It was only about the size of a nickel, just below my navel.
I had recently been diagnosed withGraves disease(an autoimmune thyroid disorder) and had bouts ofeczemaat the time.
It wasvitiligoan autoimmune disorder that attacks your pigment skin cells (melanocytes).
Photo courtesy of Irene Aninye / Designed by Julie Bang / Verywell
I tried that when I was in high school, but it didnt work for me.
At the time, the only people that I think knew about my vitiligo were my immediate family.
I never talked to my friends about it.
Irene Aninye
I couldnt hide it anymore.
I couldnt put makeup on my hands or wear gloves everywhere.
So I realized, I couldnt continue to cover my vitiligo.
There was no way I could consistently keep makeup on my hands or wear gloves all the time.
Thats when I knew I couldnt hide my vitiligo anymore.
I made the decision to stop wearing makeup and start diversifying my closet.
Living With Vitiligo
At first, the people close to me were shocked and concerned.
Most of them didnt know that I had vitiligo and didnt even know what vitiligo was.
So many people have remarked with surprise that my skin felt soft and smooth.
By the time I graduated college, probably 80% of my face had lost its pigmentation.
Black women are proud of their color, and with a darker complexion, my melanin was poppin!
Vitiligo didnt just turn my skin white, it transformed it into a mosaic of all kinds of shades.
There was no uniform color, shape, or area of distributionand its unpredictability at times was frustrating.
I was thrust into dealing with my vitiligo publicly.
Black women are proud of their color, and with a darker complexion, my melanin was poppin!
They ask me how I do it; how am I so confident?
Some people catch themselves staring, while others feel compelled to tell me how beautiful I am.
(Technically, I initially thought my belt buckle was irritating my pigmentation loss.)
I have stories for daysgood, bad, and indifferent!
However, my greatest pleasure comes from my encounters with parents of kids who have vitiligo.
I, too, have shared their concerns.
And I offer support where I can.
I really dont mind people looking.
Staring is not always bad.
People stare at supermodels.
If anything, my concern is what happens when children stare and adults react.
This turns what could be a learning opportunity into something scary and potentially traumatic.
I really dont mind people looking.
People stare at supermodels.
Staring is not always bad.
The photographer commented that I seemed shy and uncomfortable with the makeup cover.
When I looked in the mirror, I didnt recognize myself without my vitiligo.
It just didnt seem like me anymore.
My beauty is not a blemish, its just me.
