Meet Natalie

I developed my first patch of vitiligo when I was 3 - I had no understanding of what was happening to me.

As a young girl, my parents instilled me with confidence by not hiding my skin.

I wore skirts and short sleeve t-shirts with my patchy skin on display. I didn't face too much teasing but I did hear the odd insult with some kids not wanting to touch me in case they ‘caught’ it. My teenage years were hardest. I was very conscious that I was different and felt a huge amount of peer pressure because I didn't fit in with my friends. My confidence and self esteem plummeted. I struggled to take part in swimming lessons, found summer difficult because I couldn't enjoy the warm weather and often felt socially awkward in new settings with lots of people.

During my adult years, I relied on fake tan and camouflage makeup. Any activities that required showing my skin were still hard. Vitiligo impacted romantic relationships and made me believe I wasn’t desirable. I found the staring and inquisitive questions particularly hard.

Things changed in 2013 when I appeared on TV to talk about the challenges I had experienced growing up with the condition. I felt incredibly vulnerable sharing my story, but it turned out to be the best thing I'd done! It led to me becoming an advocate, passionate about raising awareness and educating others but most importantly, it connected me with a community that I didn't know existed.

Your mindset isn’t fixed. For a long time, I thought I was never going to accept my skin and that I was going to experience a life full of challenges.

When I started working on myself, connecting with the community and feeling part of a growing movement of people loving their skin, my mindset changed.

I am a firm believer in a growth mindset and using language that feeds into this, such as ‘I hate my skin’ which became ‘im learning to love my skin’. For me it really worked.

Find your purpose, value your joy and embrace the change.