Meet Al-Teriq

At 33, I decided I was going to go vegan. After 4 years of eating like this, I noticed a small spot on my nose, thought it was probably related to how I was eating or needed a multivitamin. I got all the vitamins … It didn’t go away! Then another, larger spot and a couple weeks later, a new one joined the party on my eye lid!

I panicked, rushed to the doctor thinking I was dying. The doctor said it would probably go away “skin changes are common in your thirties” but I’ll send you to a good dermatologist. I accepted that offer - someone had to fix this!

Dermatologist 1 said ‘Its just an overactive fungus that we all have. Wash your face with shampoo and it will go away”. After a couple months of shampoo baths and a few extra spots I got really worried. I started buying eye liner to color in the spots.

2nd dermatologist decided to do a biopsy. She knew it was vitiligo but didn’t want to confirm until the test came back. It was vitiligo but I saw two more dermatologists to be sure!

I got a steroid cream called clobetasol which caused some color to come back, so I was hopeful. I used dermablend coverup to cover the spots on my face but the when my hands turned white I figured what’s the point? Going out without coverup was super hard. People stare and they don’t seem to care.

I ran into an old friend recently. She said “oh my god, what happened to you?” How embarrassing! I see a therapist, but “peopling” is still difficult.

Last summer I went outside with short sleeves for the first time - I’m starting to get more comfortable.

I always thought I was good looking but vitiligo has shaken me to my core! What a humbling experience! It’s hard because my skin is always on my mind! It causes me to shrink sometimes, and I do my best to overcome that.

I’m an actor so I am inspired because people with vitiligo are being showcased more - A big dream of mine is to work in TV and movies. Living with a noticeable difference is never easy. I really hope people understand that and are kinder as we learn more about it.