Skin condition transforms black girl into white woman

Darcel de Vlugt, 23, was born with dark skin but vitiligo has taken the pigment from her entire body.

The fashion designer, from Islington, who works in London, must wear Factor 100 sunscreen in mild sunshine and struggles to convince people of her heritage. "I have a hard job convincing people that I was actually born with dark skin," she said.

"My father worked for the United Nations and we travelled the world a lot with his job. My family believe the stress of moving at such a young age brought on the condition.

"At the age of 12 I tried UV laser treatment, but it didn't work and by then, 80 per cent of my body was white so I decided to leave it."

Vitiligo is the skin condition that Michael Jackson was said to have suffered, but it is extremely rare for a person's entire body to change colour.

Darcel was five when her parents Peter and Charmaine, both from Trinidad, first noticed white spots on their daughter's arm and forehead.

Two years later, these were joined by patches on her legs and spots on her body which expanded until, at 17, she had no pigment left.

The designer, who studied at the London College of Fashion, has a brother Dion, 29, who does not suffer from the condition.

She now raises money to increase awareness of vitiligo, explaining: "Even though this condition is not life-threatening, the psychological and emotional aspects of having such a visibly challenging condition can be quite devastating.

"I am lucky enough in that my entire body has turned white, however for others, they may not be as fortunate and may have patches of different colour on their skin. I too went through this and it is quite traumatic, especially at a young age."

The cause of vitiligo is not known but it is thought the body may make antibodies to its own pigment-producing cells and so destroy them.

People of all races can be affected by the condition, but it is more noticeable on darker skins.