”Beauty is Beyond Skin”- Suicidal Grandmother, 37, Embraces Her Rare Skin Condition

A mother of four from Louisiana, USA, has bared all to show that “beauty is beyond skin” and that she now embraces her rare skin condition which is turning her black skin white.

37-year-old Iomikoe Johnson, who is also a grandma, has now learned to embrace the vitiligo which will one day turn her skin completely white and previously left her suicidal.

Iomikoe, a model and business owner, who has two grandchildren first noticed a tiny spot of white skin under her arm 12-years ago and thought it was cancer, but it then spread to her eyes and genital area, according to Dailymail.

When it started to spread, she went to doctors and they told her she had a skin condition. This left her devastated and she even contemplated suicide as strangers would stare at her in the streets with some refusing to shake hands with her.

“I got vitiligo when I was twenty-five-year-old and I’ll never forget it. I was devastated. I felt like my world had been shattered. My first spot was under my arm where no one could see.

When I was a kid, I used to get bullied for having dark skin and now I’m two different colours, so I feared I would have to re-live that experience all over again.

It was painful and devastating I even thought of taking my own life many times, but I had kids which kept me going.

People used to look at my hands and not want to touch me and they didn’t want to shake my hand. People stared and said very mean, disrespectful things to me and children were afraid of me,” she said.

She further revealed that she would spend up to an hour a day on her make-up to cover up her patches and would only wear long sleeved clothes.

It wasn’t until her fiance Phillip told her that he loved her no matter what that she decided to dispose the makeup bag.

Now, Iomikoe, has fought against her demons and finally loves her body as it is.

In her words, despite initially being terrified of her vitiligo, she loves being different and wouldn’t be able to exist without it.

The now confident mama said she’s now a model and wants the world to see her body as art, walking human art. Seeing a photo of popular American model Winnie Harlow, who also has vitiligo, added in giving Iomikoe some measure of confidence.

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”My mum cried when I decided not to wear make-up anymore, she said she was so proud of me, my dad and my sisters all told me that I was so beautiful.

My children love me no matter what, they all cheer me on they are all proud of me they love me despite of my skin they love me because of who I am and what I represent and they are my biggest cheerleaders, they encouraged me to be myself and embrace my beauty.

I want the world to see my art. I’m walking art, human art.”

She has non-stop segmental vitiligo which has turned into universal vitiligo which will see her body turn completely white. She wants others to embrace who they are.