Woman with vitiligo gets brilliant tattoo after embracing skin condition

Meet Tiffany Posteraro.

The 24-year-old, from New York, was bullied for years because of her skin condition, vitiligo, where a lack of melanin causes pale patches to form.

"People would say, 'did you tan under a tree?' I got called 'cow', 'Dalmatian', 'ghost face', 'burns victim'," she told PA Real Life.

"A few boys in my class told me, 'I can't date you because of this'. It was horrible."

She added: "I tried everything possible to cover it up. I got really dark spray tans and used industrial-strength foundation, the kind used to cover deep scars.

"I covered my legs and arms most of the time, even in the sweltering heat, and would avoid pool parties because it meant wearing a bikini."

But the appearance of Winnie Harlow, a contestant in America's Next Top Model in 2014, and then a chance encounter with someone else with vitiligo in Ikea convinced Tiffany to embrace the condition and stop hiding herself.

"After that I just thought, why should I hide who I am? It's exhausting," she said.

"Now I only wear a little bit of make-up and the rest of my body I don't cover at all. I wear shorts and don't care what anyone thinks."

She even got a fantastic tattoo on her forearm that simply reads: "It's called vitiligo."

Now people are like, 'I love your tattoo'. They ask questions about the condition and go away enlightened. They know I didn't get burnt in a fire. They know there's a term for what I have.

It's very liberating. For me it makes it much easier to handle the stares.

Tiffany added:

I believe I am a better person and a more empathetic person for having vitiligo. I don't look at someone and focus on their flaws.

Flaws to one person are beautiful to another.

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