Celebrate together
This week, people across the globe will be celebrating World Vitiligo Day on Tuesday 25th June. Whether you have vitiligo or know someone who does, there are more than 50 million people with vitiligo worldwide, and World Vitiligo Day is the perfect opportunity to celebrate body confidence and raise awareness of vitiligo.

This week, from 13th-19th May, has been all about raising awareness of mental health. The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 is Body Image – an extremely relevant topic for those of us who have vitiligo, a condition that affects the skin and creates areas of depigmentation. Skin diseases like vitiligo can affect peoples’ everyday lives, mental health and confidence.

We recently caught up with some friends of Vitiliglow™, all of whom live with vitiligo – or as Nike has said, “Vitiligo’s got to live with me!”
 
Nike
Polly Gotschi, founder of Vitiliglow™, has vitiligo, and her sons do, too! One of Polly’s sons, Nike, explains about his experience of living with vitiligo.

“When you get something that’s going to affect your looks, it does have an effect on you, but I just look at it like this: I’ve not got to live with vitiligo – vitiligo’s got to live with me! I’m not going to let it affect me or change what I do. I’ve embraced it.”
 

Joti
Joti, a close friend of Vitiliglow™, kindly shared her experience of living with vitiligo and how it affects her everyday life. “I have been testing the waters by going out with and without make up, and I’ll tell my daughter that I’m a bit conscious of how I feel sometimes and that I’m going to apply a little bit of makeup, and she’ll tell me not to do it! She says, ‘If people look, they’ll look.’”
 
Joti continues, “I’m trying to get her to be confident with her own body but also, as she gets older, to know what to say if children say to her at the school gate, ‘What’s that on your mummy’s hand?’ I want her to be in a position where she can respond and say ‘Look, this is what my mum’s got, she can’t change it, she’s still my mum, she does what other mums do, and the colour doesn’t define who she is.’”
 
Polly
Founder of Vitiliglow™, Polly, explains how she feels about her son, Nike, having vitiligo too. “I feel terrible that he might have inherited it from me because it can be hereditary... but then there are a lot of worse things he could’ve got from me!”

Body Image matters, and it’s important that we all practise self-care and self-love, and boost our self-esteem if we need to. Take some time this Mental Health Awareness Week to focus on yourself, and remember that help and support is always available.
 
Best wishes,
Polly x

​Well, this is a rare occurrence isn’t it? The United Kingdom. Bank Holiday weekend. Mediterranean heatwave.  Being safe in the sun is so important for people with Vitiligo – your depigmented skin is really sensitive so it’s so important to take good care of your skin before you apply Vitiliglow™. 
 
Although Vitiliglow™  contains SPF 30, I think it’s really important to keep your skin protected and to use a good quality sunscreen as well. You can apply this under your Vitiliglow – just put the product on top of the sunscreen and carry on topping up throughout the day.
 
You can find out more about how I protect my skin in the sun here.
 
Vitiliglow™  is sweat-proof (it holds up well on hot days) so if you do get a bit warm, you can have the confidence that your product won’t rub-off while you enjoy the sunshine.  I do still wear a hat and try to sit in the shade when I can. But it’s great to know that I can wear shorts and tops because my patches are well covered and Vitiliglow™  will hold up under the heat.
 
If you’re out and about during this Easter heatwave and you’re enjoying using Vitiliglow™ , then we’d love to hear from you! Send us a photo to info@vitiliglow.co.uk or send via one of our social media channels. We love to see your great results using Vitiliglow™ ​!