​Today is World Vitiligo Day! We’ve blogged about this day before but I wanted to talk about it again because the theme is all about young people with the condition and it’s a subject that’s really close to my heart.  If you’ve read my son Nike’s blog from earlier this year, then you’ll know that he has inherited the condition from me. My youngest son, Conor who is also in his early 20’s has vitiligo as well. As a mother, you always feel some degree of ‘mum guilt’ and I feel upset that the boys have a condition that has affected me so deeply. Luckily, both Nike and Conor deal with it really well and you can see what Nike thinks on this little video clip he did last week here.

I was sent an email from a satisfied Vitiliglow customer who very kindly agreed to share his story with you all.  He has asked to remain anonymous, so we will call him Ben for the purposes of the blog.  Ben is a performer and having vitiligo has impacted some of the choices he has made in his career. Like TV chef Dean Edwards, who wrote a guest blog for Vitiliglow last year (insert link), he has chosen not to speak out publicly about having vitiligo and when he’s performing, uses Vitiliglow very successfully to cover his patches.  I’m always grateful to everybody who has contacted me to talk about their experiences as it’s the reason why I’ve spent so long trying to get the right product for us all.
 
Vitiligo is a very personal thing and everybody feels very different about it. But I’d like to thank Ben for getting in touch and sharing his story with you all.
 
Does it make you unique or does it single you out? It’s funny as you get older with this you just don’t care as much. However as a ‘still’ young man of 30 I find that I wouldn’t be able to face leaving the house without covering up my patches. 
 Vitiligo just developed over the space of a few months when I was around 14. Although I have always had a small patch at the nape of my neck, I was surprised when it arrived quite suddenly.
 As a performer and artist my face was always in the spotlight, so I was very conscious of my patches. I never let vitiligo define my person, art or confidence, I would just cover up and get on with it.
 Although the confident side of me would say that it hasn’t affected me at all, I think I’d be lying. It has had a profound affect on my mental health and confidence. When I’m at the beach or in the gym changing room I’m always aware of it, altering my position so it’s not seen. But when I’m having a good day, I take a look in the mirror and focus on my body and how all the hard work in the gym has paid off. So on those days, I feel good about myself and think I look amazing! 
 Many people with vitiligo are always holding out for that cure or maybe one day it will just be gone when we wake up and I guess you never know, maybe it will if you wish hard enough! But, I am a great believer in loving yourself from the inside out !
 When I heard about Vitliglow I was ecstatic.  I got my hands on some and it’s the best camouflage I’ve used. The fact it lasts for more than a day/night makes me feel super confident when I’m waking up with my partner or when I’m at the beach and decide to go for a swim! It’s a user friendly product that blends in with your natural colour and has definitely changed my view on vitiligo! I can just get on with my life now!

Happy New Year! I hope it isn’t too late to say that now it’s mid-January. I promise I’ll spend a bit more time on my blog and talking to you all about what’s happening with Vitiliglow™ but the start of the year has been very busy finalising the last two shades – Light and Ebony – more on that soon!
 
This blog is a guest post from my son Nike, who also has Vitiligo. The British Skin Foundation state that one in five people with vitiligo know of someone in their family with the condition, but the exact type of inheritance isn’t clear. As it’s not life threatening, vitiligo isn’t the worst thing to pass on to your child, but as Nike’s mum I’m obviously very upset that he also has the same condition that has affected me and my confidence so much. Luckily, Nike has dealt with it really well and I’m really proud of him for sharing his story with you all.
 
Nike’s story
My vitiligo started just over a year ago when I found my first patch.  As I’m now in my early 20’s, I hadn’t thought I’d inherit the skin condition from my mum.  The first patches appeared on my hands and arms and mum and I are surprised at how quickly the patches are  spreading – they’re now on my neck, face and my legs. 
 
I guess because I’m mixed race and my skin is fairly dark, it’s a lot more noticeable on me than it is on my mum who’s got white skin. Mum’s had the condition for most of her adult life and it’s affected her confidence a lot. I'm determined to make sure that having vitiligo doesn’t affect my confidence and stop me from doing anything.
 
Until fairly recently, my patches didn’t bother me too much.  But as they’re more noticeable and appear in more places now, I felt the time was right to have a go at using Vitiliglow™.  Luckily, the dark shade is a really good match to the patches on my hands and arms. I went to see mum and we played around with the dark shade and tried different ways to apply it. The best way to cover all the small patches on my hands was to apply it in thin layers over my entire hand. Once it is dry, it doesn’t really feel like 'make-up' – to the extent that I forgot I had it on when I went out that evening.
 
It was trickier to apply it to my face and neck because the dark shade is a bit too dark for me. Like lots of people, my skin is darker on certain parts of my body so I had to play around with the shades to make sure it looked natural and realistic.  We mixed a bit of the tan and dark together and managed to get a good shade to suit my skin. Mum showed me that it was better to apply it to the whole of my neck area, but on my face it looked better to put a small amount around my nose and the corner of my mouth. We just dabbed a bit of Vitiliglow™ on with my fingers to get the most natural look. It’s definitely worth trying different techniques until you find the one that works best for you.
 
I’m not sure I’ll feel the need to cover up every day, but it’s nice to know that if I do get more patches, I’ve got the option to cover them up if I want to.  Vitiligo can really affect people’s confidence and it’s a shame that people feel that way. It’s important to talk about how you feel and I’m really lucky to have mum to talk about it as she’s got loads more experience of the condition than me. I’m really proud of what she’s achieved with Vitiliglow™ as it’s important that people have the option to cover their patches if they want to.
 
I hope that sharing my story will help other young men who might feel funny about using something that might be thought of as “make-up” but hopefully it might make other people feel better about their patches and using a product if they want to.  I’m not going to let vitiligo affect me personally or stop me doing the things I like doing. It’s a part of me and I’ve learned to be comfortable with it.
 
Good luck,
Nike
 

Mum has been a great support to me as my vitiligo has developed

The patches on my neck

Vitiliglow™ tan shade has blended in really well with my skin tone so you can't see the patches on my neck now

Hi Everyone

Now that the end of the year is almost in sight and the festivities are within reach, I wanted to do one last blog post for the year to thank you all for your support. 2017 has been a particularly challenging year – at the start, we were still struggling to source the very unique set of ingredients to make Vitiliglow™.  Now, having sourced ingredients from across the world, we are pleased to have put the many set-backs behind us and are delighted to have launched the new and improved Vitiliglow™ formula in the autumn.  The first 3 shades – medium, tan and dark - are now available in either 100ml or 30ml bottles, giving people the opportunity to blend their products to get the exact shade to match their pigmented skin.
 
So, what’s new for Vitiliglow next year?
Behind the scenes, we’re busy working on the formula for Vitiliglow™ Fair and Vitiliglow™ Ebony. Please keep an eye out for further updates on our blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and if you’ve signed up for either shade via the contact forms on the website, we’ll be in touch via email to let you know when they’re ready to order from, the Vitiliglow™ Store.  We’re also working on the uniquely formulated Vitiliglow™ remover to help remove the product quickly and easily from the face/body.
 
2017 has also seen us receive support from some high profile people – Dean Edwards, a TV chef from the UK who opened up about his Vitiligo on ITV’s Lorraine show earlier this year and very kindly did a guest blog on the Vitiliglow™ site, plus singer Jacques Terre’Blanche, a singer songwriter and reality TV star from South Africa who has also spoken about his experiences with Vitiligo and shared support for Vitiliglow™ on his vlog.
 
Generally, the world is becoming more aware of Vitiligo, thanks to people like model Winnie Harlow and also thanks to a short film called “Things not to say to someone with Vitiligo.”  This year, we haven’t been as active in talking about Vitiligo as I would have liked - I just had to focus my energy on getting the product sorted out.  However, Vitiliglow™ remains committed to raising awareness of Vitiligo and helping people with the condition to feel comfortable in their own skin, whether that’s by covering up their patches (if that’s their choice) or by providing help and support to make people feel better about the loss of pigment.  If you’re running any events or initiatives next year and would like support from Vitiliglow™, please get in touch via email.
 
Finally, I would like to thank each and every one of my valued customers. So many of you have given such positive feedback about the new formula (take a look on the What our Customers say page) and I’m so pleased to hear how well the product works for you especially those who have told me how it’s given them their confidence back!
 
All that is left for me to say is, have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic new year – thanks again for all your support in 2017 and I’m looking forward to bringing you more news about the Vitiliglow™ range in 2018!
 
Best wishes
Polly Gotschi
Founder of Vitiliglow™

Before I developed Vitiliglow™, I always struggled to find an outfit for big events like the work Christmas party and nights out with my friends.  I would always look at lovely dresses in the shops and choose something that covered up my patches, but not the dress that I really wanted to wear.  And this was one of the reasons why I set about creating Vitiliglow™ - so that people had a good quality product to cover up their patches if it helped them to feel more confident and comfortable in their own skin.

The good news is that we've got stock of Medium, Tan and Dark shades of Vitiliglow™ - head on over to the shop if you want to make a purchase.  Please remember it may take up to 15 days for your order to arrive, so make sure you leave enough time for your order to reach you, if you're planning to use it for a specific event.

I would also recommend that you practice your application a few times ahead of a 'special' event so that on the day, you know exactly the best method to get the right results from Vitiliglow™. Remember, a little goes a long way, and apply in thin, even layers, building up until you get the correct coverage  You may want to experiment with the shades as well - that's why we've developed options so that you can purchase Vitiliglow™ in either 30 ml or 100 ml sized bottles.

If you want to take a look at my top tips for the best application, you can read a blog post or watch a short video, where I explain the best ways I have found to apply Vitiliglow™.

If you're pleased with the results, we'd love to showcase your story and photos on the Vitiliglow™ 'What our customers say' page - please include a before and after photo as well as it really helps others to see the great results that Vitiliglow™ can achieve.

Here's the link to the Vitiliglow Store if you wanted to place an order.

Best wishes

Polly Gotschi
Founder of Vitiliglow™

We've just taken the latest shade of Vitiliglow™ down to Workbridge - ready to fulfil your orders.  If you've been waiting for Vitiliglow™ in the Dark shade, then it's available now to order from the Vitiliglow™ store.

Vitiliglow™ Dark is available in both 100 ml and 30 ml bottles.  This shade is designed for people with dark skin and/or a deep complexion.

To order Vitiliglow™ in Dark:

• If you want to order a 100ml bottle in the Dark shade then visit the Vitiliglow™ shop  

• If you want to order a 30ml bottle in the Dark shade then visit the             Vitiliglow™ shop

If you've found your Tan shade of Vitiliglow™ is a little too light for you, you might want to add in some of the Dark shade to help you to get the correct shade to suit your skin tone. And remember, you can add a darker shade to a lighter shade to give you the correct level of coverage if you have darker pigmented skin during the summer or after a holiday, or for any parts of your body that are darker than others.

If you're not sure how to apply Vitiliglow™ , then read my blog post here, or take a look at the short video I have put together to help you get great results.

If you're already using Vitiliglow​™ then we'd love to hear from you. Please send a before and after photo and a few words about how you've found Vitiliglow™ to info@vitiliglow.co.uk as it's great to feature success stories on the What our customers say page.

Best wishes
Polly Gotschi
Founder of Vitiliglow™

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