Lisa Johnson, 24, who is from Los Angeles was left
with huge white patches all over her body after developing skin condition
vitiligo as a child and you can imagine whom bullies will target with her in
their mix. But a new treatment and a state of the art makeover could be
about to change that.
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Lisa with Dr. Grimes before the therapy treatment |
She said: 'It's a condition which causes my skin
to turn a different colour. 'I now have white patches covering more than a
third of my body.' The condition is not life-threatening but its psychological
effects can be devastating to sufferers.
After 17 years of suffering she has turned to a
skin specialist for help. Dr Pearl Grimes said: 'This condition dramatically
affects quality of life. 'It can interfere with a person's physical and mental
well-being with devastating effects. 'But there is hope available for Lisa, I'm
recommending a course of Narrowband UV light therapy which should re-colour her
skin.'
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Lisa undergoing Narrowband UV treatment |
The therapy could take some time to take effect,
so in the short term Lisa has been given a specialist cover-up product. A
computer generates a special formula after analysing images of Lisa's skin and
it tells a dermatologist how much of each colour to use to cover over the white
patches. After the procedure, Lisa said: 'It just feels absolutely fantastic -
to see the smile on my sister's face when she saw me really warms my heart and
my soul. 'I feel like I can be me again.'
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Lisa with her sister Jessica after treatment |
Other sufferers of the disease is late American
superstar, Michael Jackson. Vitiligo is a long-term condition that causes pale,
white patches to develop on the skin due to lack of a chemical called melanin. Melanin
is produced by specialised skin cells called melanocytes, which gives your skin
its colour and protects it from the sun.