Girl Bullied For Years For Her Skin Condition Proudly Flaunts Her Body

Ashley Soto was just 13 when someone made horrific jibe about her skin condition- vitiligo. She hid her skin for many years after being bullied. Now, she has come out of her shell to reveal a new, confident self and says she’s happy to prove her bullies wrong and help others with the same problems.

According to Mirror, Ashley from Orlando, Florida was just 12 when she developed Vitiligo, a condition which causes pale patches to develop on the skin due to the lack of melanin.

Now 21, she says her teen years were mostly spent indoors, avoiding people and wearing long sleeves – even in 40°C summer heat and also caused her to refuse to wear a bikini.

She added that she wouldn’t even dare to go swimming after a stranger at a pool accused her of “showering in bleach” when she was aged just 13.

Now, she has damned her tormentors and showed off her body after years of anxiety and feeling afraid to go out in public without her mum.

The brave 21-year-old posted candid photos proudly to more than 10,000 followers on social media that reveal the light marks on her body.

“When I first got vitiligo it was just this little spot on my neck and I was at the age where I was still trying to figure out who I was. I got a lots of mean comments and people staring so it was really hard.

“The worst comment I got when I was a kid was when I went to the pool. I was in my swimming costume and I knew people were staring but I tried to not let it get to me.

”I was just about to dive in and this girl said, ‘I think she had a shower with bleach.’ I just ran into the bathroom and cried. It made me afraid after that and I didn’t ever go swimming again.”

She continues: “I used to be a cheerleader and I was super outgoing.

“But after I got vitiligo, I separated myself and I didn’t want to make friends because I was so scared of being judge and not accepted. I started wearing long sleeves, which was hard because I live in Florida and it’s so hot.

“There were so many days when I would just stay at home, all day, because of it. I had no friends and I would never want to go anywhere or do things without my mum.

“Even going to the store would give me anxiety. Dating was hard for me too, as I would try and hide myself. I felt that they would think it was gross, so I never had a serious relationship.”

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Ashley initially started her Instagram to blog about beauty tutorials but 4 months ago, she bravely uploaded her first photo revealing her condition.

“Before my account was just about make-up and I would never show my body, just my face and selfies. I was too scared to show my body.

“I learnt how to cover my face. I started slowly, I stopped wearing sweaters and I would go to the corner stop without long sleeve to see how I feel. It went little by little and I went to wearing tank tops which was something I would never do.

“And recently I went to theme park and I forced myself to wear a swim suit. It was so weird at first but I just don’t want live to go back to what it was before.

“I realize that I may be different but I am unique and I should be proud of who I am.

“I have finally learnt to love myself.”

Excited Ashley said she hopes her Instagram page can help others too.

Photo credit: Caters/Instagram