A student who spent years being embarrassed by a skin condition which caused spots to appear all over her body has embraced the condition after receiving compliments for her radiant glow.

Sophia Chen developed psoriasis four years ago when she was 16.

She was "exhausted" by trying to find a solution and lost all self-esteem.

And Sophia, from Colorado, US, even woke up at 6am every day to cover up with makeup.

"Only about a month after I noticed it on my chest, the psoriasis had spread all over my body, including my face.

"I became so discouraged. I'd never had acne, I always had perfect skin, so I felt the need to cover it up," she said.

"I cried almost every day, which really broke my mother's heart. At the time, I had no confidence and some days I didn't even want to go to school because of it."

But Sophia, who studies at University of Albany, has recently received a flood of compliments from people who described her skin as "cool" and "sexy".

It's helped her finally become comfortable with psoriasis after a turbulent battle.

She added: "My roommate loved how unique it was and she told me that I looked like a cheetah.

"Also, at the time, Winnie Harlow, the model with vitiligo, was becoming extremely popular and my skin looked similar to hers.

"Some people would say "do you have vitiligo? That's so cool, your skin is beautiful". The more I heard it, the more I started to believe it.

"One of my friends said they look like constellations on my skin. Another guy I met said that my spots were 'sexy'.

"Now, I absolutely love my skin."

Dermatologists diagnosed the condition after Sophia found red blotches on her chest.

Doctors initially recommended she try tried tanning beds or chemotherapy to heal it.

But it spread all over her body.

The woman continued: "Initially, I tried steroid creams which one of the doctors prescribed me.

"It was exhausting to apply it on every little spot on my body, it was extremely tedious work and it didn't really do anything to help me.

"Every morning before school, I would wake up at six am to strategically cover up my spots. I never went a day without makeup, even if I was only playing football.

"It took a lot of concealer, foundation, and powder to cover the spots and make it last throughout a long day of school and sport."

Sophia even began cutting out dairy, gluten and alcohol before later turning to veganism in 2016 in attempt to heal her skin.

But now she said: "I want to show others that they don't need to hide behind anything, and they can truly embrace themselves for who they are, no matter what they are dealing with.

"My life is filled with bliss now that I can accept and love my body the way it is."

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