People Told Her To Remove Her Birthmark, Today She's A Model

When Mariana Mendes was born in the early 1990s in Brazil, she was a sweet and healthy baby. However, a large birthmark covered parts of her face - some people, apparently conditioned by stereotypical beauty standards, told her to have it removed. Mariana neither took their advice, nor let people stop her from doing and achieving whatever she wanted to in life. Today, she works as a model despite - or because of - the birthmark on her face.

The birthmark didn't stay as small as it was at her birth - it continued to grow. Why did she decide against removing it?

Her Mother Wanted to Remove the Birthmark

Mariana's mother was very worried about her little girl. She didn't want her daughter to be bullied by schoolmates.

When Mariana was only 5 years old, her mother decided to have her birthmark removed. The young girl underwent laser treatments in an effort to lighten the growing birthmark. However, the results weren't quite what Mariana's mother expected:

The Birthmark Didn't Fade

The laser treatments Mariana's mother had arranged for merely lightened the birthmark, but didn't remove it altogether. Her mother then decided that Mariana should make the decision herself once she's old enough.

Mariana wanted to keep her birthmark and even used it to her advantage! She shows us that we don't need to look a certain way to be happy - whether that means no longer buying into the fearmongering of the diet industry or embracing a distinctive feature about ourselves we were taught to hide.

This is what she does for a living now:

She Grew up to Become an Inspiration to Others

Mariana definitely wants to keep her birthmark and chooses to embrace it. When people approach her on the street, she is happy to engage in a conversation about her facial feature.

By now, Mariana has established herself as a stylist and occasionally works as a model. She's repeatedly been photographed with other beautiful people who have an apparent "flaw". These kinds of pictures empower others to fully accept the way they look in a world that's constantly telling them that they're not okay the way they are. By the way, her Instagram bio tells us that she's "questioning beauty standards"!

She helps others to feel beautiful in their own skin:

For people who have a birthmark similar to hers, Mariana is both a role model and inspires them to be their authentic selves, despite societal pressures to blend in.

We're absolutely taken with the beautiful Mariana. She's beautiful from without and within and we love her way of challenging perceptions of "perfection".