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Living with a chronic condition can be challenging, and managing it while in the public eye can be even more so. Still, many celebrities choose to speak out about their health experiences to raise awareness of conditions that are personal to them — including vitiligo.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin condition that causes patches of skin to lose pigment, according to MedlinePlus. Vitiligo may appear at any age, but the average onset of symptoms is during your mid-twenties, and pigment loss generally progresses with time.
“Vitiligo can make you feel helpless, which is one of its most unsettling aspects,” says Alpana Mohta, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Jaipur, India, and medical advisor for BetterGoods.org. “The first thing you can do is regain control of your knowledge. The more you study about vitiligo, the more equipped you will feel to deal with it.”
Yet the impact of vitiligo may extend beyond physical symptoms. As the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) points out, people experiencing vitiligo may also develop low self-esteem that can impact their quality of life. “This condition does not differentiate between creed, boundaries, or ethnicity, and given the inherent visibility of this skin disorder, self-esteem is often compromised,” says Sanober Pezad, MD, a board-certified specialist in integrative and holistic dermatology who’s based in Dallas.
But these days, awareness around vitiligo is increasing and stigma is lessening — perhaps in part because of public figures who speak out about having vitiligo themselves.
“Celebrity testimonials highlighting the noncommunicable nature of vitiligo and the psychosocial impact it has on the individual will greatly help in fighting against the possible stigmas that vitiligo is associated with,” says Dr. Pezad.
Read on to learn about seven celebrities living with vitiligo, and their experiences and advocacy around this skin condition.
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