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Advertisement title starts, in big font, "Bleach Your Dark Skin" and advertises Black and White ointment.
Skin bleaching ad in the New York Amsterdam News (1919). (Courtesy of: Jacob S. Dorman, Ph.D.)

Chemical analysis reveals the presence of mercury in skin lightening creams.

1930

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Skin bleaching ad in the New York Amsterdam News (1919). (Courtesy of: Jacob S. Dorman, Ph.D.)

At the time, chemists and consumers alike do not know the danger of direct contact with mercury. Skin lightening creams are made by white-owned companies targeting Black consumers, such as Black and White Cream made by Plough Chemicals and Nadolina made by the National Toilet Company.