This Model Revealed Her Vitiligo After Covering It ​Up​ For 10 Years

Model Breanne Rice was diagnosed with vitiligo at the age of 19. The rare condition occurs when the skin's melanin either dies or stops functioning. It can happen on any part of the body, but for Rice, it only happens on her face. Living with the condition hasn't been the easiest for Rice, but for the first time in 10 years, she decided to stop concealing her condition with makeup.

In a powerful Instagram post, she uploaded a selfie without foundation. In the moving caption, she explained her life with vitiligo. "I got really good at doing my makeup, and I didn't want anyone to know about it," Rice confessed under the image. "I couldn't look in the mirror without crying and feeling unattractive."

The direct cause of vitiligo is unknown, but it can run in families, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. The disorder isn't contagious or life-threatening, but it leaves noticeably lighter patches in certain areas of the body. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculosketal and Skin Diseases, vitiligo occurs equally amongst all races and sexes, but it is most noticeable on darker skin tones. There are treatment options for vitiligo, such as prescribed steroids, but they can't cure the disease.

"It's taken me a very long time to be able to go public with this and to walk around publicly without any makeup," Rice wrote. "Why? Because it's my face. Although I would like to say I am super confident and it never gets to me, sometimes it does." Over the years, Rice has had to deal with negativity from others. "Some days people make comments saying, 'What happened to your face?'" she explained. "Sometimes if I have a crush on someone I am worried about them seeing me without makeup and worry that they won't think I'm cute."

But Rice is learning to completely love and appreciate who she is. "There's not much I can do about it," she wrote. "I can only love myself and not let my circumstances define my value or self-worth. What is the definition of beautiful anyway? Is it being perfect? What do you see when you look in the mirror? Perhaps you have a circumstance or something about yourself that you are insecure about. Don't let it define you. You deserve love, and you are beautiful."

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Here's Rice looking gorgeous with makeup.

And here she is without it, looking just as beautiful.

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Photo Credit: Breanne Rice via Instagram