Photo of Reinatou, a Fulani woman in the small village of Bele Kwara, Niger, West Africa

Reinatu sports the traditional facial scarring of the Fulani people in Niger, though the designs of her scars as not as common as others. These are new scars, as some of them are not yet healed, whereas others have not yet fully darkened.

The scarring is done with a razor blade, and charcoal powder mixed with cream is rubbed into the fresh wound to create the darkened effect.

Like many Fulani women in rural Niger, Reinatou also has had her lower lip died black. This is done by piercing the lip with a needle in multiple locations, and then rubbing into the dried wounds the ground seeds of a certain tree to blacken it.

Finally, Reinatou has darkened her eyebrows and applied eyeliner with "fina," a cosmetic purchased in the market.

Ref: 2007_4074