African-American Jasmine Colgan says that the condition that has uncontrollably turned her skin a patchy white is the “best thing that ever happened”.
A woman has used tattoos to embrace the condition that saw her dark skin turn white uncontrollably and says it is “the best thing that ever happened” – despite the difficulties it has caused in her love life.
Jasmine Colgan, 29, who is of Ghanaian and Irish heritage, told of how a smattering of white dots appeared out of the blue on her arms and legs back in 2011.
At first, she wasn’t especially worried – but within months, the marks had spread to her face and elsewhere, transforming vast patches of her skin from its natural brown colour to a Caucasian white, causing her self-esteem to plummet.
Diagnosed with vitiligo – where a lack of melanin causes pale white patches to appear on the skin – in 2011, she eventually embraced the condition by tattooing rings around the marks it left.
But sadly, though she has finally rebuilt her confidence, she has found her love life affected.
Jasmine, an artist of Denver, Colorado, USA, said: “I have had dating issues in the past as I think for men particularly, it can be difficult for them to see beyond the surface.”
She continued: “People don’t cherish difference as much as they should do, and I’m really proud of my skin because it makes me who I am.”
She added: “But I am not worried because I know that I am still the same strong person I have always been, and one day I will meet someone who sees that.”
Jasmine told of how she was studying photography, aged 21, at the University of Colorado Denver in June 2011, when she first noticed the white speckling on her legs and arms.
Thinking that perhaps it was just freckling, she decided, at first, not to visit her doctor.
Within two months, though, the patches spread to her face, back and fingers.
Recalling the onset of the drastic and sudden alteration in her appearance, Jasmine said: “It was absolutely terrifying.”
She continued: “It was very difficult trying to come to terms with it for a long time, because the way you look is changing very obviously and you have no control over it real life healthwhatsoever.”
Taking to the internet, Jasmine soon found a page about vitiligo, and became convinced that was what she had.
Still, she hoped that, if she sought medical help, she would be able to secure some form of treatment that would revert her skin back to its normal colour.
However, that did not happen.
In August 2011, a doctor officially confirmed her condition as vitiligo, and prescribed steroid cream to attempt to stimulate the production of melanin – but it made little difference.
From there, she underwent eight months of phototherapy treatment at Anschutz Medical Campus in Colorado – where fluorescent lightbulbs were used to treat her skin condition, something Jasmine was willing to go through for a time, even though it carries a risk of skin cancer according to the NHS.
But when that also failed to make a difference to her appearance, and the patches continued to expand, Jasmine, who, at one time had been an aspiring model, fell into a deep pit of depression.
“It was really tough knowing that you haven’t changed at all in yourself, but when you look in the mirror you see a totally different person,” she admitted candidly.
“People started to stare a lot at me in the street, and that became hugely uncomfortable, walking into a room and knowing that there are all of these eyes on you.”
She added: “And people can be cruel too. Someone once told me I look like a cow, which was pretty hurtful.”
The hardest part, however, was the feeling that she was losing her connection to her African ancestry as her skin tone became more and more akin to a Caucasian person’s.
She added: “I am very proud of where I come from and my family’s Ghanaian roots, so it was upsetting to see that very visibly disappearing in me.”
Over time, though, Jasmine began to embrace her unique complexion by incorporating it into her artwork by tattooing around the spots every six months, documenting their growth “like rings of a tree”.
“I know that by the time I’m 50 I will probably be completely white, so having these tattoos on my arms is a visual document of how my condition develops,” she said.
“It has made me realise that I’m so lucky to have this unique thing happen to me. It’s like an organic artwork all over my body – and that’s really special.”
Now, Jasmine has also produced a series of striking self-portraits, featuring herself with a backdrop of traditional Ghanaian artefacts, as a way to “reconnect” with her heritage.
As her patches continue to grow at a rate of around 1mm every six months, she said the condition has made her a “better and wiser person” and insists she would not change it if she had the chance.
She explained: “It took me about four years to really accept the new image of myself and understand that this is who I am now.”
Jasmine continued: “But now I feel so lucky to have been affected by the condition as it has made me want to help others, who may be struggling with the way they look, to feel empowered in themselves.
“Honestly, if I could wave a magic wand and make the vitiligo go away today, I wouldn’t because I know I am a much wiser and better person as a consequence of it.”
BEIRUT (AP) — A 10-day truce appeared to be holding in Lebanon early Friday, promising a pause in fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and possibly clearing one major obstacle to a deal between Iran and the United States and Israel to end weeks of devastating war.
But it remained unclear whether Israel would completely stop strikes on Hezbollah, and whether the militant group would recognize a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce, and displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
U.S. President Donald Trump heralded the deal a “historic day for Lebanon,” even as he expressed confidence that the war with Iran would soon end in a Las Vegas speech.
“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”
An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking the current ceasefire deal with strikes on Lebanon. Israel said that deal did not cover Lebanon.
Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension of the ceasefire.
While oil prices fell on hopes of a deal, the head of the International Energy Agency warned that energy shocks could get worse if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen soon. Iran closed the crucial waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, shortly after the war began. Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of jet fuel left and broader economic consequences will grow the longer the strait is closed, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The leaders of France and the U.K. will gather dozens of countries — but not the United States — on Friday to push forward plans to reopen the strait.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but he said Israeli troops would not withdraw.
Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.” Netanyahu, in his video address, said it will extend 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon.
“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.
Hezbollah has said that Lebanese people have “the right to resist” Israeli occupation of their land and that their actions “will be determined based on how developments unfold.”
The U.S. State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”
Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but a Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars and have been fighting on and off since the day after the start of the Gaza war. Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end that war in November 2024, but Israel has kept up near-daily strikes in what it says is an effort to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping. That escalated into another invasion after Hezbollah again began firing missiles at Israel in response to its war on Iran.
The agreement came after a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.
They were the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.
Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.
The State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.
Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.
Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.
Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.
Trump suggested the ceasefire could be extended.
“If we’re close to a deal, would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that.”
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP journalists Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Residents inspect damage at the site of buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, in Jibchit, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A displaced man gestures lying over belongings on a mini pickup, in Qasmiyeh near Tyre city, south Lebanon, as he returns with his family to their village following a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Displaced residents drive back to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Jiyeh, near Saida, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Tracer rounds illuminate the night sky as people fire live ammunition and fireworks into the air following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, early Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
People wave Hezbollah flags and an image of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in Zefta, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026, as displaced residents drive back to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Displaced people returning to their villages following a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, cross the destroyed Qasmiyeh bridge near Tyre city, south Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Iranian Jews attend a memorial for the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other victims, who were killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes, at Yousefabad Synagogue, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Displaced residents drive back to their villages as locals wave Hezbollah flags and an image of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in Zefta, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
