You see a makeup commercial, and all you see are women with flawless skin advertising a product that will get rid of age lines or bags under the eyes or anything like that. However, what you don’t see is women who have skin disorders or conditions that can’t be fixed by makeup. There is no skin care to “fix” these conditions, only medicine and hope.
I have two skin conditions: one called Purigo Nodularis, which causes sores, or nodules, to appear on the arms and sometimes the face and legs. This condition can’t be covered up. The sores itch, and they bleed if you scratch or pick at them. Being neurodivergent makes it harder not to scratch.
The other condition I have is called neurofibromatosis, and since I was a kid, I have been bullied because of the spots on my whole body. I’ve been called all sorts of names because of it as well.
Now, if you went to a beauty salon where they “make you beautiful,” I don’t think they would know what to do if they saw my skin. They would have nothing to help, and there isn’t a cream or anything to make the spots or sores go away. They are treatable, not curable.
You wouldn’t be able to try modeling or be in commercials because, sadly, they would not find someone with bad skin conditions as beautiful. That hurts self-confidence, self-esteem, and just basic feeling good about yourself. The beauty industry doesn’t want people who don’t meet their beauty standards, and that really isn’t fair. There should be an equal chance for people who have skin conditions. Even if someone made a company that was specifically for people with skin conditions, so people can feel they can pursue that industry and not feel like they can’t pursue a dream because of it.
It would give people with those conditions the confidence they need. Especially for the younger generation. We need to encourage them to go after their dreams, and they can advocate and show young girls that they can do it too!
