Sylvia Mac had a life-changing accident when she was just two years old. Left with burn scars across her body, she spent the next 45 years covering up, dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts.
But then one moment changed her outlook, she told MyLondon : “There was one day about five years ago when we were at the pool and I noticed some guy trying to take a photo or video of me and my scars. I felt awful and I was ranting to my mum about it.
"I walked down to the water and I saw my mum's head hanging low and I could tell that it wasn’t just affecting me but had affected her as well and I decided enough is enough, I’m going to live my life and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
Sylvia's accident happened when her mother had put a bowl of boiling water on the floor in the bathroom because they kept having power cuts. When Sylvia was playing hide and seek with her sister she hid behind the bathroom door not realising the water that was there. When the door was pushed open Sylvia fell backwards into the water leaving her with third and fourth degree burns.
“I can’t remember the accident itself but I do remember constant hospital visits and being wrapped in bandages from neck down to my feet. I almost ended up losing my life and I have a really supportive family but when I reached my teenage years things just went downhill. I had severe depression and suicidal thoughts," she said.
When she started going swimming she experienced bullying from other children and even into adulthood would lock herself away in her room and cry constantly despite living with her scars for years.
“I’d been burnt from a very young age and been living with it for a very long time and I tried to find some sort of support group but I couldn’t really find that much out there that directly related to what I had been through or had similar scarring to me. Especially like in the media, you only ever see people with scarring on their faces and they’re usually the baddies.”
After Sylvia’s epiphany on holiday, she decided to set up Love Disfigure, a network to help raise awareness and show support for those living with a disfigurement. She now embraces her scars and loves showing them off.
When she was 20 years old she was scouted by a modelling agency, but when they saw her scars they changed their minds. Sylvia found the negative response heart-breaking at the time, but this and last year she walked in London Fashion Week.
She’s also won three awards, including one from Theresa May and Woman of Year. Sylvia’s latest campaign is #ShowMySkin, which is asking Instagram to not censor photos of scarring and instead allow them to be celebrated to promote more diversity in the media.
“It’s ok to be you. There are so many great support networks and groups now that you can connect with and talk with and go out," Sylvia said.
"Don’t ever worry about what other people think of you. Having a scar shouldn’t change the person that you are. It’s really what comes from within. It’s what is in your heart and mind that is important."
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