In 2018, model Winnie Harlow raged at the media who kept associating her with Vitiligo. As June 25 was designated as World Vitiligo Day, Madmoizelle asked three testimonials to talk about their daily lives.
Vitiligo, what is it?
Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease which creates a more or less extensive depigmentation on the body. The main areas affected are the hands, feet, face, joints and genitals.
In Europe, according to the French Vitiligo Association (AFV), 1 to 2% of the population is affected. This equates to between 900,000 and 1 million people affected in France.
The disease can occur at any stage of life, regardless of age, skin color or geographical origin, and its risk of hereditary transmission is estimated at 30%.
Not Vitiligo neither contagious, nor contagious, nor painfulbut those affected are too often mocked and remarked upon for their atypical physique.
Diagnose Vitiligo
15-year-old Margaux’s vitiligo showed up 4 years ago in the back of her cheek, and it’s been an obstacle course for her to get a true diagnosis of her disease.
Today he lives with it, but he only wants one thing, that will one day disappear :
“It appeared in 2016 during the summer holidays. At first he was quite small, it looked like I had a tan with a finger on his face.
My parents weren’t worried about this anymore since he passed away around October, so I didn’t go to a dermatologist right away.
Around the Easter holidays of 2017, when I went to the beach, it started to reappear but much bigger and I started getting a little bit under my lips and on most of my fingers.
So I made an appointment with a dermatologist who wasn’t sure if it was Vitiligo. He prescribed me some kind of moisturizer which didn’t fit at all and therefore didn’t work.
During the summer holidays my vilification was bigger and more visible than ever, which made me really complex. During my 2017-2018 school year it significantly reduced and the one under my mouth is completely gone.
I was relieved, but over the summer I started getting a little bit on my lids…
Frightened, I went back to another dermatologist who this time advised me to take a blood test and prescribed another cream.
Today I have been using it for more than 9 months but I don’t see any results.
During the winter he doesn’t notice it much, but as soon as the good weather returns it is becoming more and more visible and it bothers me a lot.
In particular, I am very afraid of it spreading and pray that it will disappear completely. Hope makes you live as they say! »
Vitiligo in childhood
Marie is 22 years old and has grown up with Vitiligo since contracting it when she was just 4 years old.
At the time, kids her age talked about it a lot, but it never really hit her. It’s part of her, it’s her, and… it wouldn’t want to be otherwise :
“I’ve always had a hard time saying that Vitiligo was a disease, even if it is.
The reason is that I have never suffered from it.
child, others he asked me what was on my hands and feetI’ve often been asked if I’ve applied sunscreen incorrectly or if I’ve been hit by acid, but it’s never bothered me.
Actually, being white-skinned, my Vitiligo only shows up half the year when I’m tanned. At first I didn’t care, I didn’t pay attention.
Model Winnie Harlow’s arrival on the media scene was a trigger for me. Thanks to her, people’s eyes on my spots are no longer the same. You made this disease famous.
Today, I am proud to have Vitiligo. I find it magnificent and not at all in the world, even if a treatment were found, I wouldn’t want to get my blemishes out. »
vitiligo and skin color
Unlike Marie and Margaux, Clara, 21, is of mixed race and has darker skin, which makes her vitiligo more visible.
He’s had it for 17 years and… it earned him a lot of inappropriate comments in relation to his skin color :
“I often say ‘have’ Vitiligo because it’s a disease, not just a birthmark. People tend to forget that.
However it is a disease that today I have learned to tolerate, to assume and to love. As you can imagine, being a black woman, speckled with white… It wasn’t easy at first.
The insistent looks, the inopportune reflections like ” do you come back from skiing? ” OR ” are you trying to go white? », the nicknames of the animals, from the panda to the cow…
I’m lucky, this period was still short-lived. I’ve always been surrounded by extraordinary people, who gave me confidence, in my disease and in myself.
Today I no longer try to hide. Makeup is no longer camouflage but just a morning treat. I’m not ashamed of it anymore, and I can’t even imagine my face without this “flaw”! »
And you, do you have a particular skin feature that makes you complex or that you love more than anything else?
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
