Winnie Harlow is 'a work of art' in new photos, talks inspiring others with vitiligo

The Canadian model, 28, embraced the beauty of her skin in Women's Health's body issue.

Winnie Harlow isn't hiding the vitiligo on her body in her latest magazine cover shoot. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Winnie Harlow is coming full circle.

The 28-year-old Canadian model took to Instagram on Wednesday to share that she's the latest cover star of Women's Health, gracing the lifestyle magazine's body issue. In her two posts, the Cay Skin founder and vitiligo spokesperson included the official photos of herself where she posed nude with white backdrops, as well as behind-the-scenes snaps and videos from the desert set.

Harlow's first post included the magazine cover and some behind-the-scenes shots. She also added a quote from the cover story, where she noted, "My younger self always believed in the power of faith, strength and perseverance, while also learning vulnerability and being authentically myself."

She continued to say in that post's caption that she was "honoured" to have been asked to be the issue's cover model and that she felt "glowed up" while slathered in Cay Skin products for the shoot.

"Glowed up not just in the look of my skin but the way I've glowed and grown into loving the skin I'm in," she continued, while adding a white heart emoji. "Back in my childhood when I would wish upon a star to not look the way I did because of the ridicule I received, I would've never dreamt of not only being so confident in who I am but also encouraging others to do the same. If you can't love you, how can you expect anyone else to?"

In her second post, Harlow included a photo of herself laying on a white ball with a quote reading, "I want to show the world that beauty is whatever we each want it to be." Rounding out that post, she also added a variety of behind-the-scenes footage, and another official photo of herself posing on a white staircase.

"Whenever I'm asked, 'What does beauty mean to you?' I always respond, 'My idea of beauty shouldn't matter,'" Harlow captioned that post. "I say this because so many times we focus on a standard of beauty that that is set for us and forget that our opinions of ourselves should be the only one that really matters. You're beautiful, tell yourself that today."

On both posts, fellow celebrities and fans showed their love for the entrepreneur's beauty, with some chiming in to thank Harlow on her work as a vitiligo model.

"Stunning," commented singer Chloe Bailey.

"I admire your strength, courage and confidence. You inspire me to live my truth and show up as my vitiligo spotted beautiful self," one person wrote.

"Thank you from someone who grew up with vitiligo. It doesn't define who we are!" a fan added, to which Harlow replied saying, "This!!!"

"Her skin is the most beautiful thing in the world," another fan noted.

"This woman is absolutely everything," someone chimed in.

"A work of art!" someone else shared.

Harlow opened up about growing up with vitiligo and the challenges of the modeling industry in her magazine cover. (Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)
Harlow opened up about growing up with vitiligo and the challenges of the modeling industry in her magazine cover. (Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

Speaking to Women's Health, Harlow opened up about living with vitiligo, an autoimmune condition that causes patches of depigmented skin, and how she's inspired others.

In one situation, she recalled a story a fan shared of their mother who had spent her whole life covering herself up since she lived with vitiligo.

"They said, 'My whole life, my mother never felt beautiful, and then I showed her a picture of you and now she wears short sleeves,'" Harlow told the magazine. "It's beautiful that I can help inspire confidence in people, no matter what walk of life they are from."

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