Make-up artist, Kirsty Huntley, whose skin condition left her too embarrassed to leave the house, now has confidence to take to the catwalk
Kirsty Huntley, 32, had battled a series of agonising symptoms since 2008 when she was diagnosed with Behçet's disease – an incurable illness which affects almost every organ in the body.
As a result of the illness her childhood acne worsened.
“I’d had troublesome skin a lot of my life, but the acne has been really aggravated since I was diagnosed with Behçet's,” said Mrs Huntley of Maidstone, Kent.
“My whole body was covered – face, arms, thighs and chest. It could get really sore. Even just wearing a cotton t-shirt would make me wince. I was a mum of four looking like a spotty teenager.”
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“I got to the point where I didn’t really want to go out or look people in the eye,” she said.
“My work as a make-up artist really suffered. My skin was so bad that even the best make up in the world couldn't cover it.
“I worried people would look at me and think, ‘You can’t even cover your own spots properly’ and be put off hiring me.”
With her confidence at rock bottom, Mrs Huntley withdrew from friends and stopped socialising.
Doctors had tried countless creams and antibiotics over the years, but none had any lasting effect.
“It would always be the same – the acne would clear for a couple of months then flare straight back up again,” she said.
“A lot of them had other side effects too so I eventually figured if they weren’t even clearing my skin up, there wasn’t a lot of point in taking them.”
In 2013 she stumbled on an advert for an allergy test, the YorkTest, online. She received her kit in the post and did a finger-prick blood test, which was then sent away for analysis.
The test revealed she had unknowingly been suffering a string of intolerances, including gluten, wheat, yeast, eggs and coffee. She cut them out her diet immediately.
Over the next three months, she saw her skin improve dramatically and even lost two stone.
“Allergies were something I’d never contemplated,” she said.
“It sounds silly, but I didn’t realise they affected the skin.
“Doctors had never suggested it could even be a possibility.”
With her new clearer skin and smaller waistline, Mrs Huntley discovered a new confidence.
In January this year, she was scouted when model management company Miss Curvaceous UK spotted pictures she had uploaded showcasing her make-up skills.
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“You don’t realise how sluggish and lethargic you feel when you’ve been eating the wrong foods. Once I cut them out of my diet I felt this big uplifting – I felt great,” Mrs Huntely said.
“For me, cutting those foods out wasn’t about losing weight so much as getting rid of the bad symptoms I suffered with.
“I’ve still got my curvy figure which I love, but now I have my confidence back too.
“Before, I always avoided the camera, but now little old me is out in front of it.”
An NHS spokesman said: “Behçet's disease is a rare and poorly understood condition in which blood vessels and tissues may become inflamed.
“It is sometimes referred to as an autoinflammatory disease, as certain cells of the immune system may begin this inflammation when triggered. It is also known as Behçet's syndrome.
“The inflammation associated with Behçet's disease can affect blood vessels located within tissues throughout the body. It can therefore cause a wide range of symptoms.
“Common symptoms include: genital and mouth ulcers, red, painful eyes and blurred vision, acne-like spots, headaches and painful, stiff and swollen joints.”