'I've worn make-up since I was four'

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

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Elana Kelly says make-up has been her lifeline

Few of Elana Kelly's friends have seen her without make-up.

But that isn't because she can't face the world without lipstick and mascara.

Elana has vitiligo and has rings round both eyes that are lacking skin pigment.

She has worn make-up every day since she was a small child - but she has decided to take all her make-up off for adverts to raise awareness of the reality of her skin condition.

Now hundreds and thousands have seen her face, but Elana says she still feels too sensitive to stop wearing her "camouflage" in her daily life.

I don't feel I could go out without my vitiligo covered up Elana Kelly

"There were periods when I wished I was able to tell people about my condition," she said.

"But now, even at the age of 29, I don't want to go out on the streets without my make-up.

'Too exposed'

"There are millions of people who do wear make-up each day for different reasons and I am just one of them, but I don't feel I could go out without my vitiligo covered up, which sounds pretty sad.

"But it is just the way it is for me.

"Wearing no make-up for the ads was good. I had been in front of strangers without make-up for a short-time, but with the video a much wider range of people have seen it.

"Of course my family have seen me before without make-up, as has my boyfriend and some very close friends.

"But even people I work with haven't, so doing the advert was a big deal for me."

Psychological damage

The advert, by the Vitiligo Society aims to raise awareness of the condition, which affects half a million Britons like Elana.

It leaves them increasingly vulnerable to the damaging effects of the sun and can also often have a dramatic psychological effect.

Elana's parents got her make-up before starting school

Elana, an admin worker from Essex, said the family first noticed she had a problem when she suffered a cut above the eye at the age of three.

The scab healed, but the pigment never returned and gradually the problem grew worse, eventually affecting both eyes.

She said her parents were keen to protect her from any bullying and so researched make-up.

"As a child of four, I have to admit that I was blissfully unaware of any difference between other children and myself.

"I never experienced any animosity, cruelty or name-calling and for that I must be eternally grateful, as not everyone is so fortunate.

"It is only when you are a teenager and start staying over at other girls' houses that it becomes a bit of a pain having to put the make-up on and take it off, and I did not feel comfortable telling people who were not in my family.

"And when you are a teenager it is all about how you look," she said.

Treatment options

In her 20s, Elana tried laser treatment to see if it could offer her a permanent treatment, but it did not work so she decided to stick with the make-up.

"The colour match was so perfect that it meant I didn't have to tell anybody unless I wanted to.

"However by not being honest with people other than my family I still was not accepting the fact that this was likely to be with me for the rest of my life and I still had never asked myself if this was something I could cope with forever," she said.

Elana's make-up covers her vitiligo

Psychologist Linda Papadopoulos said the psychological effects of vitiligo could be crippling, especially in the early years.

"Teenagers and people in their early 20s are the most susceptible to psychological and emotional trauma experienced at the onset of the condition.

"People with vitiligo don't tend to go swimming or wear a summer dress because of the taboos associated with the skin and because of our obsession with a perfect body and especially the skin."

She added: "Vitiligo is not so much physically handicapping, but psychologically handicapping."