The Instagrammer with vitiligo is changing the way we perceive beauty

Being diagnosed with vitiligo–an autoimmune skin condition–hasn’t deterred 25-year-old Prarthan Jagan from leading the life she wants, despite the many hurdles

“It all changed when I stepped out one day without any make-up and felt the sun on my bare skin. It was just absolutely new to me,” says Prarthana Jagan, 25, about the first time she ‘accepted’ her naked-face. She recalls the moment as being “truly magical”. Besides working as a content and marketing strategist for a homegrown beauty brand, Jagan is a content creator on Instagram and dabbles in modeling from time to time, mostly for dedicated campaigns that focus on inclusivity. She was 11 years old when she noticed something unusual. “I think I was brushing my teeth and I found a faint white spot, I ran to my dad and told him I might need to take a deworming syrup,” she tells me. She took the syrup and went to bed, hoping the faint white spot would disappear. It didn’t, and was a lot more opaque than the previous day. This was the first day she realised what would later be diagnosed as vitiligo.

Vitiligo—an autoimmune skin condition where the cells in our body that produce melanin die or stop functioning, causing loss of skin colour in patches—is not contagious or life-threatening. It is, however, extremely detrimental to the mental health of the individual who experiences the change in their physical appearance—devastating and isolating for many. According to the Vitiligo Research Foundation, 100 million people worldwide are estimated to suffer from it.

The journey of self-acceptance

For Jagan, it was confusing and very upsetting, “I didn't fully understand it, I just knew I looked different from the rest of the kids. When I was in my teens, I wasn't sure why I got it, I didn't know if it was because I consumed foods the way I did or just internal dysfunction.” She would disassociate very easily, escaping into a world where she dreamt of ‘normal skin’—“where I didn't have to sit in front of the mirror everyday for 30 minutes to apply make-up on my face. There was a lot of emotional and mental turmoil,” she says. Having strong, supportive parents helped her through her growing-up days, but infrequent ones when she’d come home crying that she was bullied were inevitable. “I remember once I just started crying, asking my mom, ‘why am I like this?’. A friend of mine called me a clay sculpture that was melting. She said the make-up is melting on my skin and I looked funny. My mom, who had no knowledge about make-up, sat me down in front of the bathroom mirror and used some new products on me to help me look as normal as possible,” she recalls. “It takes incredible strength to see your child fault themselves and cry, and decide to help them live a life worth living. I believe I am the way I am because of my parents’ strength.” That, and self-acceptance.

Jagan was about 15-16 years old when she was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). The cysts had formed in her fallopian tubes, a rare condition, and they had to be surgically removed. She experienced an allergic shock to one of the medications given and was in agony for 4-5 days. At 18 years of age, in the hospital, it was the first time Jagan had gone without make-up for so many days. “It’s when I realised I was treated just like anyone else. There was a spark, I wasn't actually that different. I was normal in my eyes and I stopped caring about what people thought about me,” she says. “Almost 10 years with vitiligo I hadn't even felt the sun and wind on my bare face. It was truly magical.” Shortly after, she started her YouTube channel. Since then, she’s been a brand ambassador for Colgate, has starred in campaigns for Kay Beauty, M.A.C and Fastrack, and has been featured in magazines such as Elle, Grazia, Cosmopolitan and Femina.

An opportunity to spread awareness

Learning to accept herself, practising gratitude and letting go of people's opinions along with her own negative thoughts and comparisons with those she sees online have helped Jagan feel safe, secure and strong in her skin. “I want to face hardships now, I welcome challenges, struggles and crises. I believe in post-traumatic growth, I see how it has changed my life and I am able to overcome a lot of things.” And made make-up a lot more fun! “Make-up is therapeutic now. I just think of my face like a colouring book and do my thing.” Her three-step routine includes blush (that she applies over her nose and cheeks), mascara and a good brow gel. “I had so much hatred towards make-up when I was younger. While I've grown to love it, I also love the times I'm not wearing a stitch of make-up. I embrace both.” She does hope that a product that helps most with sunburn to soothe extremely sensitive skin launches soon. “Apart from aloe, it always piles on my skin, so ideally a cream.” For now, she uses a gentle cleanser, niacinamide and azelaic acid to treat post-acne scars, a rich moisturiser for her dry skin, and SPF 50.

In a world that sells you things to ‘correct’ and ‘conceal,’ one can’t help but feel like something’s wrong when one’s skin changes. We love ourselves under filters, rarely realising that it’s making us love ourselves less. The beauty industry may be far from wholly accepting skin in all its conditions, but Jagan isn’t bothered much by its shortcomings. “I went to a major e-commerce brand for an audition where they tried to cover my vitiligo with make-up, then shot some test shots and rejected me,” she says. While she may still not be considered for modelling projects that showcase products and approached mainly for focused campaigns, Jagan looks at it as an opportunity to reach and educate the audience about vitiligo. “Awareness is my number one goal since the very beginning and that hasn't changed.”

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