For years, Tiffany Posteraro wore layer after layer of clothing and thick make-up to hide her skin.
She suffers from vitiligo, a condition which causes white patches to develop over the body, due to a lack of melanin - the pigment that gives human skin, hair, and eyes their colour - in those areas.
People would stare at her everywhere she went if her skin was on show.
At school, she was called names such as 'cow', 'Dalmatian', 'ghost face' and 'burns victim', and boys in her class even said they couldn't take her on a date due to her skin.
Her confidence plummeted and she began covering herself up, and avoiding situations like pool parties, where she would have to wear a bikini.
She suffers from vitiligo, a condition which causes white patches to develop over the body, due to a lack of melanin - the pigment that gives human skin, hair, and eyes their colour - in those areas.
People would stare at her everywhere she went if her skin was on show.
At school, she was called names such as 'cow', 'Dalmatian', 'ghost face' and 'burns victim', and boys in her class even said they couldn't take her on a date due to her skin.
Her confidence plummeted and she began covering herself up, and avoiding situations like pool parties, where she would have to wear a bikini.
But after meeting another vitiligo sufferer who put her in contact with support groups, she now wears her pale patches with pride.
The 24-year-old has even had the words 'It's called vitiligo' tattooed across her forearm as an answer to people's looks.
She said: 'I wanted to share with people what it is because that way they would learn something, rather than stigmatising.
Tags:
Health