Ok, please don’t kill me for asking this…

I’m black, and I wanna do an Afrocentric cosplay of Jeff, the Killer. I’m planning on getting dreads or braids for it, but I also thought about maybe doing some Vitiligo-type makeup for it. but idk if that’s okay to do or if that’s offensive.

I don’t have vitiligo, I never did. The reason I ask if it’s okay to imitate this is because Jeff the Killer is canonically a burn victim due to either fire or chemicals. Sometimes, if you have dark skin and get burned like that, you’ll have white patches left behind once the skin heals which look a lot like Vitiligo. I’m unsure of what lines can and cannot be crossed when it comes to doing theatrical/character makeup other than “don’t do blackface”

Im autistic, so if some of the stuff i say is offensive just be aware that wasn’t my intention, thanks!

    • Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      Burn scars on black skin make white patches tho… Especially when healed

      That’s why I asked <:p

      Tbh the more I research about burns on dark skin, the more I realize doing Vitiligo makeup is unavoidable, as burns can very much trigger vitiligo anyways.

      spoiler ![](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/8c8a976d-19d6-4270-b501-36799ba68bb8.png):::
      • lath@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Depends. Which do you prefer, explaining the incorrect scars or the the correct vitiligo if needed?

        • Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.worldOP
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          2 months ago

          Tbh ima have to practice some scar makeup first. And true Vitiligo is just an autoimmune disease and not caused by external factors as far as I know. But burns can trigger it or something similar to it. To me, Vitiligo is just the death of pigmentation in the skin

          • lath@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Yeah, might be overthinking it. Possible there’s no need to worry about it being an issue.

            Enjoy the party.

          • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Here’s the thing: vitiligo simply depletes melatonin from the skin. The skin is otherwise the same in texture, and just looks very light spots.

            A scar, however, is damaged skin, regrown. It has a very different texture than normal skin, and will also look different— and, even if it has triggered vitiligo in the affected areas will still be (mostly) the texture of scar tissue. It would look/feel different than a site affected only by vitiligo.

            This effect can be achieved by using skin glues or latex paint on the skin. I’m sure you could find even better methods for re-creating scar tissue on the skin on YouTube. From there, you can color the makeup lighter in order to simulate vitiligo.

      • rowrowrowyourboat@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        This is incorrect. This is not a healed scar at all. That’s a very fresh burn wound exposing the flesh underneath without the melanin layer.

        You can literally see the wound is fresh and is peeling off. Not a healed scar.

        Go look up healed burn scars on black skin. The images can be pretty gruesome, but the melanin mostly returns.

        • Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.worldOP
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          2 months ago

          I legit already did that and it’s both. it can get lighter or darker.

          spoiler

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          All of it depends on the type of burn, severity, and the person’s skin. Jeff the killer became lighter after the burn, so to me it would make sense that, if my skin was burned, Id have both dark spots and white blotches leftover on my skin.

        • Cock_Inspecting_Asexual@lemmy.worldOP
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          2 months ago

          I did do that, I cant link the other images I found tho, but sometimes It doesn’t come back. It depends on the severity of the burn

          And in the context of JEFF THE KILLER, his melanin doesn’t come back either. After the burn, his hair turns black and his skin turns white. That’s how he’s always looked. So the skin being turned white regardless is true to the character. Hence why I want to have white splotches in the makeup.