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26/6/2020 12 Comments World Vitiligo Day 2020June has been a very busy month for VITILIGLOW® with many customers buying our bundle deals in time for the sunshine. The weather has been so sunny, and it means that many of us like to cover up our vitiligo and wear short-sleeved tops and shorts without worrying about having our patches on show. Today is the ninth World Vitiligo Day, which also means it’s exactly 11 years since Michael Jackson passed away. World Vitiligo Day was chosen as the 25th June because it’s the day of Michael Jackson’s death. Many say he was the most famous person to have vitiligo, but there are other well-known people with the condition, including model Winnie Harlow and chef Dean Edwards. As always, World Vitiligo Day is a time for celebration of the skin condition but also a fantastic opportunity to raise more awareness. Even today, many people are not aware of vitiligo, or at least don’t know the facts about the condition, which means some people make uneducated assumptions. Some still even believe you can catch vitiligo from someone else, which you definitely can’t, and some think there is a link between vitiligo and leprosy, which there isn’t!  World Vitiligo Day is all about getting the interesting, true facts out there, raising awareness and educating about the condition. We all want to reduce the stigma that can be associated with it, and improve research into vitiligo.
Lots of people with vitiligo feel really confident in their own skin, and don’t give a second’s thought about going out with their vitiligo and patches on show. But there are also many of us who still feel conscious of the skin condition, and choose to cover up our patches. That’s why I created VITILIGLOW® as I couldn’t find a suitable camouflage cream out there that I could rely on. As always, The Vitiligo Society have done a great job of running some brilliant events this summer for World Vitiligo Day, and the main National Vitiligo Community Conference, which is a Global Vitiligo Celebration in line with World Vitiligo Day, is being held on 26th to 28th June this year. It’s hosted by the Minnesota VITFriends family with the support of the Global Vitiligo Foundation. World Vitiligo Day is a great opportunity to talk about vitiligo and get involved in some of the upcoming events, whether you attend one in person or join in the conversation on social media! If you’d like to share your photos, selfies or vitiligo stories with us at VITILIGLOW®, we’d love to hear from you, so please tag #VITILIGLOW in your social media posts. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I hope everyone is staying safe and well in these unprecedented times, and getting used to this ‘new normal’. Happy World Vitiligo Day 2020! Best wishes, Polly Founder of VITILIGLOW®
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This week we have been celebrating and raising awareness of two very important campaigns: Mental Health Awareness Week and Face Equality Week. Changing Faces UK have headed up the Face Equality campaign to raise awareness of those with visible differences, just like the many of us with vitiligo. The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week this year is ‘Kindness’, and it raises the point of just how important it is to be kind to yourself and others, including the thousands of us with visible differences, including vitiligo, alopecia, scars, burns and acne, and those with sometimes invisible mental health battles too. In the recent weeks and months with so many changes going on in our lives, and many of us spending much more time at home than we usually would, it's so important to remember to show kindness not only to others but to yourself too. I hope you’ve been able to take a few minutes this week to check in with yourself. How is your mental health? What small things could you do to practice self-care and be kind to yourself?  I’ve been continuing going to work and doing my day job, which is in a local hospital, and the recent events with many people clapping on their doorsteps on Thursday evenings has really shown us just how important kindness is. I’ve been wearing my rainbow ‘thank you’ t-shirt with pride, and felt so appreciative to everyone in the NHS, and the many carers and keyworkers.
Mental health charity Mind have said that one of the most common coping strategies for thousands of us during this time of staying at home is to connect with family and friends online. This week, for Mental Health Awareness Week, but also in the weeks and months that follow, take every opportunity you get to speak with family and friends whether it be over the phone or via video call. Set up fun quizzes, do online board game nights, and get your family and friends involved! Many people with existing mental health problems can feel particularly lonely and alone at this time, so it’s important to communicate and show kindness. Friend of VITILIGLOW®, Joti (@vitiligo_and_me on Instagram) has been sharing daily posts on different topics surrounding mental health throughout the past week. On Tuesday, she focused on challenges faced by young people, Wednesday looked at how mental health has impacted families, children and relationships, and Thursday focused on self-love and self-kindness. Finally, on Friday, Joti ended MHAW by inviting her followers on Instagram to share recent acts of kindness that they have experienced. I loved following Joti’s posts throughout the past week, and you can too on her Instagram feed. If you want to find out more about Mental Health Awareness Week, there’s been lots happening on social media using the hashtag #MHAW or you can visit the Mental Health organisation website. To learn more about Changing Faces UK’s Face Equality Campaign, head over to their website or search the hashtag #FaceEqualityWeek on social media to join in with the discussion. I hope you are all staying safe and well. Best wishes, Polly We’re currently spending more time at home, and we’re lucky to have sunny weather, but we have to remember to protect our skin. Whether you’re lounging in the sun with a cocktail or doing some gardening, being safe in the sun is really important for people with vitiligo because our depigmented skin is really sensitive. If you’re wearing VITILIGLOW®, it already contains SPF 30 which will give you some peace of mind. I always apply a good quality sun cream first, let it soak in for several minutes, and then apply VITILIGLOW® on top.  When our skin is exposed to sunlight, it produces melanin to help protect it from UV light, which is why some of us tan. But for those of us with vitiligo, there isn’t enough melanin in our skin, so it’s not always protected as well as someone without vitiligo. This is why it’s so easy for our patches and depigmented areas of skin to get sunburnt.  I’ve still been working at the hospital and playing my part as a keyworker, but when I have had a chance to get out in the sun, I always make sure I wear sun-protective clothing, a hat and sun cream to stop any skin – especially the depigmented patches – getting damaged by the sun. I try to sit in the shade when I can too, but it’s great to know that I can wear shorts and vests because my patches are covered with VITILIGLOW® and protected from the sun with my sun cream. VITILIGLOW® is also sweat-proof and water resistant, so it holds up well on warmer days. If you get a bit hot or sweaty, you know the product won’t rub off while you’re out in the garden enjoying the sunshine. Whatever you’re up to this summer, whether it’s gardening or just sitting outside with a cold drink, and you’re enjoying using VITILIGLOW®, we’d love to hear from you! Send us a photo via our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages, or email us ([email protected]) and let us know what you’re up to.  Workbridge, who dispatch our VITILIGLOW® orders, are still open, but they’re taking a little longer to dispatch parcels at the moment, so VITILIGLOW® deliveries ma temporarily take slightly longer than the 14-day standard.
Stay safe and stay well. Best wishes, Polly Founder of VITILIGLOW®
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