7 Steps To Conceal Vitiligo With Makeup

It is not easy to live with the problem of vitiligo, indeed. Though the disease is neither life-threatening nor contagious, it can be devastating due to the resulting disfigurement. However, you should never ever feel down for the unappealing vitiligo marks on your skin. In fact, there are tons of people who are quite proud of their white patches and do not bother covering them up and looking flawless. But if you still want to camouflage vitiligo, all you need do is embrace the power of makeup. We give you the causes, symptoms, treatments, and 7 simple steps to conceal vitiligo effectively.

Vitiligo is a long-term skin disease, which affects almost 0.5 to 2% of people around the world. In this condition, you start developing light or white patches on your skin as a result of pigment (melanin) loss. It is typically caused by inactivity or destruction of the melanocyte cells, which are basically melanin-producing cells in our body. As melanocytes no longer produce melanin, the skin in that part of the body loses its color and turns white. Vitiligo is also a photo-sensitive condition, which makes the troubled parts of the skin more sensitive to sunlight than the rest of the body. It mostly affects the areas like face, arms, hands, feet, nostrils, inside the mouth, back of the eyes, genitals, etc.

# Choose the Right Foundation

The key to concealing vitiligo with makeup is finding the perfect shade of foundation. Make sure that the shade of your chosen foundation is closest to your actual skin tone or just one shade darker.

- There are many opaque foundations from brands like Microskin, ColorTradition, and Dermablend, which are specifically made for skin afflicted with vitiligo. The ingredients used in such foundations are hypoallergenic and do not aggravate the skin condition.
- If you do not find the right kind of specialized foundations, go for a regular full coverage one (water-based or cream-based depending on your skin type). Vichy has some amazing high coverage foundations that go with a variety of skin tones and have worked for many women with vitiligo.

# Prep Up the Skin

Once you are done with the selection of foundation, start with the most basic step i.e. preparing your skin for the makeup. Cleanse the skin well with a mild cleanser (a herbal one is even better) that suits your skin and moisturize it thoroughly with a high-quality moisturizing cream or lotion. Apply a primer all over the clean and moisturized skin to allow for easy blending and absorption of the foundation.

# Apply Concealer and Foundation

Now, as your skin is ready to use makeup, start with concealing the white patches carefully. You must have picked a concealer that is a shade darker than your original skin tone. Make sure that you apply it on the patches in small dots and blend well by moving your fingers in circular motions.

After that, top the concealer with the foundation you picked. Be careful with its application as you need to follow a simple trick at this step. First, apply it precisely on the white patches and keep blending until they look even-toned. Once done, dot the foundation on the remaining part of your face and blend thoroughly to get a uniform skin tone. Let the makeup dry for about five minutes. Then, check the shade of your skin and apply another coat of foundation if need be.

# Powder Up to Even Out

Now, it is time to seal the makeup to ensure that the white patches stay hidden for a long period of time. For this, dust some loose translucent powder all over your facial skin. It helps reduce unwanted shine by absorbing excess oil. It also helps in evening out the skin tone more efficiently. Press the powder well with a puff and then brush off the excess amount.

# Use the Right Bronzer

After creating an even skin tone, it is time to get a more natural look with the help of a bronzer. Choose a product that is one shade darker than your real skin color in order to emulate a beautiful sun-kissed glow. Apply it to the forehead, tip of the nose, and cheekbones until you get an illusion of a darker skin tone.

# Do Your Eyes and Lips

As you are done with the face makeup, focus on the eyes and lips now. Highlight your eyes with your favorite kohl pencil and fill your lips with a striking lip color. This will draw the attention away from your skin and take it onto the eyes and the lips. However, keep your eye and lip makeup compatible with the makeup of the rest of your face so that you achieve an absolutely natural appearance.

# Finish with a Fixing Spray

Finally, it is essential to keep the makeup in place by following all possible means so that the white vitiligo patches do not end up getting revealed after some time. Since you have used so many layers of makeup, spritz on a fixing spray all over the makeup to set it and prevent it from smudging.