Appear+
Your Pocket Companion for Appearance Confidence & Psychosocial Well-Being
Your Pocket Companion for Appearance Confidence & Psychosocial Well-Being
A psychosocial, appearance-centered digital companion for people living with skin conditions, visible differences, scars, burns, and appearance-related stigma.
Appear+ Is More Than an App
Appear+ is Africa’s first psychosocial, appearance-centred digital companion for people living with skin conditions, visible differences, including scars, burns, and appearance-related challenges.
It is more than an app.
It is a response to silence.
Built by people who have lived the pain of being stared at, judged, pitied, prayed over, excluded, or reduced to their appearance, Appear+ exists to support people emotionally, socially, and mentally, not to “fix” them, but to restore dignity, voice, and confidence.
Appear+ is not about beauty standards.
It is about survival, belonging, and truth.
In many African societies, appearance-related differences are misunderstood, spiritualised, medicalised, mocked, or dismissed.
We are told:
“Pray harder.”
“Cover it.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“At least you’re alive.”
But it is serious.
It is serious when you are passed over for a job.
When a child stares, and an adult laughs.
When you stop showing up in mirrors, in rooms, in life.
Appear+ was born from those moments.
From the 2 a.m. nights when stigma speaks louder than reassurance.
From lived experience, not theory.
This is our digital answer to a real-world problem:
A tool. A shield. A community. A voice.
Appear+ is not a generic mental health platform.
It is not a beauty app.
And it is not built from theory.
It is appearance-centred, addressing the emotional, social, and mental impacts of being treated because of how people look.
While many well-being tools focus on symptoms, Appear+ begins with lived experience.
Appearance stigma is not abstract.
It shows up in classrooms, workplaces, religious spaces, hospitals, families, relationships, and public life.
Appear+ is built on:
Lived experience leadership
Trauma-informed, culturally grounded design
African realities
Ethical, safety-first AI
Community-first care, not extraction
We do not ask people to “fix themselves.”
We build tools that help people reclaim dignity, confidence, and voice, while challenging the systems that cause harm.
That is what makes this work different.
And that is why it matters.
What Appear+ Offers
Appear+ combines technology, lived experience, and psychosocial care to support people navigating appearance stigma.
AI-powered AudioBot and ChatBot offering culturally grounded, stigma-free psychosocisl support, 24/7.
Track real appearance-triggered experiences and their emotional impact.
Reflective tools to reclaim and own your appearance journey.
Confidential reporting to turn silent harm into visible advocacy data.
Appearance-Positive Learning Labs
E-learning, Practical workshops for confidence, resilience, and leadership.
Creative Patient Empowerment
Storytelling, edutainment, and joy-centered expression.
TAP Safe Haven
A moderated community space rooted in empathy, not performance.
Who Appear+ Is For
If you have ever been judged, stared at, excluded, or misunderstood because of how you look, Appear+ is for you.
From vitiligo, psoriasis, eczema, lupus, alopecia, ichthyosis, scleroderma, acne, scars, burns, and other skin conditions and visible differences, you are not alone.
Here, you don’t have to shrink to fit in.
You rise, supported.
Community Voices
These voices helped shape Appear+.
What you see here reflects lived experiences, shared courage, and moments of truth.
More stories are being gathered as we rebuild, because this community is still growing, and the journey continues.