The Villages Daily Sun

SUMMERFIELD — Colorful shawls, scarves and jackets fill the bureau in Janet LaCroix’s bedroom. She has intricately beaded shawls, tasseled scarves and beautifully patterned jackets, but the collection of garments means more to LaCroix than just making some kind of fashion statement.

LaCroix has a chronic skin condition known as vitiligo, and the clothing is her way of coping with it, especially when she is singing on stage with her husband, Gary, as “The Dynamic Duo” of LaCroix Entertainment.

“I have an entire line of these,” said the Summerfield resident while picking up a beautiful shawl. “I try to make up for it (the vitiligo) in doing something nice that’s for myself. It makes me feel better. It makes me feel special. That’s how I emotionally deal with it, but no matter what you do, people notice it.”

What is vitiligo?

Vitiligo causes a loss of pigment in the skin, which results in white patches.

Although the exact cause of vitiligo is not known, Dr. Thi T. Tran with Village Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery said the condition is thought to be an autoimmune problem.

“It’s a complex disease,” he said, explaining that vitiligo is caused when the body doesn’t recognize its own pigment cells. The body then creates antibodies to the pigment cells and ends up destroying the cells and the melanin they produce.

Melanin is the pigment that determines the color of a person’s skin, hair and eyes. If the pigment cells die, they no longer produce melanin, and the skin becomes lighter or totally white in that area.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, vitiligo affects one or two out of every 100 people, and it usually develops before age 20.

“It affects both darker skin and white skin — all races,” Tran said.

Although there are a few treatments for vitiligo, they have limited success, and there is no cure.

Living with vitiligo

The areas of the skin affected by vitiligo have no protection from the sun and are easily burned, causing an increased risk of skin cancer.

Skin cancer was a major concern for LaCroix when she and her husband decided to move to Florida from Michigan because “The Sunshine State” obviously isn’t the best place in which to avoid the sun. LaCroix had to find ways to protect her skin from bad sunburns, and besides using sunscreen, she carries around a special Gustbuster umbrella to block the sun’s rays.

“It cuts the radiation and the heat,” she said. “I feel like it’s my friend. I don’t go anywhere without it.”

If LaCroix does get sunburned, she not only has a painful burn but she also becomes very ill with sun poisoning.

But it is the emotional toll of living with vitiligo that is really hard for her.

For someone such as LaCroix, who earns her livelihood by being in the spotlight, vitiligo can be a devastating condition to live with.

The olive skin from LaCroix’s Italian origin is marked by white patches all over her body, but she said the patches on her arms and neck are the most noticeable and bothersome.

She used to hide the patches beneath makeup, but since they have spread down her arms and legs, she said it is too messy to continue. Wearing clothing to cover up is simply too hot in Florida’s climate; hence the many shawls and lighter cover-ups LaCroix owns.

“It’s really a pain,” she said.

Feelings of embarrassment, shame and a loss of self-esteem are something LaCroix struggles with, especially when she is on stage.

“Only when I perform (does) it really bother me because I’m on a stage and people are looking at me, and there’s nothing I can do,” she said. “Being in a situation where there’s nothing you can do about it is hard.”

The courage to speak out

Now, instead of trying to ignore or hide her condition, LaCroix said she wants to talk about her struggles with vitiligo. In doing so, she said she hopes others will gain some understanding of what vitiligo is and what the people who have it go through every day.

Many people have become more aware of vitiligo over the years as several celebrities, including pop star Michael Jackson and news anchor Lee Thomas, have revealed that they suffer from vitiligo. Thomas, an African-American, has even talked about his struggles as a TV personality with vitiligo in his book, “Turning White: A Memoir of Change.”

With such well-known people going public about their condition, LaCroix said she wants to help raise awareness and acceptance for others with the condition.

Several times in The Villages, people have shared with LaCroix that they have vitiligo too, but most people try to hide it.

“It broke my heart, this one lady. She said ‘I have what you have,’ and she showed it to me, and I know she doesn’t show it to everybody. She showed me her skin and said, ‘I don’t go out’,” LaCroix said with tears in her eyes. “She doesn’t go out of the house and that broke my heart. I thought to myself, ‘You can go out’.”

LaCroix said she doesn’t want anyone with vitiligo to feel like they have to hide themselves away from the world.

“They want to just hide out, and they don’t want anybody to know about it. They are ashamed,” she said, adding that she doesn’t want to hide anymore. “It’s part of me. I don’t hide it anymore.”

Caroline Klapper is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9018, or caroline.klapper@thevillagesmedia.com.