Originally published 2019-02-12. Dates, ages and announcements in this article refer to February 2019.
Mariana Mendes, a stylist's assistant from Juiz de Fora in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, was born with a large dark birthmark that covers part of her nose, her right eye and her right cheek. In early 2019, at 24, she shared a series of photographs showing her mark proudly, and her story spread widely online. Her message was simple: she likes the way she looks, and she has no plans to hide or remove the mark.
Her birthmark is a congenital melanocytic naevus (spelled nevus in American English), a cluster of pigment cells that forms before birth. As a small child she had laser treatment to lighten it, because her mother worried that she would be bullied. As an adult, Mariana chose to embrace it. She has said she feels more beautiful and totally different from other people because I have a nevus
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Strangers sometimes stare, and some have called the mark ugly or strange. Others assume it is make-up or a tattoo. Mariana says other people's opinions do not bother her: they are entitled to them, and she thinks the mark is beautiful. Below are her photos, with some background on what this kind of birthmark is and what doctors say about it.
Mariana's photos
Mariana poses outdoors in a grey sleeveless top and patterned shorts. The full-length shot shows how the birthmark sits around her right eye and across the bridge of her nose. She has described the mark as part of who she is rather than something to cover up.
This baby photograph shows the birthmark at the very start of her life. Congenital naevi are present at birth or appear within the first months, which is what "congenital" means. The pigment cells that form them gather during early development in the womb.
As a toddler in a fluffy pink bunny costume, Mariana already had the same distinctive mark. Around the age of five she underwent laser sessions to lighten it. Laser can fade such naevi, but it rarely removes the deeper pigment cells, and the mark often remains visible.
A close-up portrait shows the shape of the naevus in detail, spreading from the eyelid across the cheek and onto the nose. Seen this close, it is easy to understand why strangers sometimes mistake it for make-up or a tattoo.
Here she stands in front of a large graffiti mural. Street settings like this one appear in several of her photos and give the series a casual, everyday feel. The point is not a staged makeover but her ordinary life.
Looking down with trees behind her, Mariana shows the birthmark in soft natural light. Photographs like this one challenge the idea that a face needs to be symmetrical or blemish-free to be beautiful. They also show how much the mark is part of her expression.
In this selfie she wears red lipstick and a lace top, with no attempt to conceal the naevus. Many people with visible birthmarks spend years covering them with make-up, and some choose to keep doing so. Mariana's choice was to let it show.
On an evening street, dressed in black, Mariana poses beside a dog lying on the pavement. The mark is visible even at a distance. Mariana says people often ask her about it, and she does not mind explaining.
Wearing glasses and a green tank top, Mariana smiles into the camera. The frames sit over the mark rather than hiding it. It is a relaxed image that sums up the series: comfortable, confident and entirely herself.
What a congenital melanocytic naevus is
A congenital melanocytic naevus is a benign growth of melanocytes, the cells that make skin pigment. It forms when those cells multiply in one area during development in the womb, usually between the fifth and twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy. The result is a brown or black patch that grows in proportion to the child.
Doctors group them by the size they are expected to reach in adulthood. Small naevi (under 1.5 cm) are common, affecting about 1 in 100 newborns. Medium ones are seen in about 1 in 1,000 births. Giant naevi, larger than about 20 cm in adulthood, are rare, affecting roughly 1 in 20,000 babies. That last figure is sometimes quoted for all such birthmarks, but it applies only to the giant category. They occur in every ethnic group and in boys and girls equally.
Treatment, risks and monitoring
For most small and medium naevi, the risk of melanoma is very low, well under 1 percent. The risk is higher for giant naevi, especially those on the back or with many smaller "satellite" naevi, which is why specialists follow those children closely.
Treatment options depend on size and location. Small naevi can be surgically removed, often later in childhood, if they are hard to monitor or if the family prefers. Large ones may be too big to remove completely without grafts. Laser, dermabrasion and peels can lighten a naevus, but pigment cells often persist deeper in the skin, and partial treatment can make later monitoring harder. Many families decide to leave the mark alone.
Doctors usually suggest taking regular photographs with a ruler beside the naevus to track changes. Anyone who notices a birthmark changing in colour, size or texture, bleeding or itching should talk to a doctor or dermatologist.
Living with a visible difference
Medical guides recognise that large naevi on the face can bring anxiety and affect self-image, particularly in childhood and the teenage years. Teasing, staring and unsolicited advice are common experiences for people with visible differences. Some find that covering or removing the mark helps; others, like Mariana, find strength in owning it. Neither choice is wrong, and it belongs to the person who lives with the mark.
Her story became part of a wider movement in which people with birthmarks, vitiligo, scars and other visible differences share their photos online and push back against narrow beauty standards. She sums it up as accepting the mark because it's a part of who I am and how I learn to like myself
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Sources: Photos by and of Mariana Mendes, via her Instagram account; DermNet: Congenital melanocytic naevi.
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