I was talking to a lady just recently about vitiligo. She had the condition and was asking me if there were any natural ways to prevent, treat or cure it. After our conversation, I thought it would be a great topic for an article.

What is vitiligo?

Vitiligo is quite a common skin disorder which affects at least one person in every hundred in countries around the world. Anyone – male or female, and irrespective of skin colour or ethnic origin can develop the condition, and it can appear anywhere on the body.

It affects all races but it is more obviously noticeable, and I would assume more distressing, on people with skin of colour and especially the darker skin types.

Obvious by its appearance, vitiligo causes the skin, and sometimes the hair, turn white in patches – it looks like areas of the skin have been bleached. It is not contagious and cannot be passed from one person to another. Vitiligo doesn’t pose any serious threat to your health the way something such as skin cancer does, but it could be an indication of something being not-quite-right inside your body.

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease (meaning the body’s immune system attacks its own cells) where “rebel” immune cells attack cells called melanocytes which are responsible for producing the skin colour pigment, melanin, and thus white patches appear.

The disease can spread, rapidly or slowly, to cover the entire body surface (universal vitiligo) but this is not inevitable. The most common form of vitiligo appears in symmetrical form (generalized vitiligo) affecting both sides of the body, but in some cases only one half of the body is affected (segmental vitiligo).

Vitiligo can begin at any age, though about fifty percent of people who develop the condition, notice it before the age of twenty.

What causes vitiligo?

As I mentioned above, the “bleached” patches of vitiligo are caused when the pigment-producing cells of the skin are impaired. But what causes this impairment?

The causes of vitiligo are often confused, especially in modern Western medicine. However, natural and holistic practices (such as Chinese Medicine and Herbalism) are much more clear about the causes.

The digestive system and the skin

Because the skin forms the most outer layer of our bodies, it isn’t always associated with the digestion system. But you don’t need to have read many of my articles to know that I think differently – our skin is an excellent indicator of the health (or ill-health) of our internal body.

If we are to understand the true functions of our skin and return it to good health, we need to understand that it is closely linked with the nutrition and health of our whole body.

Other factors

Though they may not be the ultimate cause of the condition, there are other factors which can play a part in how your vitiligo develops. These include…

• stress
• poor diet
• heredity/genes
• lifestyle

Treating vitiligo

Firstly, be aware that the white “bleached” skin is not protected from the sun, which makes it vulnerable to burning. This lack of skin  protection can also have long-term health consequences – most notably, the increased risk of skin cancer. Make sure you are extra vigilant about using sun protection.

By looking for nutritional deficiencies, toxic elements, the level of free radicals, and understanding the mental-emotional environment of when the vitiligo began, we can start to develop a targeted programme to help address the cause.  In some cases, poor digestion leading to mal-absorption of nutrients is also a factor in the development of vitiligo.

Common nutritional deficiencies with vitiligo sufferers have included vitamin B12, folic acid, zinc, copper, carnitine, vitamin C, vitamin D, sulphur, etc.

As with most skin problems, working to correct any disruptions to the digestive and absorptive functions can make a significant difference.

Dietary & lifestyle measures

To fully treat an autoimmune disease such as vitiligo, you must make changes to improve your diet and litestyle and take steps toward good overall health. Here are a few ways you can do this…

• Eat a plant-based diet including lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains
• Make sure you get enough Vitamin B12 and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid which strict vegans can be lacking)
• Avoid stress as much as possible and strive for emotional balance
• Get lots of good-quality sleep (as opposed to alcohol-fuelled sedation). For most people, nine to ten hours of restful sleep each day is optimal
• Move every day, even if it’s just taking the stairs instead of the lift. Try to introduce an exercise plan to your daily routine

Natural ways to treat vitiligo

Here are a few of the treatments I have found for vitiligo during thorough research…

• Ginko Biloba in an herb which has been found to be effective in treating vitiligo. It has shown notable effects in re-pigmenting the skin.
• St. John’s Wort is a commonly-used herb for this condition. The herb can be taken internally by drinking the juice three times a day. Alternatively, the herb oil can be applied to the skin.
• Wild Duckweed (Lemna minor) works by reactivating melanocytes (the cells which produce pigment), which promotes re-pigmentation of the skin.
• Bergamot essential oil has substances in it called Bergaptenes that have a strong photosensitising effect on the skin. That means they make your skin more vulnerable to ultra-violet light. This is bad news for Bergamot if you are vulnerable to sun-burn, but this photosensitising action may help turn back on the melanocytes which are activated by ultraviolet light.

Using bergamot essential oil

Before I share this with you, firstly let me say that you need to be very careful. As I mentioned above, bergamot essential oil will make your skin more sensitive to sunlight and means you could burn more easily.

Please note: this is not something I have personally tried (I don’t have vitiligo) or witnessed. But I have come across this remedy (and read testimonials to its effectiveness) numerous times during research into the condition. I advise caution when trying this technique. 

What you need

All you need is some coconut oil (or other vegetable oil such as olive or sunflower) and some bergamot essential oil. Simply add a few drops of the essential oil to the vegetable oil and massage it into your skin.

It is difficult to be specific with amounts here because each person will vary.

As a general guide I would suggest 1 or 2 drops of the bergaptene-containing Bergamot oil (much of the commercial sale of Bergamot oil will have “Bergaptene-free” in the fine print because it is this substance which causes the UV sensitivity but you want to make sure you get one which does contain bergaptene) to a teaspoon of oil, and scale-up from there depending on the size of the area of skin you need to cover.

This is a fairly strong concentration of essential oil and you need to know that for some people with very sensitive skin this could be too strong.

The way to go about this safely is to ‘patch-test’ your skin with a weaker concentration of the Bergamot essential oil to see how your body feels about it first.

Bergamot smells pleasant and has an uplifting character which is said to alliviate anxiety and depression, and can help to combat stress, which will also be helpful.

What to do

You need to understand that the action of the oil will not last more than an hour or so. You need to have placed the coconut/bergamot oil on your skin and be exposing the affected area to sunlight within that one hour time frame.

How long you should then have your skin in direct sunlight also depends on too many factors to make specific recommendations here – how fair are you, how prone to sun-burn, what time of day it is, what time of year is it, and so on.

Getting too much sun will be more harmful than not enough. Let common sense be tinged with caution and above all be patient! Nothing happens overnight. Remember, here at Love Yourself Naturally we don’t offer quick fixes. This is far more likely to help with short and regular exposure of sunlight over a period of many weeks rather than smothering yourself in bergamot and sunbathing for the whole day.

This will not work for everyone (let’s face it, nothing does), but if you proceed with it carefully there is a good chance it will help.

If you’ve tried this treatment, or found other ways to heal your vitiligo, then we want to hear from you! Let us know your experiences by leaving a comment below.

Until next time,