Instagram star cruelly branded a ‘Dalmatian’ because of her birthmark
Instagram star who was cruelly branded a ‘Dalmatian’ because of birthmark covering her entire back says she feels sexy after learning to accept it
- Yulianna Yussef was bullied as a child for her congenital melanocytic naevus
- But now the 25-year-old, with 99,500 Instagram followers, finally feels happy
- Ms Yussef receives praises from hundreds of strangers, calling her ‘beautiful’
An Instagram star born with a birthmark stretching her entire back has revealed she finally feels sexy after years of being bullied.
Yulianna Yussef was branded a ‘Dalmatian’ growing up because of her congenital melanocytic naevus (CMN) – a form of mole present from birth.
But now the 25-year-old reveals she finally feels sexy, after gaining thousands of followers from around the world with her scantily-clad snaps.
Ms Yussef, who lives in Warsaw, Poland, said she was happy she started posting on Instagram because she now feels more body confident.
Yulianna Yussef was branded a ‘dalmatian’ growing up because of her congenital melanocytic naevus (CMN) – a form of mole present from birth
But now the 25-year-old reveals she finally feels sexy, after gaining thousands of followers from around the world with her scantily-clad snaps
She told Mirror Online: ‘I want to be happy, healthy, feel beautiful and confident and sexy in my own skin and I am now. But it’s been a long way to this.’
Ms Yussef, who has 99,500 followers on Instagram, receives praises from hundreds of strangers, calling her ‘beautiful’ and ‘strong’ for speaking out.
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As well as the CMN that covers most of her back and stretches round to her front, she has lots of smaller marks on her legs.
Around one per cent of babies are born with a CMN. However, they are often much smaller. In some cases, they can be hairy.
Ms Yussef, who lives in Warsaw, Poland, said she was happy she started posting on Instagram because she now feels more body confident
Ms Yussef, who has 99,500 followers on Instagram, receives praises from hundreds of strangers, calling her ‘beautiful’ and ‘strong’ for speaking out
WHAT IS A CONGENITAL MELANOCYTIC NAEVUS?
Around one per cent of babies are born with a CMN. However, they are often much smaller. In some cases, they can be hairy.
CMNs are sometimes called ‘brown birthmarks’ by medics. They get bigger as children age.
They don’t usually cause any complications but they can be itchy. There is a slight risk of melanoma, thought people with bigger CMNs face the highest risk – but it is still low.
Dr Adil Sheraz, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson, told MailOnline: ‘The word melanocytic refers to being composed of melanocytes – these are cells that produce pigment or colour.
‘A naevus is another word for a mole. A mole that is present form birth is known as a congenital melanocytic naevus (or birthmark).’
Recalling the trauma of her childhood, Ms Yussef admitted she was a care-free child and didn’t pay much attention to her birthmark – until she turned eight.
Then, she began to notice ‘all these eyes on me’. Some cruel parents of other children didn’t let her play with them because they feared she was contagious.
At the height of the bullying, around age 14, she used to just stay inside and only venture outdoors in the dark, to prevent any cruel comments or glares.
Over the years, strangers have offered her advice on how to remove her ‘warts’, as she feared nobody would ever love ‘a girl with a black and hairy back’.
She told Mirror Online: ‘I was thinking that boys would never pick up me because they have choice to pick up a ‘normal’ girl with perfect skin.
‘I was a Dalmatian, a giraffe, a cow, I was dirty, people thought that if they spoke to me my birthmarks would jump at them.’
After years of ‘hiding’, hating herself and being ‘afraid’ of people, she thought the only way to move forward was to boost her own confidence.
Ms Yussef, of Ukrainian-Lebanese descent, previously revealed doctors thought she was going to die when she was born because of her ‘extreme case’ of CMN.
‘There were lots of moles all over my small body and they said to my family that they didn’t know how much time I would stay alive,’ she said in 2016.
As well as the CMN that covers most of her back and stretches round to her front, she has lots of smaller marks on her legs
Recalling the traumas of her childhood, Ms Yussef admitted she was a care-free child and didn’t pay much attention to her birthmark – until she turned eight
At the height of the bullying, around age 14, she used to just stay inside and only venture outdoors in the dark, to prevent any cruel comments or glares
Ms Yussef, of Ukrainian-Lebanese descent, previously revealed doctors thought she was going to die when she was born because of her ‘extreme case’ of CMN
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