Actress, Countess Vaughn has been in entertainment decades, with memorable roles on 227, Moesha, and The Parkers. Throughout the years, Vaughn has been open about her struggles with her weight and hair, but she recently shared a new challenge: vitiligo.
Last month, she took to Instagram to share an adorable photo with her daughter that she captioned, “Loving me regardless of my skin Situation.”
In the video, Vaughn has a few visible light spots near her mouth and in the comments section of a separate post, which has since been deleted, the actor admitted she struggles with vitiligo.
Vaughn joins more than 200,000 people are diagnosed with vitiligo each year. According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition“occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning. Most famously perhaps, the late entertainer, Michael Jackson shared that he had the condition and since then, there have been misconceptions, especially in the black community.
Vitiligo affects people of all skin types, but it may be more noticeable in people with darker skin.
Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes white patches of skin to appear on various parts of the face and body, according to the Vitiligo Research Foundation (VRF). The disorder can also cause hair to lose its pigment and turn white. The condition can affect people of any race but is more noticeable in people with darker skin and hair.
Generally, vitiligo is believed to be an autoimmune condition, which means the immune system mistakenly attacks pigment-producing cells (melanocytes).
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The condition affects up to 2 percent of the world's population, according to the VRF.
Vitiligo is not contagious. But people are oftenconcerned when they see people with vitiligo on their hands and can often affect the way the world interacts with those who have it. It can be frustrating and embarrassing, and for some, it leads to clinical depression and anxiety. However, there is hope.
Doctors have discovered a combination of treatments that can return color to skin that has been lightened by vitiligo.
The new therapy includes the oral medication Xeljanz (tofacitinib) -- a drug already approved for use in rheumatoid arthritis patients that dampens the body's immune response -- and ultraviolet-B light therapy.
If light therapy or laser treatments don’t work, your doctor may recommend treating vitiligo with skin grafting. This involves removing a small part of your skin from one area not affected by vitiligo and surgically implanting it to areas of pigmentation loss. It works best with smaller skin patches.
While skin grafting works, it doesn’t come without complications. Sometimes the process can create a cobblestone-like pattern of discoloration. In other cases, the affected patches may fail to regain pigment.
Like skin grafting, blister grafting involves transplanting small portions of your skin. With this procedure, your doctor uses a suction-like device to make blisters on unaffected areas of skin. These blisters are then transplanted to depigmented areas to help match them with the rest of your skin color.
Blister grafting is yet another option available to help even out your skin tone. Still, there are several side effects to consider, such as:
- A cobblestone-like appearance in your skin
- Failure to regenerate color
- More discoloration
- Scarring
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with vitiligo, please remember that you have options for bettering the condition.
Jasmine Browley holds an MA in journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and has contributed to Ebony, Jet and MADE Magazine among others. So, clearly, she knows some stuff. Follow her digital journey @JasmineBrowley.
