Vitiligo, a blessing or a curse?

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!