Beauty Queen, 7, Won’t Hide Birthmark on Her Cheek
Esabella Parisi takes to the pageant stage. (Photo: Caters News Agency)
A little girl in New Haven, Conn., can teach us all a lesson in self-acceptance.
Esabella Parisi was born with a prominent birthmark, called a port-wine stain, stretching across the right side of her face. She has undergone 20 corrective surgeries since she was a baby, but Parisi has told her parents she is finally ready to accept herself as she is.
She’s so confident, in fact, that she decided to enter the East Coast USA beauty pageant — and refused makeup to cover her birthmark, according to the Daily Mail. After wowing the judges, she placed second in the beauty category and will advance to the nationals next month. Parisi also nabbed the prize for “Prettiest Eyes.”
Photo: Caters News Agency
According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a port-wine stain is caused by swollen blood vessels that form a reddish-purple discoloration of the skin. The site says that port-wine stains often get darker as a child gets older — which is why Parisi’s parents, Marie Washburn and Ronnie Parisi, decided to pursue laser treatments for their daughter from a very early age.
“I didn’t know what she would want at such a young age but knew I had to give her the best shot of stopping the mark from growing bigger or getting any worse,” Washburn told the Daily Mail. She was afraid her daughter would be bullied for looking different — especially since the girl would get dirty looks from other parents who thought her stain might be contagious and kept their own children away from her.
But Parisi’s confidence has made an impression on everyone. ‘I think she’s beautiful and she knows her birthmark is nothing to be ashamed of, so I couldn’t be a prouder mother,” said Washburn, who admitted she was worried about enrolling her daughter in a beauty pageant, but the girl insisted. “She loves to act, sing, dance, and really wanted to do it, so I didn’t want to stop her.”
Photo: Caters News Agency
According to NLM, a division of the National Institute of Health, laser therapy — which Parisi received — is the most effective and safest form of treatment. Other methods include freezing, surgery, radiation, and tattooing.
But Parisi’s laser days just might be over. The beauty queen “was so sassy when walking down the runway,” her mother said. “She held eye contact with everyone watching her and was even blowing kisses to the judges.”
And, as Parisi maturely discusses her condition with her peers, they’re becoming increasingly accepting of her natural look. “The kids in her class even started searching to see if they had beauty marks too, which was sweet,” her mom said. “They’re all supportive, and thankfully I know that my daughter is confident in who she is.”
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