Share FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinWhatsappTelegramEmail 706 Ghana An USA Indiana woman with vitiligo has finally gained the courage to go make-up free after 30 years of “wearing a mask.” Denise Chamberlain, 42, was 10 years old when white spots first appeared on her finger as the suspected autoimmune disease caused her skin to lose pigment. More Articles You Would Love Mother’s Day Is Set To Be Extra Special With Woodin’s New Collection ‘Féerique de Woodin’ & Their Shopping Deals #OOTD: Linda Osifo Redines The African Working Woman In This Haute Print Two Piece Over the years, vitiligo patches appeared all over her body, including a large patch on her face. At 10, Chamberlain began applying dark foundation to match her skin color and cover the white splotches on her face. She never left the house without it, despite the fact that it took an hour to put on each day. Since she was a child, she questioned why it happened to her. “I wore it every single day and I learned how to perfect it so people who looked at me wouldn’t even know I had it on,” Chamberlain said. “I didn’t want people to ask me questions and I didn’t want the stares.” Her self-conscious mindset increased after the white spots began multiplying rapidly over the last five years. She tried to go to Walmart makeup-free once and had a panic attack because she felt everyone was staring. “I [was] really nervous about taking my makeup off and am like, ‘Oh my gosh. Look how fast my white part is speeding up. What am I gonna do?'” Chamberlain told InsideEdition.com. Although she was still struggling, Chamberlain became president of a vitiligo group through women she met online. That connection brought about a life-changing moment for her two years ago. They wanted Chamberlain to speak, on FaceTime, to a young girl who had been struggling with her vitiligo. “I said, ‘Hold on guys,’ and I went to the bathroom and I washed all my makeup off my face,” Chamberlain said. “I came back and I got on camera and everyone was like “Woah, Denise, you took your makeup off!'” “For that little girl, I had to take it off for her,” Chamberlain said. Chamberlain knew what it was like to struggle with her condition as a child. “It made me into a person who didn’t want to be noticed,” she said. “That mask was everything for me. Vitiligo clenched me for so long and didn’t let me prosper.” That day she had an epiphany and hasn’t worn makeup since. She said it has been the happiest two years of her life because she is free to be herself. “I feel like God has given me a second chance at life,” Chamberlain said. Share FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinWhatsappTelegramEmail Nana Tamakloe Founder of FashionGHANA.com and Accra Fashion Week. I'm grateful you visited, I hope you share, subscribe and share your comments or opinions below. More For You PICS: Meet The Rwandan Fashion Brand MOSHIONS Behind John Legend’s Most Talked About... PICS: John Legend Put’s Rwandan Fashion On The Map With This Futuristic Mushanana-Inspired... Best Way To Even Out Your Black Skin Tone and Get Rid of... Aaley’s Turns Heads With Their Debut Ready-to-Wear Collection At Accra Fashion Week 2024 Embrace Yourself For Our Digital’s 20th Issue Fashion Cover ‘Afromance Unleashed’ Feat Emelia... The Other Side of Body Shaming: The Unspoken Struggles of Slim Models in... New Year, New Vision: A 2025 Guide for Fashion Designers & Creatives By... Check Out The Top 10 Runways Models That Rocked Accra Fashion Week 2024 Yoonek by Haddy Sets A New Wave In Ghanaian Style Merging Culture with... “It Was Unfortunate There Wasn’t A Ceremony At The Show” – Face Of...