"My name is Claire, I am 33 and I am the mother of a little boy. I was born with an angioma (birthmark due to a vascular malformation) that spreads all over my left arm, hand, scapula and a bit on my chest. As a child, I didn't really realize this particularity. It was in my teenage years that the glances of others and some thoughts made me realize I was ‘different’. My relationship with my body was very tricky and I was losing confidence in myself every day. I feared the summer, the hot weather, I no longer went to the pool and if I had to go out it was with long sleeve tops in which I was suffocating.

When I was 12, I relied on laser treatment. With my parents we decided to stop it after only 2 sessions, because the treatment was extremely painful and expensive with inconclusive results. I’ve been very self-conscious for many years. When I turned 30 something just clicked. I realized it was time to finally embrace myself and stop hiding for others. I decided around this time to create an Instagram account in which I would post pictures of myself with my angioma and give it another look than disgust. Today, at 33, I can finally say that I am in alignment with myself and proud to have this angioma that makes me who I am and to spread self-acceptance by wearing it proudly. "