Real stories

Read or listen to real stories from people affected by visible difference, their parents and families, as well as Changing Faces staff and volunteers. Inspired to share your story? We’d love to hear it – share your story now.

All stories

Campaigner Naomi is a white woman with a visible difference and long blonde hair. She is wearing a gold Christmas cracker hat and stood in front of a decorated Christmas tree

Naomi’s story: “You’re all beautiful!”

9 February 2022

Naomi reflects on how being involved with us as a child helped her cope with school and comments from strangers.

Campaigner Laura is a white woman with alopecia and is bald. She is wearing a black top with large white polka dots and has grass and trees behind her.

Laura’s story: “It genuinely changed my life for the better”

3 February 2022

Laura updates us on her visible difference journey so far, including a “lightbulb” moment she had.

Andrew is a white male with brown hair and a beard, with an eyebrow piercing and visible difference. He is wearing a blue t-shirt with a darker blue hoodie over the top.

Andrew’s story: “It’s going to be OK”

2 February 2022

Andrew wants young people to know that life with a visible difference can turn out well.

Campaigner Chrissie who is a Black women with a visible difference wearing a white and black scarf and black top, pink glasses and her hair in two buns on top of her head.

Chrissie’s story: “Talking openly about visible difference today, is a lot easier than when I was younger”

28 January 2022

Chrissie tells us what it was like to share her story online for the first time.

Campaigner Sophie is white with long dark brown hair and a facial visible difference. In this photo she wears a red dress with white flowers on it and the photo captures her head and shoulders.

Sophie on sharing her story with us

28 January 2022

Volunteer campaigner Sophie reflects on what it felt like to share her story with us.

Chloe, a white woman in her early 20s, who has medium-length brown hair and keloid scars on her chest.

Chloe’s story: “There is much more to me than my scars”

26 January 2022

Chloe shares how she learned to accept her keloid scars and why empathy is key when it comes to conversations around visible difference.

A close-up photo of a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a flowery top

Catherine introduces our new condition-specific resources

19 January 2022

Deputy CEO Catherine introduces our new condition-specific resources, explains why we created them and talks about how they can benefit you.

Abigail, a 16-year-old white girl who has long light brown hair and facial scarring caused by the removal of a tumour. She's wearing a black check dress, a black cardigan and sitting at a table with her hands crossed in front of her.

Abigail’s story: “I now feel able to talk to people about my face”

12 January 2022

Abigail struggled to talk openly about her scars. Starting an Instagram account to document her journey helped her grow in confidence.

Debbie is a white woman with a long brown fringe and shoulder length brown hair. She wears a black polo neck jumper in this image.

Debbie on parenting a young child with a visible difference

7 January 2022

Watch Debbie’s story about being a parent to a child with a birthmark and the struggle her family faced in getting the right support.

CEO Heather Blake wears a red top and has short brown hair with a fringe

Heather’s end of year message

16 December 2021

Our CEO Heather talks about the challenges and successes of 2021 and looks ahead to the new year.

Ambassador Catrin Pugh who has a visible difference, wearing her brown hair up, with an orange sun dress

Catrin on talking to soap stars

2 December 2021

Our ambassador Catrin explains why she has been working with the team behind ITV’s soap, Emmerdale.

Peter, a white man in his 20s/30s. who has short blond hair and a port wine birthmark covering his face and body. He's wearing glasses and a blue hoodie and smiling at the camera.

Peter on dating and relationships

23 November 2021

Our campaigner Peter discusses dating as a person with a visible difference and his hopes for more open conversations on the topic.