I'm Owning My Skin Condition By Modelling For Glamour | Shake My Beauty

A young model is redefining public perceptions of beauty while making waves in the fashion world with her unique look. Jeyza Gary, 21, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, has a rare genetic skin condition called lamellar ichthyosis. The condition causes her skin to shed every 10 to 12 days, creating a scale-like texture, and the cracks can be painful and lead to infection, requiring her to moisturise her skin multiple times a day. "I was the first case in my family, so it was a learning curve," Jeyza said. "I didn’t realise I had it until I got to school, because at home I wasn’t treated differently." Jeyza has done some photographic modeling for her uncle but hadn't seriously considered it as a profession until she saw an encouraging remark from a classmate in her high school yearbook, which ended "P.S. You need to model". Intrigued Jeyza found a photographer to take some headshots, and was soon after signed to We Speak Model Management and has since wowed casting agents, starring in a national swimsuit campaign for Target. Jeyza said: "I’ve never been a person to look at myself like a victim. My skin is art. I take pride in being two different shades of brown at the same time, I’m giving you a double dose of melanin." Jeyza's latest shoot was for Glamour UK, the first shoot she has self-produced, with a team of creatives assembled to help bring her 70s-inspired vision to reality. Jeyza said: "I think I’m changing people’s perception of beauty but I realized that I had to change my own perception of beauty first. When I started realizing that I’m beautiful and I’m enough, and capable and all those affirming words, my outlook on beauty began to shift. I do have a skin condition that's very real, but nothing I do is “in spite of” or “despite” anything - I do have a visible difference and disability, anyone with eyes can see that, but I don’t try and make that the basis of everything that I do."