Vitiligo is caused by the lack of a pigment called melanin in the skin. Melanin is produced by skin cells called melanocytes, and it gives your skin its colour. In vitiligo, there are not enough working melanocytes to produce enough melanin in your skin. This causes white patches to develop on your skin or hair. (NHS, UK, November 2019).
I first noticed the white patches on my hands, underarms, thighs and very slightly on my face during the Autumn last year. I had a chat with the GP who diagnosed Vitiligo. He wasn’t surprised. This condition can be brought on by sudden traumas such as childbirth and bereavements. As I had experienced the loss of both parents, suddenly and without warning within a short space of time, this was possibly one way my body was dealing with things. Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease and therefore a blood test was performed to check on my thyroid function ( all good there). There isn’t a cure for Vitiligo, it can disappear, remain as it is or gradually get worse. Over the past months mine has definitely got worse. I now wear Factor 50 suncream when outside as my white patches are at risk of severe sunburn if left unprotected. Other than that, and I know I am very lucky with this, it is not affecting my daily life. I have fair skin, I tan easily and in places the skin looks a little strange, almost like I have put a self tan treatment on and forgotten to cover certain areas.
I noticed when I was recording one of my songs on my iPhone over the Summer that the patches on my face were becoming much more noticeable. Himself remarked that I looked like a reverse Homer Simpson, charming! As much as I have accepted that this condition is part of me and I just have to get on with it, I wondered if this would affect my confidence long term especially as I want to follow a singing career. I am only now getting confident to sing and record on the phone for posting to my social media, was this going to stop me in my tracks?
A chat with my closest friend one day about this situation led me to the discovery of IT Cosmetics. https://www.itcosmetics.co.uk/ My friend was using their CC Cream (Colour Correcting for those who like me didn’t know what CC stood for) and recommended I try it. She knows I am not a full make up kind of woman, lippy and mascara and that’s about it, but I decided I would give it a go.
The IT Cosmetics website offers a step by step guide to gauging the shade of cream you require. I played it safe and selected the light medium. I also had the opportunity to try a couple of free samples so I went for the gel moisturiser and the night time beauty sleep moisturiser, both are really lovely on the skin. I am very impressed with the CC cream. It is extremely light on the skin, I cannot feel that there is any product on at all. It blends beautifully with my natural skin tone and a little goes a long way. It completely covers the white patches on my face so when the time comes to hit the stage and perform I know I can rely on this product to remove any anxiety I may have about sickly white skin patches.
This is my own personal experience and I am not in any way affiliated with IT Cosmetics.
If you should require any information on Vitiligo please visit the following organisations;
https://vitiligosociety.org/about-vitiligo/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitiligo/
With love and sparkles xxx
Dawn. The Sparkle Diaries. 
Thanks for explaining more about vitiligo, Dawn. I had a white patch on my back for many years but recently I noted that it had tanned. Sending you much love.
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