Ok, please don’t kill me for asking this…
I’m black, and I wanna do an Afrocentric cosplay of Jeff, the Killer. I’m planning on getting dreads or braids for it, but I also thought about maybe doing some Vitiligo-type makeup for it. but idk if that’s okay to do or if that’s offensive.
I don’t have vitiligo, I never did. The reason I ask if it’s okay to imitate this is because Jeff the Killer is canonically a burn victim due to either fire or chemicals. Sometimes, if you have dark skin and get burned like that, you’ll have white patches left behind once the skin heals which look a lot like Vitiligo. I’m unsure of what lines can and cannot be crossed when it comes to doing theatrical/character makeup other than “don’t do blackface”
Im autistic, so if some of the stuff i say is offensive just be aware that wasn’t my intention, thanks!
Here’s the thing: vitiligo simply depletes melatonin from the skin. The skin is otherwise the same in texture, and just looks very light spots.
A scar, however, is damaged skin, regrown. It has a very different texture than normal skin, and will also look different— and, even if it has triggered vitiligo in the affected areas will still be (mostly) the texture of scar tissue. It would look/feel different than a site affected only by vitiligo.
This effect can be achieved by using skin glues or latex paint on the skin. I’m sure you could find even better methods for re-creating scar tissue on the skin on YouTube. From there, you can color the makeup lighter in order to simulate vitiligo.