using the Cronbach’s Alpha reliability method and the coefficient was 0.793 which meant that the instrument was reliable and the researcher went on to the final study. The data for the final study, however, was collected from three hundred students from Kushinga Phikelela Polytechnic. This data was coded and analysed using the Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version twenty-one. The study revealed that the lightening creams were being moderately used by the college students, the health problems caused by using lightening products were being moderately faced, the students were mostly consulting their friends and keeping to themselves whenever they faced health problems from the use of lightening products and that the usage of lightening products was moderately beneficial to the respondents. Based on these findings, recommendations were made.