There’s nothing worse than being alienated by your peers for something that is out of your control. People can be ruthless, with no regard for the pain they’re causing. 24-year-old Ash knows that feeling all too well. After being diagnosed with vitiligo as a child, she was tormented by bullies until one day she decided enough is enough. The inspiring young woman posted pictures to social media that went viral and is bringing awareness to her condition.

She helped so many other people with vitiligo and now, is comfortable her own skin!

When, Ash Soto, was 12-years-old she was diagnosed with a rare skin disease and suffered from severe bullying. Now as an adult, she uses her skin as an inspiration to others

Vitiligo is an auto-immune disease that causes you to lose the pigmentation in parts of your skin. As just a young girl, Ash noticed a white spot on her skin that started to spread. Eventually, the white spots were all over her body and other kids started to bully her.

“I’ve had a lot of negative comments with my skin, especially in school. They would act like I was contagious or something. Kids asked me if I had taken a shower with bleach, and the was the comment that I would like never forget, even years later.” Ash explained.

But Ash is resilient, she got tired of hiding her beautiful skin and posted her first to social media that went massively viral

People all over were instantly inspired by the brave woman, they posted their own stories of vitiligo all while making Ash realize she wasn’t alone. She kept posting photos, bringing much-needed awareness to the disease.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmHNVL0Hh6s/

She now has 162k followers and even a blue checkmark on Instagram, but even so, she’s still learning to love herself every day. Ash no longer looks at the Vitiligo as a flaw, it’s just who she is and she’s gorgeous!

“I still feel nervous about people seeing my skin, but I just have to teach myself that it’s okay to be different. I’m still learning to love my self every day.” Said Ash.

She even started turning her vitiligo into an amazing work of art

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpa0SIPDwjD/

After realizing that there was nothing wrong with being different, Ash started making incredible body art by tracing the spots on her skin and posting it to social media. Although her self confidence was on the rise, she had still never worn a bathing suit out in public, until now.

In this video, a nervous Ash sports a bikini in public for the first time, something she would have never dreamed of when first being diagnosed.

“I would never imagine my self, like being here, in a swimming pool. This is already challenging me a lot, but wow, I did it!” Said Ash, she went on to say: “Now when I look in the mirror, I’m super confident. I don’t see this as monster skin anymore, I see it as the extra specialness that adds to my uniqueness. I just try to remind myself that all those things I’ve gone through have gotten me here.”

As someone with Alopecia(another auto-immune disease), I can sincerely say that Ash is an inspiration to people everywhere! Own your “flaws,” they are inspiring and make you who you are!

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Source: Little Things, YouTube, Instagram