Millicent Mashile applauded twin son, Karollo for embracing his skin condition, vitiligo.
Image: Instagram
Media personality Millicent Mashile praised her son, Karollo, for embracing his journey with vitiligo and using his platform to raise awareness about it.
She revealed on Instagram that she is proud of how her son chose to live confidently with the skin condition, even though she was worried about him when he was diagnosed with it.
“Have you seen my son 😮💨👌🏾❤️@kamogelo.karollo God’s Perfect design 🫶🏾 My Handsome Boy.
“As a mom, I was a little bit worried for him a few years ago when he was first diagnosed with Vitiligo. I had little understanding, but I know better now. From Day1 Karollo was like ‘oh okay, this is cool. He actually loves that people can now see the difference between him & Kamogelo 🤣,” she wrote.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, vitiligo is a skin condition that causes your skin to lose colour or pigmentation.
Over time, smooth white or light areas called macules or patches appear on your skin. It generally starts on your hands, forearms, feet and face.
In addition, the condition is caused by the body's immune system attacking and destroying melanocytes.
Melanocytes are the skin cells responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that determines skin colour.
For many, understanding vitiligo only deepened as exposure to it became more widespread. We started seeing celebrities embracing it and raising awareness about it.
Actress Leleti Khumalo, for example, is a prominent figure in SA who has helped us understand vitiligo and see that the condition is not scary or painful.
Another celebrity who has embraced the skin condition is model Winnie Harlow. She spoke about it and fully embraced it.
Other celebrities who have the skin condition include former “Big Brother Mzansi” season four contestant, Yolanda Monyai, TV personality Martha Stewart, and former “Scandal” actor Brighton Ngoma.
Now that the entire world is aware of vitiligo, the awareness has broadened, and we have custom-designed dolls for representation and for young children to learn and embrace different skin types.
We even have a dedicated World Vitiligo Day on June 25 annually, to raise awareness and educate people about the condition.