Yahoo Sports Instagram Star Ashley Soto Turns Her Vitiligo Into Beautiful Body Art
By Gillian Fuller. Photos: Courtesy of Instagram.
Ashley Soto was just 12 years old when she was diagnosed with vitiligo, a condition that causes the skin to lose pigmentation in characteristic splotches all over the body. At the time, she was devastated: The condition quickly spread to over 75 percent of her body, and Soto was frequently bullied for her appearance (a girl at the beach once asked her if she’d "showered in bleach"). Determined to hide her skin, Soto committed to wearing pants and long sleeves every day.
Today, nearly a decade later, Soto is a body-positive social media star (with more than 81,000 followers on Instagram), known specifically for showing off her vitiligo through body art. Soto began to see the beauty in her unique skin just a few years ago when, on a whim, she traced her depigmented patches with black marker.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Soto explained: "I never realized how beautiful my vitiligo was until I traced it with a black marker, it really helps to bring out the different colors of my skin. I was always trying to find a way to look at my skin in a positive light, [and] I couldn't do that before starting this. Now what others would perceive as an imperfection, I have made into something more beautiful and made it more accepted than before."
Soto soon realized she could use her experience to teach others about vitiligo. So, she started using her skin as a canvas to recreate famous art works (such as Van Gogh's Starry Night) and sharing the photos to social media to show others that being different is nothing to be ashamed of—that, in fact, it’s beautiful. Others with vitiligo look up to Soto as an inspiration, and Soto says sharing the photos has helped to boost her own confidence, too. She adds, "Thanks to doing this, I’ve learned to accept myself more than I did before."
We have major love for this girl (and by the looks of it, we're not the only ones). Take a peek at some of Soto's beautiful body art, and follow her on Instagram for more.
This story originally appeared on Allure.
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