White Island volcano survivor Stephanie Browitt documents her facial burns recovery

White Island volcano survivor Stephanie Browitt has documented her difficult but amazing recovery from severe facial burns.

White Island volcano survivor Stephanie Browitt has shared a series of images of her facial burns sustained in the 2019 eruption, saying she was “petrified of being judged” by others.

Ms Browitt, 25, suffered third degree burns to close to 70 per cent of her body when the New Zealand volcano erupted on December 9, killing her father Paul and sister Krystal.

The Craigeburn family were on a cruise day trip to the popular tourist attraction when the volcano erupted, killing 22 people and injuring many others.

The first picture from March 2020 shows the extent Stephanie Browitt’s burns.

The progress by October 2020.

On Monday, Ms Browitt shared photos on social media of her extensive journey saying she was “nervous” about doing so.

She detailed medical treatments which included steroid injections, more than a dozen laser sessions and wearing a compression garment as much as possible.

“As much as I know and acknowledge how horrific and severe my body was burnt, it always felt a bit easier sharing those images then sharing pictures of my face,” she said online.

“Trying to have patience when it came to the recovery of the skin grafts on my face was awful because I never saw it getting better.

“I thought my face would stay the exact same way as the first time I ever saw it in hospital. I couldn’t see it improving over time and I felt defeated.

By October 2021 there were significant signs of improvement.

The compression mask Browitt wore on her recovery journey.

“Your face is the first thing people see and for that reason I was petrified of being judged.

“I was told that it would improve over time but I didn’t believe the professionals.”

Ms Browitt said after two-and-a-half years her face has improved “decently”.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be completely satisfied,” she said.

“Deep down I really miss how I used to look.

“I also understand that the scarring on my face will cause issues in the future, but I’m glad that I can appreciate and respect the healing of my skin and the work of my amazing surgeons.

“I’m not sure where I would be without them.

“Sometimes my scars went backwards and didn’t react how I hoped. But in the long run they’ve improved and that’s all I hoped for.”

Ms Browitt has amassed a huge following on social media since becoming a burns survivor, with 100,000 followers on Instagram, 1.4m on TikTok and close to 27,000 YouTube subscribers.