Model With Giant Birthmark Shares Her Journey to Self-Love

From the outside, she was just another beautiful young woman. But behind her perfectly applied makeup, Carlotta Bertotti was hiding a lifetime of insecurity, rejection, and fear of being seen as she truly was. Born with a striking blue-gray birthmark, what she once saw as a flaw is now the very feature that defines her strength and identity.

A battle that started at an early age.

The presence of a blue-gray patch, characterized by the Nevus of Ota, indicates a harmless skin condition. Now, Turin model and activist Carlotta Bertotti learned to love herself only a few years ago. Because, as she confessed, there is a Charlotte before the age of 18, and one later.

She shared: “At 8 years old I made the decision to wear makeup. It was not a normal makeup, but two-hour sessions early in the morning. It was like I put on my armor to show myself to the world. Without makeup, I could not leave the house. Because no one liked me: I felt wrong”.

But after a few years, this world of fictions became untenable for her. “When I wore makeup, I didn’t just cover my face, but I wore a different personality. And it was impossible to relate in a genuine way, even to fall in love,” she says. “Quitting makeup was just the tip of the iceberg. What I had to do was learn to love myself”.

Carlotta’s struggle extended beyond her physical appearance. At the tender age of 12, she was diagnosed with meningioma, a benign tumor that left her face paralyzed and made her health destabilized. Her battle for survival put her into darkness, shattering her confidence and self-worth. She remembers waking up in intensive care after two weeks of medically induced coma, and her face was paralyzed. She recalled that moment as seeing a monster in the mirror.

Her teenage years and feeling unwanted.

Throughout her teenage years, Carlotta was filled with insecurities, resorting to desperate measures in order to look like her peers. From elaborate makeup routines to customized contact lenses, she found rescue in brief solutions, only to be met with disappointment and anguish. She admitted trying everything to fit in. But no matter what she did, she felt like an outsider, unworthy of love and acceptance.

From Contact Lenses to Courage: Carlotta’s Five-Year Transformation.

Carlotta’s journey toward self-love was not just about putting down her makeup brushes — it began with dismantling every layer of the armor she had built around herself. At just eight years old, alongside her heavy makeup routine, she turned to specially ordered contact lenses to conceal the blue-gray pigmentation in her right eye caused by the Nevus of Ota. For years, these lenses acted as a shield, helping her feel more “normal” and deflecting stares or awkward questions from strangers.

But removing the lenses and revealing her natural appearance to the world didn’t happen overnight. Carlotta embarked on a five-year therapeutic journey under the guidance of a psychologist, working to dismantle the mental barriers she had constructed since childhood. Therapy taught her to view herself through a lens of compassion rather than criticism, and to find positivity even in moments when her reflection triggered old insecurities. This psychological support became the foundation upon which she rebuilt her confidence, turning vulnerability into strength.

Until she finally found her voice.

Yet, amidst the darkness, a flicker of hope emerged. In 2018, Carlotta made a pivotal decision—to embrace her imperfections and share her story with the world. Since then, she has garnered a devoted following on social media, captivating audiences with her authenticity and resilience. Her journey culminated in the release of her book, “Incancellabile”, a proof of the power of self-love and acceptance.

Today, Carlotta stands tall, a beacon of inspiration for countless individuals navigating their own battles with self-image and identity. Her message to all is that there will come a day when everyone understands that to be deserving of love. A moment when you realize that you gave too much importance to things that had none.

Carlotta’s journey is a reminder that self-love is not a destination, but a process — one that begins the moment you decide to stop apologizing for who you are and start embracing it instead.