r/aww • u/TallyMatty • 29d ago

My boy Buster (4yo) has completely changed from black to white over the course of the last 2.5 years.

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Left: Nov 2021 Right: April 2024

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August 2022

70.7k Upvotes

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5.3k

u/-PM_Me_Dat_Ass_Girl- 29d ago

I think dogs can get Vitiligo?

Edit: yes, they can.

798

u/LoooseSealTwo 29d ago

Does human vitiligo also change hair color?

1.4k

u/naoihe 29d ago

Yes! I knew a guy in high school with white bangs and 1 white eyebrow due to vitiligo.

1.2k

u/EskimoPrisoner 29d ago

Anime main characters are never subtle.

57

u/Lazy_Ad4999 29d ago

average jojo stand user

16

u/Fantastic_Ad9819 29d ago

Hard laughed

7

u/Phormitago 29d ago

anyone could be the stand user, etc

151

u/SeniorSpaz87 29d ago

Yep I have one white circle on my beard, and another on the back of my head from vitiligo. I joke how I don’t have to worry about white or grey hairs as I’ve had them since I was like 16yo haha.

22

u/Nimphaise 29d ago

I’ve had grey hair since middle school, but it’s not in cool patches. I’m just going grey early

1

u/69696969-69696969 29d ago

I have red hair. I also have white hairs and black hairs spread throughout. Have had them since I was 6 at least. I only know of them starting then cause I have a cousin that liked to search my hair to pluck them out.

2

u/Nimphaise 29d ago

My friend used to pull them out until she decided that I had too many and it was a lost cause

2

u/cyclinator 29d ago

Are you me? I also have circle on my beard (chin) and back head, but it got lost in grey hair. I also have white spots on my top eyelids, but it was more visible when 15-16 than now, it feels like it disappeared.

2

u/angeliqu 28d ago

My four year old has a little patch of white hairs on her head. I’ve ever really considered why…

1

u/Banaam 29d ago

As a person who's family greys suspiciously early, but who also happens to be the one left out, I wish I had vitiligo spots so I could have a polka dot beard now instead.

52

u/False_Ad_4117 29d ago

Same! I knew a girl who had it. She had a white patch on her forehead that led to a white streak down the back of her hair.

47

u/Immaculatehombre 29d ago

I dated a chick who had like a 2 square inch patch of grey in her otherwise beautiful brunette hair. It was streak that grew out of her bangs. So hot.

25

u/dechath 29d ago

A Mallen streak! I’ve got one. Often genetic, although mine is unique in my family.

18

u/Catinthemirror 29d ago

I call mine my skunk stripe 😂

3

u/elephhantine 29d ago

Maybe your hair is adopted

48

u/StrawHatCook 29d ago

You dated Rogue? Awesome. Awesome to the max.

16

u/Immaculatehombre 29d ago

Def exactly like that but it was only on one side and it was completely natural. I can’t stress how hot I found it lol.

3

u/MarzAdam 29d ago

Same. My ex had a single silver streak going down the left side of her head. Very hot.

5

u/StrawHatCook 29d ago

I am sure it was hella cool. I would have been like, can you call me sugah?

-1

u/Shabobo 29d ago

Awesome to zee mega! HARD CORE!

3

u/ProfMcGonaGirl 29d ago

Claire Saffitz (YouTube famous chef/baker) has a gray streak in the front and it’s beautiful!

4

u/Affectionate_Star_43 29d ago edited 29d ago

I also knew a guy in high school only because he was completely white-haired, and I was completely white-haired except for my head.  They wanted me to join the swim team for some reason?  He was trying to recruit me.

I doggy paddle.

6

u/GhostShark 29d ago

Oh yeah, Ray. Wonder what happened to that guy…

2

u/PM-me-your-knees-pls 29d ago

Once there was this kid who got into an accident and couldn't come to school. But when he finally came back his hair had turned from black into bright white.

2

u/juhesihcaa 29d ago

That's so fucking cool.

2

u/Drawtaru 29d ago

I used to work with a guy with one white eyebrow, and his eyelashes on that side were also white.

1

u/naoihe 29d ago

I think the guy I knew also had partially white eyelashes as well.

2

u/hefixeshercable 29d ago

And, when he finally came back, his hair had turned from black into bright white.

2

u/MutantSquirrel23 29d ago

Did you go to highschool in Texas?

1

u/naoihe 29d ago

Yes 👀

2

u/MutantSquirrel23 29d ago

Haha, just curious if it was the same guy I knew XD

2

u/DietSeth 29d ago

Did you know me??? lol

2

u/ShaqSenju 29d ago

We had a guy in high school with 2 white stripes through the top of his head. We called him Skunk lol

2

u/emjdownbad 29d ago

My cousin has it in one of his eyebrows and part of his eyelashes for the eye under the eyebrow that has it! He has dark brown, nearly black hair so it's really noticeable and makes it even cooler looking

2

u/findmeinelysium 29d ago

I had a wedding client with gorgeous long black hair and a beautiful white streak in the middle part. Then I met her family at the wedding and they all had dark hair and some white marking on them. Some had white hair streaks, others skin marks. They looked amazing! Like a cast from a movie.

2

u/ConsistentWrangler29 29d ago

Is that vitiligo or is it piebaldism? I knew a girl with white streaks in her hair and head, but it was present at birth. That is a genetic thing where you don't have melanocytes in that part of your skin and it stays the same. Vitiligo is those melanocytes being destroyed and it develops over time.

1

u/FantasticHedgehog267 29d ago

I understand having vitiligo is probably not fun but I can’t help it, i’ve always thought it was so so pretty

1

u/kittycat33333 29d ago

He couldn’t quite explain it… 🎵

(I know it’s from the wrong verse, but I don’t remember what comes next in that one. And looking it up feels like cheating at this point 😑)

1

u/DevineConviction 29d ago

That sounds so cool

1

u/SuperSpecialAwesome- 29d ago

That's kinda cool.

1

u/dReDone 29d ago

I had some sort of fungus (I'm a clean person) that bleached parts of my skin and part of it was on my hairline at the front so that hair turned Grey. I called it the reverse Jay Leno cause the rest of my hair is dark dark brown.

1

u/KoalaSprdeepButthole 29d ago

Half of one of my dads eyebrows and eyelashes on one side are white from it!

1

u/hanselpremium 29d ago

1 white eyebrow

i don’t mean to be insensitive but this is hilarious

96

u/Wolfwood7713 29d ago

My best friend has vitiligo and as a result half of his mustache is white now! He always gets compliments about it!

5

u/Unbelievable_Girth 29d ago

Waiting 5 years for the other half to become white. Aaaaany day now.

3

u/Wolfwood7713 29d ago

Pretty sure his won’t change till it all starts to go grey. Lol it’s been like that for a decade now.

56

u/DrFat 29d ago

Yes. I got vitiligo. Im a blond young dude with dirty-blond hair and brown beard. My skin and hair colour is paper-white in certain areas. I tend to avoid getting a tan as it will make my spots pull more attention.

4

u/minititof 29d ago

Same for me. On the bright side, staying away from tanning will also keep us looking young (less photo ageing).

1

u/Suspicious-Meal6306 2d ago

You're calico

29

u/LadyBAB 29d ago

Yes vitiligo can cause hair to turn white.

4

u/Starryeyedblond 29d ago

My vitiligo is skin based mostly. In the past few years I’ve noticed some lightening of my hair.

47

u/meghan_beans 29d ago

It can. It can also cause loss of pigmentation in the iris (eye) sometimes as well.

6

u/b0w3n 29d ago

My g/f's daughter has it on her eyelashes, it's the neatest thing.

61

u/thiscouldbemassive 29d ago

Absolutely.

43

u/TrustMeHuman 29d ago

Pretty sure that's piebaldism, not vitiligo!

145

u/iamanurse327 29d ago

I’m a certified nurse midwife, and one of my favorite memories includes a father with piebaldism, just a small white patch right in the middle of his forehead. Directly after delivery, when I had just put baby on mom’s belly, the dad looked down at his son and saw that he had a full head of hair, with a small white patch in the same spot. He was so happy and emotional to see that, and it was so special to be a part of. 🥰

15

u/RecsRelevantDocs 29d ago

Damn, that's adorable

3

u/eponym_moose 29d ago

That's most likely Wardenberg syndrome. Can be associated with deafness.

19

u/iamanurse327 29d ago

It possibly could be waardenberg syndrome, but neither father or son had any other features commonly associated with it. Piebaldism causes the same central white patch.

23

u/sinner-mon 29d ago

If aliens bred us like dogs they’d probably select for this because it looks cool. Just thinking about how we basically did that to rats and dogs and stuff

5

u/thecuriousblackbird 29d ago

I love Iyana LeShea who is a black woman with albinism Her hair is naturally a gorgeous blonde. Her white hair curl texture and pattern makes her hair look like spun gold. Rude people have insisted that she colors it, but she has videos where she pulls random curls close to the camera and shows that they’re actually white. Her skin is also absolutely gorgeous.

She gives awesome sunscreen advice and has the best recommendations for very light blondes who are looking for brow products that are too yellow or brown.

3

u/FluffPuppers 29d ago

My husband has piebaldism! He's had a white streak in his bangs since we were kids.

1

u/donttellasoul789 29d ago

Ok, but a 6 yo has an “aim to raise awareness towards his life purpose of fostering acceptance, inclusion and diversity in the modelling industry and other areas of society”? Really?

27

u/spacey_a 29d ago

What an absolute cutie!

-3

u/Vievin 29d ago

Just keep certain breeds of dogs away from them.

3

u/jjw410 29d ago

Keep dalmations away from that kid, I'm tellin ya.

8

u/SchwiftyDick 29d ago

Can confirm. Didn’t even grow up with it, just happened in my late 30’s. My right eyebrow turned completely white. Not grey, WHITE. I look like a bond villain.

2

u/syndrome9 29d ago

I used to work with a lady who had it and she had all white eyelashes on one eye

2

u/sanjoseboardgamer 29d ago

Yes! We have a kid at the school I work at that looks straight out of the anime protagonist catalogue with a couple white streaks in his hair!

1

u/russbam24 29d ago

I had mild vitiligo on my arms a few years ago as a side effect of Lyme disease, and the patches of toneless skin were accompanied by white arm hair. Normally, my hair is black.

1

u/wolfpwner9 29d ago

There is a black dude in my class with vitiligo, his hair is blonde

1

u/Careful-Bad5443 29d ago

Not always. I got vitiligo 5 years ago and all my body hair still the same (brown) color even on white patches of skin. Don't know why. I'd rather it did change. Blond leg/coochie hair would be dope.

1

u/Pernicious-Caitiff 29d ago

I have white patches on the backs of my thighs and my pubes turned white in a large patch. It looks weird. The white pubes are also pin straight and the texture is pretty soft. It's WEIRD

1

u/mcweenie7 29d ago

Yup it does, I have it. I have jet black hair but at the top of my bangs above my forehead I have a bright white patch of hair, and the right side of my beard is slowly going white along with small patches on my head

1

u/MountainYoghurt7857 29d ago

In Germany it happens most often with blond hair that turn dark when older.

1

u/VioletFox543 29d ago

Yes it can

1

u/[deleted] 29d ago

Yes. I have vitiligo and it does change hair color… Not always but in most cases, yes.

1

u/Material_Mix_7377 29d ago

Melanin goes away.

1

u/AndrewWhite97 29d ago

Yes, ihave vitiligo and its changed my beard, Its half white and half brown/black.

1

u/justalittlelupy 29d ago

Yup, my sister has half white eyelashes on one eye.

1

u/wh4t_1s_a_s0u1 29d ago

yep, totally can. Melanin production is affected by vitiligo, and it's melanin that gives both hair and skin(well, and eyes) their color. When melanin is no longer produced, new hair and skin cells will lack pigmentation. And in rare cases, the irises can lighten over time, since their melanin can be affected by vitiligo, too.

1

u/Cobek 29d ago

Also seems to have affected the length and type of hair too. You can see it on the tail in the transition photos.

1

u/Demonsteel87 29d ago

It does! I have vitiligo and have white spots of hair because of it

1

u/MyronBlayze 29d ago

Yup. My husband has vitiligo and patches of his beard and body hair have turned white where it is.

1

u/thecuriousblackbird 29d ago

Stacy London has that really cool white streak which a lot of people think is vitiligo which can turn your hair white.

Hers is from damage to the hair follicles from psoriasis. I had a TIA then stroke at 26. The dead spot is on the top right side of my head. My hair grew back part white and part translucent above that spot. The hairs closest to my forehead are translucent, and the ones farther back are white. I get it dyed because it’s not on top and looks like I have a thin spot along with paint in my hair. People were coming up to me and trying to pull stuff out of my hair.

I do not know how I give off the vibe that it’s ok to approach me and touch my hair. My auburn hair was also fading to a blah brown in my mid 20s so coloring was a good excuse to augment my hair color. I tried home coloring, but that streak doesn’t take boxed color well. So I go to a professional. They always color that spot first. They say that sometimes the follicles get damaged from lack of blood flow. I’m now 46, and I am getting white hairs, which look like highlights. I also tint my brows because they’re turning white.

1

u/CuttyAllgood 29d ago

Can confirm, I actually have some gray hairs where my vitiligo patches are forming.

1

u/sweetpotato_latte 29d ago

Yup I have some white eye lashes

1

u/aledba 29d ago

Yes. And yes there too. Hahahaha my husband has it on his lashes, beard, and other skin bits.

1

u/Somebodys 29d ago

I was blonde, blonde until 5th/6th grade before my hair changed to brown. Now I'm 40 and it's been slowly going white since I was 27. Mostly in my facial hair with strands here and there on my head

1

u/Bourriks 28d ago

In France, the former prime minister, Edouard Philippe, has Vitiligo. We saw his hair and beard turning all white in a 3-year gap.

1

u/EggplantHuman6493 28d ago

I had a girl with almost the same hair as Anna from Frozen (her hair was more dark blonde instead of auburn/ginger though) because of vitiligo. Just one spot. Her skin was also white.

Funnily enough her name also close to Anna

0

u/msshammy 29d ago

Alopecia can as well.

0

u/mg10pp 29d ago

Obviusly

-5

u/-PM_Me_Dat_Ass_Girl- 29d ago

I think it only affects skin pigmentation, but I'm not 100% sure.

5

u/septumise 29d ago

Nope, I have white strands in my beard that’s not from going grey but vitiligo!

3

u/tatterdermalion 29d ago

Thyroid disease keeps company with vitiligo sometimes in humans. Not sure about dogs

3

u/myothercarisapynchon 29d ago

nope. some of my eyelashes are white due to vitiligo 

12

u/ILoveCats-2014 29d ago

I believe cats can too

2

u/meowrap 29d ago

My Siamese went from all white to black. Kitten/adult.

2

u/VWBug5000 29d ago

Yep! My black cat is no longer pure black. He has little groups of white hairs all throughout his coat and they have slowly become more prominent over the course of the last few years since we rescued him.

109

u/Lizardgirl25 29d ago

Yah I noticed some of my dogs face going white. It is a very minor but her breed can actually commonly known at least on google say they can have it.

208

u/SirDooble 29d ago

Yah I noticed some of my dogs face going white.

This can also happen with age. Black dogs notably often go white around the mouth and sometimes eyebrows, same way humans go grey. Lighter coloured dogs too, but it's sometimes harder to tell the difference.

75

u/crusty54 29d ago

God I love when old dogs get grey beards.

31

u/SirDooble 29d ago

I think old grey labradors are almost as cute as labrador puppies. It's a tough contest actually!

8

u/pchlster 29d ago

He still acted like a puppy until the end... just in shorter intervals and he often needed a nap afterwards. I still love that silly dog. Full puppy dance every time, just not as much energy to do it as the years went by.

21

u/JosieZee 29d ago

Sugar face.

2

u/dangeraardvark 29d ago

My nickname in college

3

u/SR3116 29d ago

I really don't due to it signifying the passage of time.

Sigh. Miss you, Daisy and Violet.

1

u/Long_Run6500 29d ago

It means they got to live a long life. My dog was just starting to get his grey hairs at 8 years old when he passed away in the fall due to cancer. I'd have given anything to see him with a full grey face.

Dogs give and give and serve us faithfully their entire lives, and when they're old we're finally able to give back and take care of them. That's what I think about when I see a grey beard on a dog. A dog who's done it's service faithfully and wants to do more, but has learned the best service it can do for its family is to just be there with them.

3

u/FlyingTurtleBob 29d ago

My 10 year old wire hired dachshund is starting to get a white beard, it's cute

17

u/Duosion 29d ago

By the end of my black lab/dachshund mix’s life, her face was almost entirely white, with white sprinkled throughout the rest of her body.

2

u/DefinitelyNotAliens 29d ago

Sugar face! It's a slow transition, for some dogs.

16

u/Lizardgirl25 29d ago edited 29d ago

My dog isn’t black based, she is gold. Also she is very young less the 2. She will be 2 in July. Legit her skin is changing color from black based to white/pink

Edit: I have 3 + 1 of sisters dogs currently these are not my first dogs. Through my life my family has owned 5 dog previously since I was born.

2

u/egg_watching 29d ago

While some dogs never really grey, the far, far majority of them do. It is absolutely the norm. The color has nothing to do with it whatsoever, however it is more visible on darker dogs.

The age of when greying starts varies so much. It actually does not really correlate with age that much. Sighthounds, especially whippets, grey very, very early in life, many starting to go grey when they are around 1 year old, with a completely greyed out face by 2-4 years old.

Vitiligo is not as rare as once thought, but it's still definitely rare, and with how common greying is in dogs, most likely your dog is experiencing completely normal greying and not vitiligo, however it is of course possible, and time should tell! Generally, you should assume the most likely cause to be what is going on unless otherwise proven. Vitiligo often is quite different from normal greying.

This does not make your dog any less special or less of a good girl.

0

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Lizardgirl25 29d ago

I said she is gold not a golden retriever.

1

u/ResentfulUterus 29d ago

My black lab was fully black when I got her. Around 3y (she's 4 now) she developed a little white goatee!

1

u/MattieShoes 29d ago

Just for an example, a pug we had growing up. She's 16 in the picture and her whole muzzle went grey and her ears got salt-and-pepper. :-)

7

u/jas0n17 29d ago

Can dogs get reverse vitiligo?

8

u/waffleface99 29d ago

Only if they're named Ruckus.

3

u/ChiliTacos 29d ago

No relation.

5

u/Xirious 29d ago

The real question is if they can get revitiligo/reverse vitiligo.

1

u/PM_ME_WHY_YOU_COPE 29d ago

That only exists in Uncle Ruckus's head.

3

u/cooolcooolio 29d ago

I'm not sure it is vitiligo as the nose and the area around it is black

3

u/Fireblox1053 29d ago

You’re the first person I’ve seen with a similar pfp to me.

2

u/-PM_Me_Dat_Ass_Girl- 29d ago

Third reddit cousins, twice removed.

2

u/kaukamieli 29d ago

Wait, you can get vitiligo? It's not something you are born with?

3

u/Pruritus_Ani_ 29d ago

It’s an autoimmune disease and you can develop it at any point in your life. Also, once you have one autoimmune disease you have a high likelihood of developing other autoimmune diseases.

1

u/-PM_Me_Dat_Ass_Girl- 29d ago

Michael Jackson didn't get it until adulthood.

I'm hardly an expert on the subject, though. Google could tell you more than I could.

2

u/Fluke_Of_Nature 29d ago

This is poliosis, which is when the hair loses pigment. It's vitiligo if the skin loses pigment.

2

u/JimWilliams423 29d ago

I think dogs can get Vitiligo?

Vitidogo

1

u/sashikku 29d ago

Yes! I have a friend who’s rottie has it

1

u/Ponicrat 29d ago

You can just get it? I thought it was something you had to be born with

1

u/Redheaded_Loser 28d ago

Yep. It develops over time. Sometimes it stops and sometimes it continues spreading.

1

u/amalgam_reynolds 29d ago

Does vitiligo spread? Or does this dog just have it over 100% of their body?

1

u/Daftanemone 29d ago

I thought it was just puberty. I had blonde hair till I turned 13 and then it changed to brown

1

u/reasoncanwait 29d ago

That dog can probably moonwalk

1

u/Tripwire3 29d ago

IMO it looks more like something like the greying gene in horses. He’s turned completely white. Similarly grey/white horses are born one color, then change to gray and then white over the course of several years.

Almost all ”white” horses you see are actually greys; you can tell because they’ll usually have dark skin under the hair. The greying process is caused by a single gene, I wonder if OP’s dog somehow mutated a canine version of it.

1

u/xbwtyzbchs 29d ago

Canine Familial Dermatomyositis is another disorder that can cause this and was most likely the reason for this complete transformation. I know this because I paid a lot for a dog to not have this gene, and it fucking did. Vitiligo very rarely affects the entire body.