Appear+ (Appear Positive) is a digital well-being companion for Africans living with skin conditions, visible differences, and appearance-related challenges.
Whatever your journey, psoriasis, vitiligo, scars, eczema, burns, alopecia, acne… or being made to feel “not enough”, Appear+ helps you feel seen, supported, and strong.
But we’re not here to hand out empty “love yourself” slogans.
We offer real tools grounded in lived experience to support emotional & mental healing, appearance confidence, and social resilience.
Because this isn’t just self-care.
This is survival.
We exist because too many of us have been told:
“Pray harder.” “Cover it.” “You’ll get used to it.”
“It’s not that serious.” “Be grateful for life.”
But it is.
It’s serious when you’re passed over for a job.
It’s serious when a child stares and an adult laughs.
It’s serious when you stop showing up, in mirrors, in rooms, in life.
Appear+ was born from those silences.
From the 2 AM moments when stigma screams louder than words.
We’ve lived the pain, and we built the response.
This is our digital answer to a real-world problem:
A tool. A shield. A community. A voice.
From West Africa to East Africa, Central to Southern Africa, and everywhere in between, we are not waiting to be included. We are building what we never had.
Here at Appear+, we provide all the empowering tools and features listed below, as well as those still to come.
This isn’t just about inclusion. It’s a revolution in visibility, voice, and validation.
We are building this for you.
Your 24/7 pocket ally.
Real-time, AI-powered support when appearance stigma hurts.
Listens at 2 AM. No judgment. No fake “be strong.” Just authentic understanding. Compassionate Support. Healthy Discussions.
Not another generic app.
This is the first platform for the shared social, emotional, and mental pain of scars, burns, skin conditions, and visible differences, not just one diagnosis.
We bring you:
Real Community of people who live it too & Story Space
You don’t need to explain your pain here. You can simply share. Or listen.
Anonymously report appearance-based discrimination to spark systemic change and influence policy across Africa.
Track not just your mood, but the experiences that triggered it—focused on lived experience, not labels.
Reclaim your identity through personal expression and reflective storytelling exercises.
A truly supportive community space, no toxic positivity, just real, honest connection.
Appear+ is growing. And we’re building it with you. Beyond the MVP, we’re working on powerful, community-built tools that redefine care:
Real-Time AI + Human Support. 24/7 culturally grounded, stigma-free guidance, counselling, and support—especially when the world feels too harsh.
Edutainment, memes, and storytelling designed to spark joy, build agency, and support informed decision-making.
Empowerment workshops for healing, advocacy, and psychosocial resilience—practical, actionable, and transformative.
Social defense. Emotional first aid. Mental firewalls. All survivor-built, community-tested.
Every look, every whisper, every opportunity lost because of your appearance (every appearance discrimination, appearance stigma…), it’s real. And it matters. The Lookism Tracker lets you document these experiences anonymously, helping us gather data to push for policies and cultural change.
BETA TESTER
Become a pioneer voice shaping the future of inclusive well-being. By testing our tools or sharing your story, you’re not just participating, you’re building the solution.
Help shape the features. Share your truth. Guide what works.
Become a Beta Tester
Your experience matters. Tell us how your appearance journey has shaped your life. Every story helps create a kinder, stronger community.
Is Appear+ for You?
If you’ve ever been judged, stared at, or misunderstood because of how you look, Appear+ is for you.
From vitiligo, psoriasis, eczema, lupus, ichthyosis, and alopecia to scars, burns, or skin conditions, visible differences, appearance-related challenges you’re not alone. You’re seen here.
But here, you don’t have to shrink to fit in. You rise, supported.
This is an appearance-affirming transformation designed for African realities, guided by science, rooted in lived experience, and shaped by the soul.
Globally, over 2 billion people live with visible differences. In Africa, silence is the loudest:
84% have experienced isolation
60% have had suicidal thoughts
1 in 4 will face chronic mental health issues (Source: GlobalSkin, Changing Faces 2022)
But silence has been broken. In May 2025, the 78th World Health Assembly, a global resolution, finally acknowledged what we’ve always known:
“Skin conditions are not cosmetic.
They’re deeply connected to stigma, trauma, and systemic social exclusion.”
Officially recognised skin conditions as a global public health and psychosocial issue.
We’re no longer waiting to be seen; we’re building what we’ve never had.
Appear+ is Africa’s local answer to that global call.
Built From the Skin In
At 14, a bangle left a blister that told me my skin wasn’t safe in the world, and thus the journey started. At 21, a beauty product cracked my face, and something inside me. Shame was passed off as advice.
Nine years later, when Vitiligo came unannounced, so did stares, the pity, the unsolicited cures, and the prayer suggestions. Some meant well. Most missed the point. I became a lesson, a warning, or a curiosity, anything but a person.
But over time, I stopped hiding. I started walking. First alone. Then with others. Today, Appear+ exists so no one else has to walk alone.
It’s not just an app. It’s a home for appearance confidence, psychosocial (social, emotional, and mental) well-being, and practical care.
— Ogo Maduewesi, Founder
Get Early Access:
👉🏾Join the Appear+ Waitlist
Be the first to access the app and community.
👉🏾Be a Beta Tester
Help shape the features. Share your truth. Guide what works.
👉🏾Partner/Collaborate With Us
“Skin stigma steals futures. Your partnership builds them back.”
Are you an organisation, corporate institution, therapist, creative, or health system ready to create impact with us?
"Preference any astonished unreserved mrs. Prosperous understood middletons in conviction an uncommonly do. Supposing so be resolving breakfast am or perfectly. Is drew am hill from mr. Valley by oh twenty direct me so. Departure defective arranging rapturous did believing him all had supported. Family months lasted simple set nature vulgar him. Picture for attempt joy excited ten carried manners talking how."
"Preference any astonished unreserved mrs. Prosperous understood middletons in conviction an uncommonly do. Supposing so be resolving breakfast am or perfectly. Is drew am hill from mr. Valley by oh twenty direct me so. Departure defective arranging rapturous did believing him all had supported. Family months lasted simple set nature vulgar him. Picture for attempt joy excited ten carried manners talking how."
"Preference any astonished unreserved mrs. Prosperous understood middletons in conviction an uncommonly do. Supposing so be resolving breakfast am or perfectly. Is drew am hill from mr. Valley by oh twenty direct me so. Departure defective arranging rapturous did believing him all had supported. Family months lasted simple set nature vulgar him. Picture for attempt joy excited ten carried manners talking how."
"Preference any astonished unreserved mrs. Prosperous understood middletons in conviction an uncommonly do. Supposing so be resolving breakfast am or perfectly. Is drew am hill from mr. Valley by oh twenty direct me so. Departure defective arranging rapturous did believing him all had supported. Family months lasted simple set nature vulgar him. Picture for attempt joy excited ten carried manners talking how."
Appear+ is a compassionate psychosocial tech solution and digital companion for individuals with skin conditions, visible differences, and appearance-related challenges/anxieties. It is the flagship initiative of The Appearance Positive (TAP), formerly SKAPH, a purpose-driven social enterprise that blends innovation, arts, impact storytelling, education, and social impact entertainment with empathy to foster appearance confidence, inclusion, and well-being.
Disclaimer:
Appear+ is a support platform and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
© 2025 design and developed by : Xyron Technolgies
