The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Rachel Lugo has opened up about her battle with skin pigmentation.
In a frank video shared on her Instagram the reality TV star says she didn't know about sun spots and melasma, a tan or dark skin discoloration thought to be caused by sun exposure, until her identical twin Katie Kane visited her and she noticed a dark mark in the middle of her forehead.
Then two weeks to the day Rachel got a similar mark in same spot followed by two others on her face.
Opening up to her followers on Instagram Rachel said she went to different clinics and had a chemical peel then someone suggested I have a burn-off laser treatment to help with wrinkles and get rid of the pigmentation.
But Rachel said this caused her 'whole face' to appear pigmented while the marks she had went white.
After this experience she used a concealer and pressed powder to cover her dark pigmentation.
It was after she went on holiday with her friend and co-star Dawn Ward that Rachel went to Dawn's Skulpt clinic in the grounds of her home at Warford Hall, Cheshire for help.
"One summer when Dawn and I went to Turkey together and she just kept looking at my face and saying 'I need to get rid of that for you,' she recalled.
"It was actually really ageing as well as soon as my skin was clear I felt like it had taken years off me."
She underwent a 12 week Obagi medical grade skin care programme and is now rid of the pigmentation.
And fans praised Rachel for sharing her story.
"You are very brave to talk about your skin," said one.
"Thank you so much for sharing. I have had melasma for 15 years after pregnancy and it’s not fading . You have given me hope," said another.
In 2018 Katie, who has regularly appeared on the ITVBe reality show with her twin, was praised for opening up about her battle with skin cancer.
There was joy as she was told the surgery to remove a cancerous tumor that started a small red mark on her face had been successful.
Katie charted her skin cancer journey on Instagram and urged followers to be skin safe in the sun and check any suspicious skin marks and moles with a doctor.
The sisters appeared together on the ITV1 panel show Loose Women together to open up about Katie’s health battles.
