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A young man with a rare skin condition that changes the colour of his skin has revealed the pain of people criticising his appearance.

Aviral Chauhan, 19, was born in India before moving to America and had no idea he had vitiligo until he spotted a white patch on his eye lid, aged 11.

It soon spread to elbows and knees, and then turned almost all of the skin on his face and body white by the time he was aged 13.

Now Aviral, who’s from from Minnesota, US, looks completely different to his childhood photos, and has even been accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ when celebrating Hindu holidays with his family.

‘It started with a few small white spots, but suddenly the vitiligo went crazy and I would barely recognise myself in pictures from just a few months earlier,’ says Aviral.

‘There was a time when I didn’t look the same for any two days – my skin would change dramatically overnight.

‘Classmates in high school would ask questions when I didn’t really understand it myself, and I often heard other adults asking my parents about me when they thought I couldn’t hear.

‘I might look white, but my family and culture are still Indian and I try my best to stay true to my identity.’

Aviral was born in Kanpur, India, and moved to America in 2008 with his brother Advyay, 11, mum Mohini, 39, and dad Jitendra, 44.

Until the age of 11, Aviral looked similar to his brother – but then his skin changed dramatically due to the hereditary condition.

Vitiligo causes pale white patches to develop on the skin due to the lack of pigment called melanin.

‘At first, it was quite hard to understand what was going on, and I was pretty self-conscious at first,’ he says. ‘Middle school was not a fun experience.’

Despite occasional comments and questions from peers, he told how the hardest thing to deal with as he grew up was comments from adults to his parents.

‘It would be questions like, “is he adopted?” or, “is he albino?” That was pretty tough to hear as a teenager.

‘Or people would say to my parents, “you’re so lucky he’s white”, thinking they were complimenting me, because it was seen as desirable to have a child with a lighter skin tone in Indian culture.

‘But my family didn’t see it that way – all it did was disconnect me further from my identity.’

When he entered high school at 16, Aviral said he began to embrace his appearance, with the help of supportive friendship group.

Aviral family practice a ‘blend of Indian and American cultures’ – and although they don’t worship every day, they celebrate Hindu holidays such as Diwali.

But he said he was recently accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ when he posted photos of himself in traditional Indian clothes on social media.

‘It was annoying that people were questioning me and making accusations – it’s literally my own culture,’ he says.

‘I don’t necessarily go out of my way to tell people I’m Indian, but I would never pretend I’m not, because it’s who I am.’

Aviral said despite comments from others, he feels confident in his own skin thanks to the support of friends and family.

‘I might look a little different, but I can’t name a time where anyone I care about has made me feel bad about my appearance,’ he adds.

‘My family and friends have always been supportive of me and helped me get to a place where I truly feel happy in my own skin.’

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