.jpg){kind=logo}
My Vitiligo Story
From being told there’s no solution to achieving repigmentation
Peter
VitiligoShop Founder
I know very well how mentally challenging it is to live with vitiligo. That feeling when you wonder whether people are staring at your hands while you’re working at your computer. Or when you look in the mirror every morning, checking if the white patches have spread any further.
I also know the other side of it — the moment when the first small brown spots start appearing on your skin. That sense of relief, hope, and belief that things can actually improve, even when you had almost given up.
My story began in 2016, during a very difficult period in my life when I lost members of my family while also dealing with the stress of my final exams. The first white patches appeared on my fingers and in intimate areas, and within a few months they gradually spread to my knees and shins.
Like most people, I went to see dermatologists. The answer I received was far from encouraging:
“There’s nothing that can be done. You’ll have to learn to live with it — the vitiligo will continue to spread.”
I refused to accept that.
Searching for a solution
I spent countless hours researching, reading medical studies, and speaking to people in vitiligo forums from all over the world. I was determined to find someone who had managed to stop the spread of vitiligo and trigger repigmentation.
During this time, I changed my lifestyle, reduced stress, got back into sport, and tested various products on myself. In 2018, I finally managed to stop the progression of vitiligo through a combination of vitamins, antioxidants, and a healthier lifestyle including exercise, sauna, and cold exposure. However, repigmentation was much more difficult — it simply wasn’t happening.
The turning point came when I discovered a private Facebook group where an administrator shared his successful repigmentation story. That’s where I first came across the combination of Protopic and targeted UVB light therapy. This type of light can stimulate the production of new pigment in the skin.
Later, with the help of a UVB lamp and a two-week holiday in Mallorca, I managed to successfully repigment my legs (knees and shins).
After nearly three years, I finally achieved real results.
Today, I have successfully repigmented every affected area except my fingers. Fingers are notoriously the hardest part of the body to treat, and I no longer actively focus on repigmenting them. The most important victory for me is that my vitiligo has been completely dormant ("asleep") since 2018, and I am currently functioning in a maintenance mode.
As a preventative measure, I simply take one Vitistop tablet every three days and continue to stick to the healthy lifestyle and routines I established back in 2018.
You don’t have to figure it out alone
I’ve documented the exact steps, products, and routines that helped me achieve my repigmentation so you don't have to navigate this journey blindly.
See my exact treatment protocolFrom personal success to helping others
How VitiligoShop was born
My successful repigmentation completely changed my life. These results motivated me to create VitiligoShop (2019) — a place where I could share my treatment approach with the world. I wanted to show others that giving up too early isn’t the answer.
Gradually, more and more people began reaching out with their own results, confirming that a properly structured treatment approach truly works. As their success grew, so did VitiligoShop, which expanded into several countries across Europe.
In 2020, I was approached by Dr. Hönle, a German manufacturer of medical Dermalight devices, who offered a collaboration in the distribution and authorised servicing of UVB devices.
The creation of Vitistop Tablets (2021)
In 2021, I started asking myself whether it would be possible to develop a single product that could replace the many supplements I had been taking to stop the progression of vitiligo.
I approached the pharmaceutical company Greenpharm with this idea — and we made it happen. Together, we developed a single product containing all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants I had previously been taking separately.
The development of Vitistop Gel (2023)
Although UVB therapy was effective, I kept asking myself: Can this be improved and accelerated? Because the treatment itself takes time.
We spent two years developing Vitistop Gel — a product designed to enhance the effectiveness of phototherapy and reduce exposure time.
I tested the product on myself as well. Seeing successful repigmentation in sensitive areas within just three months showed me that our approach was the right one. During those 3 months, I also tried it on my fingers, but there was only a partial change. See below.
My partial repigmentation on fingers
Before
After
But do you know what's interesting? The brown spots formed exactly in the places where I have hairs on my thumb. This perfectly demonstrates the theory that new pigment arises either from the hair follicles (which act as pigment reservoirs) or from the surrounding healthy pigment cells.
This perfectly illustrates why dermatologists consider the fingers the most stubborn areas to treat. They have a very low density of hair follicles—which act as the primary 'reservoir' for new pigment cells—and naturally poorer microcirculation compared to the rest of the body.
A mission born from experience
What started as a personal search for my own healing eventually grew into a mission to help others. I never really planned to build a company. I just wanted to share what had finally worked for me.
Knowing that we're now helping people regain their pigment and their confidence is honestly the most rewarding part of this journey.
Wishing you the best,
Peter