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<\/p>\nA WOMAN with a skin condition says people ask if her fake tan has gone wrong or if she is contagious.<\/p>\n
Eva Smith has vitiligo – the same skin condition as supermodel Winnie Harlow – and\u00a0 says she feels like \u201can animal at the zoo\u201d when cruel people point and stare.<\/p>\n
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The 20-year-old, from Uxbridge in North West London, developed the autoimmune disorder at three years old.<\/p>\n
Patches began appearing on her knees and neck.<\/p>\n
Her condition completely vanished by the age of seven after her parents decided to get her treatment of UV radiotherapy.<\/p>\n
But after four years of being vitiligo-free, Eva discovered new marks appearing on her body. Stress can be a trigger for vitiligo, and Eva thinks this was the cause of it returning when she was a teenager.<\/p>\n
Eva, who owns her own aesthetics business, said: "The fake tan comments are probably the most common one.<\/p>\n "When I haven't been on holiday and don't have a tan, people assume that I have done my fake tan really badly or think I haven't washed off the fake tan properly.<\/p>\n "I run my own business so I meet a lot of people and I have had a few clients ask if my fake tan has gone wrong. It happens a bit too often.<\/p>\n "The comments don't make me feel bad about myself but it makes me feel awkward because I don't want them to think that they have offended me.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n "When people say things like this I just explain to them that I have an autoimmune disease and I can't help it.\u201d<\/p>\n Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin – which determines skin colour – stop functioning. The reason why is not clear.<\/p>\n This can cause patches of lost skin colour and premature whitening of the hair, normally appearing before the age of 30.<\/p>\n Eva said: "I was really lucky at school and never experienced any bullying or teasing or had anyone be nasty, but I definitely had people staring and giving me funny looks.<\/p>\n "I get the most stares and funny looks when travelling abroad.<\/p>\n "I don't know if it's because there's not as much awareness in other countries but sometimes it can feel like being an animal at the zoo.<\/p>\n "People stare at me for so long and their heads move with my every movement.<\/p>\n "I notice people point me out to their friends and family to take a look.<\/p>\n "It can sometimes feel very uncomfortable when you know all eyes are on you and you have to carry on as normal.<\/p>\n "A few people have also been a bit wary about my vitiligo and want to know if it is contagious and whether they can come close to me or not."<\/p>\n Eva said kids have asked if she can wash off her spots, but said: "None of these comments make me feel uncomfortable though and I just laugh them off because I genuinely find them funny as I know kids don't understand."<\/p>\n Eva says there is definitely more awareness about vitiligo in the UK since she was a child. <\/p>\n Eva said: "I absolutely love it because people ask me if I have the same condition as Winnie Harlow.<\/p>\n "It makes such a big difference having someone like that with the same disorder as you. <\/p>\n "I would one hundred per cent say Winnie Harlow is a role model to me."<\/p>\n While further UV radiotherapy is available to Eva, she said she would not have this treatment done again.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cThe more you go through UV radiation treatment the more at risk you are to skin cancer and things like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n "As a kid, it was more my parents being self-conscious for me and being protective.<\/p>\n "I didn't think anything of it [my vitiligo] but I know my mum was wary of what people were going to say and think, which is why I think I had treatment as they wanted to do everything they could to get rid of it, which is fine.<\/p>\n "I worry now that if kids have treatment at a young age and try to get rid of it, it will make them think that they shouldn't have it [vitiligo].<\/p>\n "Getting rid of it so young doesn't give you a chance to be comfortable with it and promotes that it is wrong and not normal and at the end of the day it is just your skin.\u201d<\/p>\n Eva says she enjoys wearing makeup but doesn\u2019t use it to cover her white patches, as she is \u201cin a place now where I really enjoy having it\u201d.<\/p>\n She said: "I do find when I put makeup over them too, it sometimes brings out the fake tan comments more as it brings attention to them.<\/p>\n "My big thing is not covering it up. I love having my patches on show. <\/p>\n "When I was younger, we went through a whole process of getting special 'camouflage' makeup made for me.<\/p>\n "I think I used it once or twice but it seemed too much of a fuss so now I don't use it. I'm definitely embracing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Eva has now created a TikTok page to raise awareness of her vitiligo.<\/p>\n She said: "I have lots of people in my comments that have been able to relate to my content.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/newspress-collage-24147333-1695740868137.jpg\")
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