At age 19,Seattle-based model Breanne Rice was diagnosed with vitiligo on her face. It didn't stay her from having a career in front of the camera or eventually becoming her current profession as a holistic nutritional therapy practitioner. But after 10 years of covering her face with makeup - even at the gym - she's baring her skin to give hope to others who acquire the scarce skin condition. "I wouldn't go external without makeup on, and I would look in the mirror and start crying, and " she said on Instagram. "I was devastated." Allergies to foods such as gluten and dairy as well as sun exposure worsen her lack of pigmentation. "I went through a series of events and suffered a lot of trauma all at once,which pushed my immune system over the edge(stress also depletes us of B-vitamins)," she wrote. "I had to address my body as a whole, or recall 10 steps back to recall one step forward. I worked on building my immune system,taking down the inflammation in my GI Tract and focused on digestion. Guess what? My skin began to receive pigmentation back(particularly on my chin), and I began to digest and absorb nutrients."While she still has vitiligo, and she has definitely become more comfortable exposing it. "This is the real me underneath all this," she captioned. "You know what though, I own it. There's not much I can do approximately it. I can only care for myself, and not let my circumstances define my value or self-worth."Read more of her empowering words ahead! And remember this important advice for anyone who has ever felt less than pretty: "I hope that my situation inspires you. Don't let your circumstances define you or do you feel any less beautiful - your flaws are what do you unique and beautiful. Just be you."
Source: popsugar.com