A model with a rare disease proved to all women that beauty can take on any guise
Sara Geurts, 31, has a rare skin disorder, but it doesn’t stop her from liking herself and sending body-positive messages to everyone in need. She has decided to smile brighter than her condition and wants to share how it felt growing up differently. “You’re beautiful and you can achieve whatever you want,” Geurts says.
She has a rare skin condition.
When Sara Geurts was just 10 years old, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. It slows down collagen production, which results in fragile skin with a wrinkled appearance at an early age. The condition also causes severe joint pain and brittle bones. When talking about her early life, Geurts mentions that when she was 10, her prognosis almost put an end to her dreams of becoming a model.
A beauty campaign wholly altered her life.
In 2015, Geurts submitted her story to the Love Your Lines campaign. The project celebrates skin “imperfections.” People were sending in stories of their conditions along with a photo. The #LoveYourLines campaign approved and shared Geurts’ story.
She shares that her skin was her biggest insecurity and admitted that in high school she tried to cover it up. She explained how she didn’t want to talk about it and that she “was living a lie.” Her story isn’t only about herself, it was also about the millions of other individuals out there struggling with their own mindsets and body image.
She started to slowly embrace her beauty.
Looking back, Geurts said that she feels like a whole new person now. It’s hard for her to understand how she didn’t like her body and her disorder for so long. “With every opportunity, I noticed my strength, growth, and transformed perspective,” she added.
Geurts said it took a lot of time to develop the confidence she possesses today, despite the fact that she already has a devoted social media following and was featured in a short film. Geurts discussed how a failed relationship in her early twenties made her consider how her body image issues were hurting both herself and those around her in an essay for The Mighty.
She took it upon herself to break fashion stereotypes.
Geurts made the decision to take up photography and modeling rather than trying to hide in order to expand the definition of beauty defined by the fashion and beauty industry. “I aim to break society’s transparent barriers of perfection. Barriers that subliminally tell us all to be perfect in all aspects of life, work, social and personal interactions,” she said.
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