A model revealed her rare skin condition in a moving post about self-love

Instagram/Breanne Rice

Model Breanna Rice hid her skin condition for years.

For years, Breanne Rice made a living as a model- so when she was diagnosed with a rare skin condition, she did everything possible to cover it up. Now, she's finally decided to come clean, TODAY reports. 

Rice, 31, recently revealed on Instagram that she was diagnosed with vitiligo, an autoimmune disease that attacks the skin's pigment-producing cells, when she was 19. She quickly learned to hide the condition with expert makeup application.  

"I got really good at doing my makeup, and I didn't want anyone to know about it," Rice wrote on Instagram. "It's taken me a very long time to be able to go public with this, and to walk around publicly without any makeup...Although I would like to say I am super confident and it never gets to me, sometimes it does."

Here's what she looks like with makeup on: 

 And here's the emotional makeup-free post she shared with her followers:

But since the initial diagnosis, Rice, who's now a holistic nutritionist, has learned to own her condition. She hopes her story can inspire other women to embrace the qualities that make them feel insecure.

"There's not much I can do about it. I can only love myself, and not let my circumstances define my value or self-worth," she wrote. Perhaps you have a circumstance or something about yourself that you are insecure about. Don't let it define you. You deserve love, and you are beautiful."