Lauren Reid was 12 years old when she noticed her first vitiligo patch. It all started with a white spot on her right knee. “I still have that patch, and since then more spots have appeared on my legs, feet, stomach, chest, neck, armpits, hands, and a bit on my face. My vitiligo is most visible in the summer when the non-affected parts of my skin tan,” Lauren shares.
It’s not a surprise that vitiligo, at times, can be confusing for some people. Lauren also had some bizarre encounters: “I’ve had people ask if I was a burn victim. I have fairly large patches on my legs, so the weirdest comment I have gotten was when someone thought that I had put a bunch of lotion on my legs and didn’t rub it in.”
Coming to terms with vitiligo was more difficult for Lauren initially. The self-taught artist recalls, “I had a wonderful dermatologist who was constantly on top of the latest research and treatments. So, from the time my vitiligo started to develop until I was in college, I was a human guinea pig for all sorts of vitiligo treatment trials and studies, UVB lightbox therapy, steroid creams paired with tanning bed appointments,”
Lauren ended up stopping treatments around 2007 when she was in college. Still, she was hesitant about the future and whether she wanted to have kids that could possibly inherit her vitiligo. “Time has passed, and now I realize that there are much worse conditions that could be passed down genetically, and in the grand scheme of things vitiligo isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s a quality that gives me character and makes me unique. It has taught me to be accepting of others. Sometimes there’s a part of me that wonders what I would look like without my white spots, but another part of me realizes that I’d miss them,” Lauren pours her heart out.
We all know that everyone who has vitiligo feels singled out at some point in some way. People are curious and stare even if they don’t realize what they’re doing. In Lauren’s opinion, the best way to handle strange stares and unwanted questions is to be forthright, open and honest: “If it seems like someone is curious but hesitant, I’m not afraid to explain what my white spots are and what causes them. Knowledge is power.”
Lauren is originally from St. Louis, but has been residing in New York City for nearly 10 years now. She currently lives in Brooklyn and is known as Pigment Painter within the community. On the occasion of World Vitiligo Day, she created a watercolor illustration of her own vitiligo. This was her first post to her new Instagram account -@pigmentpainter. Today, Lauren has painted more than 40 portraits, highlighting each vitiligo fighter’s story.
Unite For Vitiligo salutes this unique storyteller and is honored to have her featured among all Vitiligo Crusaders.