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Ash Soto was diagnosed with vitiligo when she was twelve. As her vitiligo developed, she became embarrassed of her complexion, particularly when a little child questioned whether she had washed in bleach. The 21-year-old is no longer embarrassed of her complexion; instead, she loves it.
Soto determined in her late teens that she would no longer allow her skin hold her back, so she began setting daily tasks for herself, such as going out in public without a long sleeve shirt. Eventually, the hardships drove Soto to transform her body into beautiful art. “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,” Soto tells the Daily Mail. She has now transformed her body into a variety of art works, including Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and she has no plans to stop! “Now what others would perceive as an imperfection I have made into something more beautiful and made it more accepted than before.”
Ash Soto was diagnosed with vitiligo when she was twelve years old.
Vitiligo is an uncommon skin disorder that causes pigment loss, resulting in big white spots on the body.
Ash’s vitiligo became prevalent throughout her adolescent years, leading to bullying.
After a small child questioned Ash whether she had bathed in bleach, Ash felt embarrassed of her skin and resolved not to display any of it in public.
“I was so shocked that someone said that to me that I cried and cried, I didn’t want to have the condition any more,” Soto said.
However, in her late teens, Ash forced herself to accomplish these tiny challenges, such as venturing outdoors wearing a short-sleeved shirt.
However, it was not until she began performing body art that she learnt to embrace her skin condition.
She began by painting around the white spots and saw that it resembled a global map
“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 will continue creating different pieces of art with my skin and hope it inspires others in the process”
“Now what others would perceive as an imperfection I have made into something more beautiful and made it more accepted than before”
