Thuso Mbedu has poured her heart out in a heartfelt Instagram post where she recounts the years she spent not loving her skin color.

The actress’s days of being blind to her beauty are over as she appreciates her melanin. She has also taken it upon herself to encourage other women who are younger to love and appreciate their dark skin.

Thuso Mbedu is making her mark not only in SA but she is also making it big in the US, adding Emmy nominee to her profile and many other achievements.

She spent a good amount of time contemplating whether she should post the picture or not. In her eye-opening post, the picture she shared was taken three years ago, saying it was the first time she ever felt pretty wearing her dark skin.

“I came across this picture that was taken three years ago and the first thought that struck me was “This was the first time I felt pretty in my skin/complexion”. It wasn’t even about the makeup because, as you can see, we went a little left with that. I just absolutely loved the brown of my skin that day.

“For the first time, I, too, could be perceived as pretty ‘despite’ how dark I was. I have always been awkward and stiff and self-conscious in front of a still camera (and still am today) but after seeing that picture it was not as bad so this one image will always hold a special place in my heart,” she recalled.

The model reminisced about when her sister would constantly be told how beautiful she was and not her, as her sister was a bit lighter than her. She encouraged her followers to love their shade right now because she ha a lot of insecurities growing up.

” I hope that my younger followers will learn to love their own shade right now. My niece is the same skin tone as me and so I make it a point to tell her how beautiful she is every day and not because I am making up for anything but because she is beautiful. Nawe umuhle. You’re absolutely beautiful. Don’t let their silence convince you otherwise,” she encouraged.