I used to hate my face due to rare skin condition, people judged me for wearing makeup, now I love my natural look

A MODEL has told how she’s finally comfortable in her own skin after going viral for raising awareness about vitiligo.

Saairah Bashir, 20, was diagnosed with the extremely rare condition – when pale white patches develop due to a lack of pigment – at the age of six.

Although it started with a small section on her back, it spread over the rest of her body and face and made her school days hell as she moved four times due to constant taunts from cruel bullies.

But after taking to TikTok to spread information about the condition – which affects only one per cent of the world’s population – she was signed by the Glasgow-based agency Model Team.

Saairah, who studies criminology, psychology and sociology at university, says: “I would have never expected that I would be signed by a modelling agency. 

“It came as a huge shock but it has helped me grow and feel more confident within myself. 

“The experience is incredible and I have been offered so many opportunities whilst modelling. 

“I’m thoroughly enjoying spreading awareness for vitiligo and hope that I continue to be someone that helps people feel confident within their own bodies.”

Saairah adds: “During lockdown, I had so much spare time and I decided to start making TikTok videos. 

“I have very bad anxiety due to bullying but I wanted to see the reactions I would get. 

“I was so shocked to find all the positive comments that people were leaving on my videos as I was prepared for nasty and hateful comments. 

“One of my videos reached 10.8 million views and I was so overwhelmed with how much positivity I was receiving. 

“A lot of people who also have vitiligo reached out to me and I was able to help them by explaining my journey and explaining how self confidence is so important.

“TikTok has helped my self confidence quite a lot and I feel more comfortable in my own skin. 

“Although, due to my anxiety, I still have plenty of days where I feel self-conscious and scared of the reactions that I’ll get from the public regarding my skin.”

And sadly, there’s a reason that Saairah fears being taunted through no fault of her own.

In contrast to the stance on the skin condition she has now, she used to hide her face from the rest of the world to avoid bullying.

But it didn’t work as nasty kids made her so self-conscious that she switched schools four times to escape harassment.

Although vitiligo doesn’t usually have any physical side effects, it’s the mental impact that has inspired Saairah to educate people.

She says: “When I was first diagnosed I felt overwhelmed as I didn’t want to be different.

“I noticed the spread of small patches over the next few years and they slowly started to increase in size. 

“My anxiety became much more problematic and there were times I didn’t leave the house as I was embarrassed of who I was. 

“During high school I received a lot of bullying and comments such as ‘why is your skin like that?’ or ‘we don’t know what colour she really is.’

“I covered my vitiligo with makeup every single day until I was 16-years-old. 

“Although people could still see the patches on my hands and continuously made comments about the amount of makeup I was wearing. 

“I moved between four high schools and experienced similar comments within them all. 

“Some comments also came from teachers about the amount of make-up I was wearing. 

“They were not understanding or sympathetic when I explained why I covered my face.”

But rather than get upset about how she was unfairly treated in the past, Saairah wants to focus on the figure and start a discussion so that others don’t have to suffer like she did.

She adds: “Vitiligo is beautiful and it makes us unique. 

“Everyone who has vitiligo has different patches and I like to think of them as marks of beauty. 

“Embrace yourself to the fullest and be proud of being unique. 

“Being self-conscious is a part of being human and is completely normal but if we all come together and support one another then we can boost each other’s self-confidence.”