Love the skin you’re in
I’m no longer ashamed of how I look
When I was 7, I started to realise I wasn’t like the other kids.
‘Your skin is so stretchy,’ they’d say in the playground.
Thinking it was cool because nobody else had it, I’d play along, pulling out and pinging my springy skin.
By puberty, my parents grew concerned and took me to see a dermatologist.
After a series of intensive tests, I was diagnosed with a genetic condition called dermatosparaxis Ehlers-danlos.
The condition is caused by defects in a protein called collagen.
Ehlers-danlos syndrome is very rare, affecting just one in 5,000 people. A dozen people worldwide have been diagnosed with the type I have.
As a teenager, my insecurities started to surface as the elasticity of my skin got worse. It was loose and crinkly. My friends wore short skirts and tank tops, but not me.
I’d cover my whole body from head to toe, even in the scorching heat. I was scared by what people would think or say if I uncovered the real me.
Luckily, I had close friends and family for support, but I still feared being bullied.
It wasn’t just how I looked that caused problems.
‘You have herniated discs,’ the doctor explained to me.
I’d been suffering a lot and could barely sit down with the excruciating pain.
It meant I found sitting my exams really tough.
Ehlers-danlos makes the joints and muscles weak.
Other symptoms can include dislocations and brittle bones. How could I love a body that caused me so much grief?
Growing up, my body shame made relationships difficult for me, too.
When I was about 22, I went through a bad breakup, which pushed me into a downward spiral.
It was my self-consciousness that pulled us apart.
I was a young woman, but my skin made me look decades older. But having these sombre thoughts triggered something.
A realisation that it was time for me to change.
I needed to find a way of falling in love with myself all over again.
‘Let’s do a photoshoot,’ my cousin Yasmin, now 25, said one day, as she tried to offer me support.
My photographer friend Briana, now also 25, offered to help.
Unsure at first, eventually I agreed.
Using just a camera-phone and a tripod in my apartment, she snapped away while I posed,
I covered my body from head to toe, even in the heat
wearing my own lingerie.
I was embarrassed about my saggy skin to start with.
But as the shutter clicked, my anxieties slowly fell away.
Briana and Yasmin encouraged me to write my story to accompany the pictures.
Then, they persuaded me to send it to an Instagram account called Love Your Lines.
‘Be brave,’ they said.
Love Your Lines highlights the beauty in imperfections such as wrinkles, scars and stretchmarks. They loved my story. And they published it, attracting tens of thousands of likes and comments.
What a boost!
People messaged me from across the world, asking for advice with their own body-confidence issues.
My mindset completely pivoted. Positivity – that’s what I needed.
Getting rid of anyone around me who didn’t believe in me, I decided to pursue a career as a professional model.
I want to be a pioneer for people who don’t fit the mould, and raise awareness about my condition.
Now, I’ve had a number of photo shoots, been featured in mags.
Lingerie, bathing suits, jewellery – I’ve done it all!
In January last year, Briana became my girlfriend.
She’s the one who has helped me the most on this journey and I am so grateful.
In July, we travelled to Los Angeles for the biggest shoot yet.
I’ll be on the cover of the fashion magazine Volition in September.
Posing for the pictures was amazing.
Make-up artists were flapping around me, there were designer clothes and multiple photographers...
A dream come true!
‘We can’t believe it,’ my parents said when I told them. Growing up in a small town, they never thought for a second that their daughter would be on the cover of a leading publication. Especially with my condition. It hasn’t been easy. And I still have a lot of pain.
But I’m now proud to wear exactly what I want.
You might say I’m finally comfortable in my own skin.
I used to despise the way it looked...
Now, I love the way the lines form and the patterns they make.
Inside, I am a whole world away from that scared teenager at school.
Today, I want to inspire others to love their bodies, no matter what their imperfections may be.
So what’s next? I’d love to be a full-time professional model.
There’s nothing stopping me now.
I want to be a pioneer for people who don’t fit the mould