[Yellowannabe]

Hey guys. I know I've been away for awhile buT I'm back.

Anyway, I'm sure almost every has seen the Tyra Banks episode about skin lightening and all that jazz. Tyra dedicated this whole episode to four black women who admitted to skin bleaching/lightening and warned everyone of the side effects mentally and health-wise of skin bleaching.

Fast Forward...

At the time I thought it was admirable that she talked so honestly about an issue that seemed so taboo in the black community. My mother said: "That damn girl bleaches her damn self. She needs to be on the panel with those girls." At the time, I thought it was ridiculous... until I saw some pictures recently that made me question it. Even when I saw the pictures I thought it was the lighting. But after seeing these pictures, I'm pretty sure she's a bleacher.

Now I obviously have no problem with lightening. Neither am I trying to take anything away from her, because we all know she is drop dead gorgeous. But I do have a problem with being hypocritical. How dare she host a whole show on skin lightening and urging other people not to lighten, when it appears that she does it herself?


Check the pics:
Look at her neck






To this:










What do you think ? Is it the lighting or is she lightening ?

[Violaename]

Is that Tyra in the last two pictures??

[Yellowannabe]

Yes girl. Indeed it is.

[highyellow]

I can't believe her skin has never seen a lightener. Hypocrisy and moral duplicity pervades the human race... I caught my friend who accused and ridiculed me for bleaching, using my skin lightener when she thought I wasn't around... go figure

[Super Shallow]

She's light skin natural..
Sometines she looks tanned that's it

[divaforlyfe]

No I've said it before she lightens her skin the thing is when people who are considered light or fair skin bleach its not a huge deal per se, it's only when dark skin people change their shade that it's such a deal, that why I don't like to watch her shows they are full of contradictions.

[Violaename]

LOL
Well... maybe she was just following the script given to her.
I don't know if she lightens or not... if she does,Please Tyra,what are you using?? can you share? I bleach because I like light skin and not because I feel inferior or any of that bull crap.Just for the sake of I like

[Yellowannabe]

@ Violaename: Lol. And like I said, if you want to lighten for whatever reason, it doesn't matter. As a human being you have the right to make your own decisions. But don't condemn others and insult the public's intelligence, when you have bleached yourself.

And if she does, which there's a high probability of, I wish she would tell. Lol.

[Esha_88_]

She is so bleaching...

[nikkicute]

I agree, she had help to get to her natural skin color and a shade or two lighter but nothing more than that because she was never darkskinned to begin with. After years of modeling she's traveled the world to exotic and hot places modeling in bathing suits etc, no doubt her skin has seen plenty of sun!

[Yellowannabe]

@ Nikkicute: I agree. I never believed her to be a dark-skinned woman, but I do remember her having a brown skin tone. She is now extremely light.

The choice to do that is rightfully up to her. I just think it's uncool to perpetrate a fraud and make other women feel like skin lightening/bleaching (whatever you want to call it) is so terrible, when you have lightened at least 3 shades yourself.

Like the first picture to me, doesn't look like a tan whatsoever. I'm sure she had makeup on, but her neck looks bare. And especially since that's a picture of her in her younger days, I presume that's her natural skin color.

There's no way lightening every once in awhile can take you from the first pic to the last.

[BrownDeceit]

I completely agree. I remember watching her in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She wasn't dark but she was definitely a brown shade. Now she's like high yellow super light. She's bleaching or doing skin peels or something. I'm so over her sometimes. She's such a hypocrite.

[fairr]

I think she is the most beautiful women ever
And I would sway more to her doing peels...
But I noticed her bleaching episodes concentrated on 'bleaching' as hq only
So without being a 'hippocrate' as such she could be using those kojic acid/arbutin lighteners that are effective :)

I don't care if she is at all I am still in love with this woman! Haha

[redhed35]

Unless she has actually admitted using something to change her skin colour,it could be the pictures are air brushed,the lighting in the studio,makeup,peels as someone mentioned,and other beauty regmines.

There could be many other factors,not just bleaching.

Just a thought.

[Aurora_Bell]

I have no clue on bleaching. I'm white as a ghost and couldn't get a tan to save my life. But I thought she looked lighter in the younger pics of her (the last one) and the darkest in the first few, and then light again in the middle one with the black shirt.

Maybe she was more tanned? And I have to agree with Red, most professional shots are air brushed and touched up.

[LionessRampant]

I'm honestly surprised by this thread. Does anyone here know a thing about how powerful the sun is and how it tans? If Tyra tanned hard enough, she could get to Naomi's coloring (granted, not nearly as bright and even). Those darker pictures were of a tan, the lighter pictures are closer (but not exactly) her natural coloring! Take a look at this picture:

See her scalp? That's there the sun has rarely touched her! That's her natural color.

She spends years baking in the sun with little to no protection because people think black skin doesn't need it. What do you expect to happen?

Look at this guy:

[nikkicute]

Of course! This is the skin lightening forum and we are very aware of how powerful the sun it that's why we have been helping each other avoid it with help and suggestions on which sunscreens are the best to use.

The scalp theory doesn't work for me because my scalp has always been lighter than my skin tone even when I was little and I know that's not my natural skin color, its way too light! When I started lightening my skin I often worried about my scalp and thought about not parting my hair to the side because someone would notice the color difference between my scalp and my facial skin.

[CaramelMocha]

I feel that it is very hypocritical. She wears fake lashes, enhances this n that left n right and yet turns around put on a scarf to mentor other young women?

She's a convenient black... lol

It is clear there has been a dramatic change, not that we care but because that's just being dishonest, but she's only lying to herself...

[Yellowannabe]

LionessRampant: There's no need to be patronizing. I definitely feel that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so I will give you that. However, 1: it should be done in a respectful manner and 2 there flaws in your theories. The scalp thing is just not... a valid explanation. Because the scalp generally is less exposed to the sun, it tends to be lighter than one's general complexion. Additionally, I braid my cousin's (who is dark-skinned) hair quite often and his scalp is the same color as Tyra's... so... yeah. All that equates to is lack of sun exposure.

The picture is not really evidence. We know nothing about this man or the condition of his skin. He could have vitilogo cause it's strange that the upper part of his body would tan to that extent and nothing would happen to the bottom half. Or maybe he did tan. We don't know so to use that as proof is a bit shaky.

We do in fact know about Tyra because she's been in the public eye for a long time. Now whether she lightened does not make me upset. Because many of us on this board do the same, including myself. I am not denying her of her beauty: she is gorgeous. I am not saying she changed from a Seal complexion to her current: as I said it seems she was of a brown complexion. The only thing I find problematic is condemning a practice that it seems you have partaken in. It doesn't matter if she lightened .5 shades. The point is don't be a hypocrite.

As far as the airbushing theory: paparazzi shots generally are not airbushed. I purposely picked the photos I picked because of what I previously stated (excluding the last photo which she may have taken herself.)

It is no coincidence that when celebrities reach a certain amount of stardom, they become light skinned. And this holds true for celebrities from Diana Ross to Teairra Marie. It's like an unspoken rule or something. As an human being, free will is an entitlement; however, it does not entitle you to be critical of others who have exercised their right to have free will, especially if you are doing what you have condemned them for.

[lightgirl]

She's lightening her skin and she's hypocrite to denounce others onher show.