The Beauty Of Being Different: Vitiligo, Birthmarks, Albinism And Other Stunning Miracles of Nature

What do vitiligo, albinism, birthmarks, melasma, and even freckles have in common? More, unfortunately, than you'll ever have any idea about if you do not live with these mostly medically harmless but nonetheless extremely visible conditions that impact the appearance of the skin. 

Frequently enough, you won't even have the chance to get their name. What you do see in that brief flash of time is what a person looks like. The skin, which we often forget is the largest organ in the human body, is undoubtedly among the very first things we notice about people. Sadly, people appear to be hardwired to discriminate on the basis of looks — and when they don't like what they see, that can have far-reaching consequences for all aspects of the victim's life, including their earning potential.

Fearing those who look different may once have served a valuable evolutionary purpose ("if that person doesn't belong to my tribe, they might well be hostile and a danger"). Fearing people with skin differences may also have served as a warning mechanism of sorts — if a person is ill, they could possibly be contagious, thus posing a threat. 

It is, ultimately, not surprising that research shows that people who were born with, or developed later in life, highly visible skin conditions that shouldn't have affected them in any functional way suffer because of discrimination. In the 21st century there is, however, no excuse for this. When people understand visible skin conditions they are, science has discovered, much more likely to embrace and even celebrate these differences. 

What skin conditions should be on your personal radar?

• Vitiligo is a skin condition in which a person develops lighter, almost white, patches on their skin where the pigment melanin is absent. Although vitiligo can make beautiful patchworks to appear on any part of a person's skin, visible areas like the face, hands, and neck are often affected. This condition can be caused by a variety of factors, including a genetic component, but it is not infectious or contagious. Although people with vitiligo have to be extra careful to use sunscreen, without discrimination, vitiligo would not have much of a negative impact on someone's life. 
• Albinism is another pigment condition that impacts the production of melanin. People of all racial backgrounds, and even many different animals, can be born with albinism. The extraordinarily pale skin puts people with albinism at increased risk of sunburn, and the fact that it also affects the eye can mean that people with albinism have poor eyesight. 
• Birthmarks — colored and sometimes raised patches of skin anywhere on the body that are present at birth or appear soon after — have a very wide variety of different causes. From port wine stains to cafe-au-lait spots, some require medical treatment but most are completely harmless. 
• Melasma leads to darker, often brown-ish, patches on the face. This pigment condition isn't congenital, but developed over time — and the most well-known form of it is the so-called pregnancy mask. It is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors. Like all the other conditions on this list, melasma is not contagious. 
• Freckles are a collection of dots, which may be red, brown, or tan, triggered by a buildup of melanin underneath the skin. While freckles are more common in fair-skinned people, especially as they spend time in the sun, people with darker skin can have freckles, too. 

What role do models and the internet play in combating the stigma attached to pigment and other skin conditions?

For far too long, skin conditions have been documented to have a detrimental impact on the quality of life of those people who live with them. Not because the skin condition inherently causes any discomfort or complication, but simply because people from all across the globe are too scared and narrow-minded to embrace natural differences. 

As people with diverse conditions become more visible in the media, we become curious — what is it that makes this person so beautifully different? That, in turn, impacts people with skin conditions in two distinct ways. First, when public awareness of a condition grows, people will know what they are looking at and no longer be afraid. Second, children growing up with pigment conditions will increasingly be able to see people who look similar to them as famous role models, showing them that they are stunning miracles of nature.