Last Updated on 21st December 2022 by Caroline Haye
Summer isn’t the only time of year we bare our skin…
The patchy pigment loss that vitiligo sufferers contend with on a daily basis affects some people more profoundly than others. The severity of the condition, as well as the psychological mind-set of the individual, are both obvious factors. And they both feature in quality-of-life research. What is less obvious is the fact that the impact of having a visible skin disorder can be seasonal. If you have vitiligo you may find summer a difficult time. But summer isn’t the only time we bare our skin. Partying during the winter holidays can also demand difficult clothes choices. So, how much does your vitiligo bother you during the party season?
Let’s flaunt it while there is still time!
As a young child, I loved the summer holidays. Like most kids, I looked forward to being off school, enjoying warm, lazy days. I loved picnics, swimming and climbing trees with my other tomboy friends.
I can remember one summer, when I was in my early teens, wanting to have a cut-off T-shirt that was in fashion. My mother, not surprisingly, didn’t feel it was appropriate for a girl of my age. (“You don’t want to go around showing off your bare midriff to all and sundry!”) But the reason I was so keen to get the top was because I knew my vitiligo was spreading. I could see the very early tell-tale signs that my waist would be next on the list of body parts to lose pigment. So it was a case of “let’s flaunt it while there is still time!”
As the pigment loss spread, the summer months became more of a trial to me than a pleasure. And I used to greet the first cold weather of autumn with relief because it meant I could cover up. I could conceal the offending patches with warm clothing. No need to worry about camouflaging them with cosmetics. And no need to avoid social situations for a while.
If you can’t flaunt it, cover it.
Once I reached my teens and 20’s though, even the winter months presented me with anxieties… Especially the December party season, because I longed to wear the slinky, skimpy LBDs that my friends were wearing. Self-tans were my best friend then. But applying them effectively became more and more of a tedious exercise. It was a game of colouring-in-without-going-over-the-lines. And it put a major damper on what should have been a simple, carefree pleasure – going out socialising and dancing.
Like a lot of young women, I loved fashion and wanted to wear outfits that showed a bit of flesh here and there. But, by the time most of my body and face were affected by vitiligo, even Michael Jackson ’s costume designers would have struggled to create garments that only allowed for glimpses of my normal skin!
Gender and age can both make a difference to how much vitiligo bothers us
It’s probably true to say that men are generally less obsessed with fashion than women (a sweeping statement, I know!) And they are less likely to want to show off their arms, legs or any other expanses of skin (unless on the beach or playing sport). So it is not surprising that anxiety levels among men with vitiligo are lower on average.
Concerns over “bearing all” also diminish with age. This might reflect the fact that older people generally find themselves in fewer social situations where they would feel peer pressure to expose their skin. And it also reflects the fact that older people are probably more philosophical about the whole issue of personal appearance than younger ones. My own experience definitely bears this out. Even before I started to repigment (at the age of about 50) I had become a lot mellower about having vitiligo.
At the time of writing this, in my mid-50’s and almost completely repigmented, I am no longer an age or a shape that lends itself to skimpy outfits. (God forbid!) But I don’t mind at all that my recovery came too late for me to have the carefree relationship with fashion that I would have liked as a young woman. I believe I have become wiser as a result. And I am just extremely grateful that I can now wear pretty much whatever I want without having to go through the old mental tick-list… (Does it have sleeves… how long is the skirt… how high is the neckline, etc.?) Nor do I have to spend hours applying camouflage to the jigsaw puzzle that was once my skin.
Party season again!
So, here we are in December once again and the party season is in full swing. Enjoy it… Even if your LBD does have to have full-length sleeves and tanning your legs seems to take an age! However widespread your vitiligo is, whatever your age or gender, and whatever your current feelings about your white patches are, take it from one who knows. It is always too soon to despair because you don’t know how you will feel about your vitiligo tomorrow. And you don’t know what improvements tomorrow, or next year, can bring to your skin.
I wish you a very happy festive season, peace of mind, and the hope of healthier skin in the New Year 🙂
