"In Our Own Skin We Win!" Chantal Winnie Takes On Vitiligo

                               
   I was going through some pictures on Instagram the other day when I came across a picture of this very beautiful girl.  She is not just physically pretty but her confidence, attitude and view on life made her stand out.

Chantal Winnie (Chantelle Brown) is a spokesmodel and an aspiring journalist with a skin condition called Vitiligo. 

 Vitiligo is a condition that occurs on the skin. It causes depigmentation and discolouration of certain areas of the skin. Patches of the skin become lighter and the hair on that area becomes white. It often occurs around the joints, that is, the knees, elbows, feet, wrists and fingers and also on the face. Although scientists have come up with different theories, the exact cause of Vitiligo has not been established. Also there are various treatments for Vitiligo such as surgery, natural and artificial light therapy, supplements, covering up with make up and phototherapy (which is unadvicable due to high risk of skin cancer). However, these treatments may only aid partial and not full repigmentation of the skin.

   Vitiligo is more pronounced on darker skin just like Chantal's and could cause more emotional and psychological  harm than physical. But Miss Chantal has never let her condition bring her down. She has embraced this condition and used so many means to inspire other people with similar or worse conditions. With courage, hope and her favourite hash tagged quote "In our own skin we win", she urges them to step out and step into their skin and shine.

Chantal has over 14,000 people following her Instagram page @winnieharlow and has not less than a thousand likes on most of her pictures. Judging by the comments, she has become a role model to so many. Her take on life is inspiring as well as refreshing. The young model and spokesperson takes up different campaigns and events, teaching people about Vitiligo.

   In 1993, the late Michael Jackson revealed in his interview with Oprah that he had been diagnosed of Vitiligo. His case was so serious that he kept turning whiter and eventually his only option was either to keep wearing heavy makeup on and off stage or to even out his skin tone using various creams. Eventually, he had to even out his skin tone. The king of Pop felt so sad and uncomfortable about his skin condition and how the press jumped on it spreading rumours about how he bleached his skin just because he wanted to be white.

   Michael was proud of his colour and his skin and so is Chantal. Rather than hold her back, her Vitiligo has opened so many doors for her. She believes every person has a purpose in life and is unique in their own way. Her uniqueness is her skin and her purpose is to spread love and joy and inspire those who are still scared to embrace life and its goodness. Keep up the good work Chantal! We love you.