Birthmarks are one of those mysterious things that science hasn’t quite figured out yet.
While it’s known that most are the cause of overgrowth of blood vessels or certain kinds of skin cells, the actual underlying cause is still unknown.
Even though a large percentage of babies have or develop a birthmark within their first year, people with large or obvious ones still feel judged or ugly.
That’s why it’s so great when people choose to share the beauty of their birthmarks instead.
Sometimes, they choose to have fun with it.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the “port wine stain” type of birthmark. They’re often what comes to mind first.
This person decided to get a tattoo that playfully works with her birthmark.
Here’s another fun example of playing off your birthmark with a tattoo.
Lots of people choose to cover-up their birthmarks with ink, but it’s not safe for all types. I love this nerdy way of embracing a circular mark.
But you don’t need to be an influencer with tons of followers to be proud to share your birthmark.
Normal people doing normal things while letting their birthmark be seen can make a huge difference when it comes to stigma.
Reddit user Scarredlyfe needed a bit of help to get over her self-consciousness.
In the subreddit r/amiugly she posted some photos, asking if her birthmark would be a dealbreaker when it comes to dating. Luckily, she got a ton of positive responses.
Often, it’s people with facial birthmarks that get the worst bullying.
Model Mariana Mendes doesn’t let that get to her. Though her parents got her treatments to lighten the mark, they didn’t work, but she’s okay with that.
“I don’t get upset if a person doesn’t like my nevus,” she told Metro News , “to me it’s like any other part of my body, so I prefer to remember the praise I receive for it.”
Patience Hodgson is the lead singer of band ‘The Grates’ and loves her birthmark.
Even though she’s in the public eye, she never hides it and after posing for photographer Natalie McComas , inspired more than 150 others to join a project called “In This Skin.”
Ines Bamba had to learn to live with her congenital nevus “through self-acceptance.”
She turned the mockery of her mark into an advantage, and tries to embrace herself now.
Nathalia is a body positive advocate and activist who shares positive messages about birthmarks and scars on social media.
“Everything changed when, still as a child, I finally embraced it and told myself these things:
-The way I was born was not a choice.
-It is not bad. I am not sick. It is just a superficial difference on my skin.
-I have my unique version of beauty.”
This guy always thought his birthmark was kind of cool because it looked like a map.
In this pic, he’s outlined the shapes with a pen to make them more obvious, but it actually adds an extra level to the map-like qualities. People even said that he should get them tattooed on after he shared it.
Sometimes you gotta turn something that made you feel gloomy into something bright.
This 3 centimeter birthmark was transformed into a sunflower.
This mommy blogger, model, and lifestyle guru has embraced her spots.
“No matter for how long you’ve been struggling with yourself, the realization that nobody’s opinion is gonna take away your “perfect” is the final key to #happiness.”
Callum is a 17-year-old from Gloucestershire who’s Congenital Melanocytic Naevi covers his whole right arm.
He’s part of an exhibit called “How Do U C Me Now?” hosted by Caring Matters Now In London, UK — a charity that assists those who live with CMN.
This tattoo artist said their client liked trees, water, and the moon, and asked for those to be incorporated.
The artist took it to heart, and created a quirky, cute tattoo.
Like father, like son.
“How cool is that…..My son have the same birth mark as I do exactly in the same place.”
Others are willing to bare it all to fight the stigma.
Yulianna Yussef used to let bullies get to her, but now she wears her large birthmark proudly and shares what it’s like to live with it on Instagram .
Berlange Presilus is an advocate for Klippel Trenaunay Syndrome, a congenital disorder that causes limbs to display port wine stains, among other things.
She created a the B-Revealed brand, which implores people to embrace their bodily truths.
A rosy right side.
Danny is port wine stained, and fit, as his instagram bio describes him. He proudly shows off his impressive muscular feats, along with his birthmark!
It takes a courageous little girl to stand tall against a harsh world.
Born with a port wine stain birthmark like many others, this girl’s mark seems to be fading over time.
We can call her Harriette Potter.
This little angel is all smiles, she knows shes beautiful!
