Kush Tracey, a Kenyan rapper and media personality, recently shared a candid and intimate reflection on her prior experiences with skin bleaching on Instagram.
Her emotional post detailed her turbulent journey from feeling lost and under pressure to meet society's standards of beauty to, at last, discovering self-acceptance and embracing her actual skin tone.
Kush Tracey shared two different photos of herself online. She is well-known for her honest and truthful outlook on life. After years of skin bleaching, she looked noticeably lighter in the first photo, and her natural, unbleached complexion was visible in the second. She explained in a vulnerable and humorous caption for the photo,
Did you read this?
"In my early-mid 20s I was as lost as they come 🤣 yes, that 2nd pic is still me, skin bleached, skinnier, looking like I'm living my best life, but the reality is I was broken, lost, confused, and I definitely lacked an identity 😞."
Tracey discussed the false beliefs that had caused her to bleach her skin, revealing that she had previously thought having lighter skin made her "more beautiful." She corrected this misunderstanding by saying
"that's a lie from the pit of hell 🚮 (no offense to the natural light skins outhea, y'all are as gorgeous queens ❤️)."
The artist's open admissions didn't end there. She answered a relevant query that her fans regularly ask her: how did she quit bleaching and return to her natural skin tone?
"Why am I sharing this today, so many women dm me asking how I stopped bleaching & got my natural color back, the reality is I destroyed some parts of my skin then & it's been a journey of patience & healing to get to where I unconditionally love my skin color, embrace my unbalanced melanin," she shared.
Recognizing the harm she had caused to her skin, Tracey recounted her journey of perseverance and recovery, stressing the value of accepting oneself as one is. "I'm no longer ashamed of my story," she said.
"I never thought skin bleaching addiction was an actual thing until I did a lot of research to understand why it was a struggle for me to just stop doing something that was actually causing harm to my body & could potentially have severe consequences in the long run (story for another day🤗)."
In a heartbreaking turn of events, Tracey revealed that she had previously been pressured by "friends" to keep her skin tone lighter because they thought that's when she looked her best. She strongly resisted this peer pressure by keeping her distance from them and concentrating on her spiritual and mental health.
Her spiritual awakening greatly influenced Tracey's metamorphosis. She attributed her newfound self-awareness to her faith and her comprehension of her identity in light of her convictions. "I've embraced the truth of who God says I am," she said, "the more I've worked on my mindset & thank God for the Bible."
She came to the profound realization that she no longer needed to change her skin color to be accepted or to fall into a certain beauty category due to her newfound clarity.
The singer encouraged her fans to embrace who they are, especially women of color. She gave them a message of inspiration, telling them, "You are all beautiful just the way you are." She emphasized the inherent beauty in embracing their natural melanin and encouraged them to resist the pressure from society to change their skin tone.
