Image source: Prarthana Jagan
Prarthana Jagan, a 26-year-old model from Bengaluru whose journey in life thus far has been truly inspiring, shares with us her story over a telephonic conversation. Diagnosed with segmental vitiligo at the age of 11, Prarthana’s world turned upside down at a very young age. A white patch on her forehead was initially misdiagnosed as being related to an existing fungual infection and treated in line with this, thereby causing more harm than good. Rightly diagnosed later thereon, she resorted to wearing theatre makeup suggested by the dermatologist, who could see this young girl’s confidence take a huge beating. Feeling confused, isolated, and in deep sorrow when viewing herself in the mirror, she would spend half an hour every morning prior to school covering the patch on her face with makeup. Unversed in the right method of applying it, and at a time when online makeup tutorials were close to non-existent, she would apply a shade that was four to five shades darker than her skin tone, hoping to completely conceal the differently coloured portion of her face. Reflecting back on this period, she realises what she did not then: that she was extremely bullied, even having water thrown at her face in the school van with comments such as “why isn’t the makeup wearing off” that followed.
Having tried laser therapy, ayurveda, homeopathy, and acupuncture, Prarthana continued concealing her face with makeup for the next many years. Seven years later, aged 18, came the next hurdle, where she was forced to drop out and find another college back home in Bengaluru as a result of intense bouts of pain that she faced. It was found that this pain was induced by an ovarian cyst. The cyst was surgically removed immediately, but for a few days after the surgery, an allergic shock reaction to an injection caused severe issues, such as continued vomiting. This episode, she says, was the turning point. For the first time in 7 years, during the days on and post-surgery, she had been forced to remain without her makeup, thereby displaying her face as is to the external world. This showed her that no one batted an eyelid, be it the doctors or other medical personnel, thus changing her perspective of life and vitiligo. In a matter of just 2-3 months after this, she went on to start a YouTube channel centred around this subject of vitiligo.
One year after starting the channel, propelled by the love received online, she decided to completely stop concealing the white patches on her face, a feeling that was “so freeing!” she says. The YouTube channel thereon led to her being interviewed by magazines, which led to the start of a modelling career, which was then followed by her becoming an Instagram beauty influencer with thousands of followers, apart from also working as a product marketer with an artificial intelligence company. Highlights from her modelling career and social media partnerships include being featured in Elle, Grazia, Cosmopolitan, and ad campaigns for Fastrack, Royal Challengers Bangalore, MAC Cosmetics India, Clinique India, and featuring alongside Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif for Kay Beauty. While a large proportion of the reaction has been love, she has faced her share of hate both on and off social media. Snide remarks by peers at college stating that she wore 1 kilogram of makeup despite being aware of her skin condition through her YouTube channel, and more recently, a barrage of unpleasant comments on a brand collaboration video that has amassed over 41 million views on Instagram, are some of these instances. Certain such events do affect her, like the recent hate received on this particular Instagram video, which she says reminded her of her teenage years. However, she continues moving forward with life and work.
All in all, Prarthana’s journey has truly come full circle, from being contacted by a leading fashion magazine that was unaware of her diagnosis and, after becoming aware of it did not respond to her replies, to now being reached out to and interviewed 7 years later by the very same fashion magazine. The aspect of physical beauty, which was the source of her suffering in many ways, is today the strength that she uses to anchor herself. She truly lives by her understanding that people may look at you differently, but only when you begin viewing yourself in a negative light will everything feel like it’s starting to fall apart. One of the first few social media influencers in this space of vitiligo in India, she has brought to the forefront this diagnosis that deals with the loss of one’s skin colour currently affecting over 8% of the country’s population, which is the largest proportion affected worldwide (reference), hoping to help others live their lives with dignity and confidence. Prarthana’s journey has been influenced by the empathy and love of known and unknown people both in the online and offline worlds, which has helped catapult her towards where she is today. At the same time, her journey is one that can empower others, instilling within us a sense of belief and possibility.
