Changing faces

She drinks three litres of water a day and says her skin has never looked better. Marian De Vos is breaking boundaries by loving the skin she’s in. Her tell-all, here.

- JESÉ-CHÉ LILLIENFELDT

I was diagnosed with Vitiligo when I was 26, and I was devastated, to say the least. I began to realise you can neither heal from nor move past something unless you accept it, so I started going to therapy. After that, I stopped wearing makeup to hide my condition, and I started posting more natural pictures of myself on social media. The response was incredible. We only get one life, and I didn’t want my vanity to rob me of my freedom. Loving the skin I’m in didn’t come naturally, but I found strength in my uniqueness when I started connecting with other people from around the world who also have it. Realising I wasn’t alone helped me tremendously and motivated me to contribute to body positivity by raising consciousness and understanding in every way I could. Since I was diagnosed, I’ve become a more positive person. It’s taught me that you can rise above anything, regardless of what you’re going through. The fact that I believe in myself a little more than I used to is liberating. Before Vitiligo, I knew little about the importance of self-love and how to be kind to myself. If I knew what I know now when I was 18, I would’ve loved myself with the same tenacity and pureness that I did everyone else, and I would’ve stressed the importance of being kinder to myself. Now, I believe even the hardest and most painful times in life, ultimately, serve a purpose.