Should I camouflage my vitiligo?

Last Updated on 22nd January 2024 by Caroline Haye

The pros and cons of hiding vitiligo

Continuing with my previous topic about the increasing number of helpful vitiligo blogs and stories out there, I’d like to mention one on YouTube that was actually part of an advertising campaign. But it is genuinely inspiring. Well worth watching if you ever ask yourself the question, should I camouflage my vitiligo? 

The vitiligo “confession” features a wonderful young woman called Cheri Lindsay. She is a college volleyball coach whose beauty, confidence and common sense shine through this short video. In it she demonstrates that she is not afraid to reveal her vitiligo to the world. But she has chosen to help others to see past it in daily life. And she does this by using camouflage (in this case, Dermablend Professional, with which I have no commercial relationship, btw), which evidently does a fantastic job of matching her deep skin tone.

A psychological versus moral dimension

For many vitiligo sufferers, “should I camouflage my vitiligo?” is a big question with both a psychological and moral dimension. Psychologically, it is not easy to deal with an unwelcome, unexpected and unpredictable skin condition. A gradual transition from “normal” to “disfigured” (if that is how you think of your vitiligo) can be devastating. Especially when all the doctors tell you there is no cure. So, covering up is a popular coping strategy. If you can hide your white patches you don’t have to put up with people staring at you or asking you if you have a contagious disease. You can also pass a mirror or a shop window without constant visual reminders of your condition. 

In short, camouflage enables you to avoid the unwelcome attention of others. And also, to some extent, it enables you to forget about your vitiligo for a while. It gives you a chance to get back to living your life. However, there is the opposing view which says that camouflage can be a cop-out. And this is where the moral dimension sometimes comes in.

I feel a little guilty for not “coming out”

Personally, I always did everything I possibly could to keep my vitiligo a deep, dark secret. (Or should that be a light, white one?) But that was before the days of reality TV, internet and social media. It was long before the world became accustomed to all and sundry baring their soul. Sharing the intimate details of your life with the rest of the planet was just not done. Now that this is an acceptable norm, I feel a little guilty for not “coming out” until after my vitiligo had started to disappear. After all, if more of us had stood up to be counted sooner, vitiligo would have grabbed headlines earlier. 

Maybe, if vitiligo had received greater publicity decades ago, people would not have been so quick to believe that Michael Jackson was deliberately bleaching his skin expressly to deny his ethnicity. Maybe more research would have gone into finding a cure. And maybe fewer people would be having to deal with the difficult consequences of living with this poorly understood skin condition.

A realistic approach to vitiligo camouflage

Coming full circle, Cheri Lindsay, whose father also has vitiligo, is someone who seems to have made sense of this dilemma. And she has concluded that you can be open about your vitiligo as well as conceal it. Both for very good reasons. In making her vitiligo public, she has championed the cause effectively. And she is providing inspiration to many vitiligo sufferers around the world. She is educating those who don’t know what it is. And, hopefully, helping to attract the attention of research and funding bodies. 

But it seems to me that she is also realistic: she understands that human nature is what it is. She knows that you can’t expect people not to focus their attention on something as eye-catching as big white patterns on a beautiful, brown face. She realises that this is inevitably a barrier to everyday activity and communication. So she chooses to use camouflage in order to remove that barrier. I think she is a very wise and strong woman and has made a decision that is right for her and that answers the question “should I hide my vitiligo” in a very positive way.

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