Hey all!
I wasn't too bad when I had to shave my head and it's actually rather handy to be missing underarm and leg hair BUT the eyebrows............ladies it's traumatic my eyebrows are disappearing rapidly and I do not recognise myself in the mirror any more!!!! I am using make up to try and compensate at the min......any tips for products or processes that might help??????
Dxx
I had a wig with a long fringe but it made me sneeze and my eyes would water. You could use an eyebrow pencil. I have been doing that now and again lately as my eyebrows are sparse anyway. Maybe ask at the beauticians if you have one, I didnt at the time so it was a no no. Now I get a shape and tint the odd time. I have been to a feel good look good morning in Arc Cancer support House down here and the lady was showing us how to colour eyebrows in, I know you would use brown pencil rather than black.
Thanks Joan!
I am actually going to one of the look good feel better courses next week in Galway never thought that I could ask them at that! I was just freaking out a little bit this evening when I took a close look and realised how bare they were! !!! It's upsetting me more than I expected it would! !!
Anyway I will get used to it!!! No choice!!!
Good luck tomorrow again! !!
Dxx
The look good, feel better course will definitely show you how to do your eyebrows D. I found that the worst bit of losing my hair too. It takes away your face definition somehow. You should be given an eye brow pencil along with your other freebies. I had never used one before and it certainly helped knowing how to pencil on the correct shape and made a real difference.
Enjoy the day and all your freebies. 😀👍
Love M B. XXX
I was lucky in that mine only thinned but didn't fall out. I've been using a gel fiber thingie from Benefit, Gimme Brow - a bit expensive but amazing - I'm not sure that would work for you just yet but once you're done (so close!) it might be useful! In the meantime I echo what everyone else has said about Look Good Feel Better. They spent a lot of time on brows at the session I went to, and the transformations on some of the browless ladies was incredible. Seeing how happy people were to have brows again made me cry. Have fun at your session - you deserve a bit of pampering! xx
That is brilliant I only went to one recently, my hair did thin on Avastin and actually the eyebrows have done so as I looked at them since your post. Not that I would be impressing anyone at my age but you never know haha
I lost my eyebrows 2 weeks ago, along with my eyelashes... I'm still finding it quite upsetting.
The head hair was sad to loose, but your right, you still look like you with a shaved head. But once you loose your eyebrows and eyelashes, you don't look like you anymore.
I bought some fake stick on eyebrows, but haven't used them yet. Same with fake eyelashes.
I've just been using an eyebrow pencil to draw on my eyebrows at the moment.
I went out in the sun with the penciled eyebrows, and got a bit of a tan even though I had like 8 layers of sunscreen on... Only place I didn't tan was my eyebrows, so I now have a template for them built right in, lol.
I found that dark eyeliner on the waterline (inside bit of the eyelid) helps to disguise the lack of eyelashes... but it also smudges quite easily without the lashes, so it needs to be a really good water proof one.
Mine too and disappearing plus I shaved my hair on Sunday.. It is upsetting and I don't look like me.. I was glamorous before cancer and chemo and I will not celebrate the baldness. I've seen you buy templates from eyebrowz.com not tried them but probably will also seen on Facebook a photo of eyebrows but can't find the brand name or shop. I'll keep looking and may try them too (as long as they stay on!) and let you know. I don't have a steady hand and couldn't pencil them in to ensure they were even. I'd be interested how you get on with the make-up course. Have fun! Love Michelle xx
I am very fair so always had to pencil in my eyebrows and continued with an eye brow pencil from AVON which is very good. Started to use eyeliner to take away that 'white line' between lid and eye rim - I found a soft kohl pencil was best.
But finished chemo on 4th Jan and this week my eye lashes have appeared, I am so excited.
As a strange add on all the time going through chemo my nails were beautiful and grew at the rate when on holiday! But since the chemo has stopped they are back to being rubbish.
Good luck xx
Look good feel better showed us how to create more natural eyebrows by using brown eyeshadow.x
Hey,
For really good products here are two I use with eyebrows but when my mum lost hers she used them and still uses them now:
thebodyshop.co.uk/make-up/v...
or this one is good and cheaper:
boots.com/en/Collection-Eye...
You need a thin angled brush like this so you can get natural looking strokes so looks like hair. There are lots of videos on youtube.
beautybay.com/accessories/z...
I hope that helps xx
Hi all,
I and my new friend, who I met in hospital with similar diagnosis, start chemotherapy next week.
We are both wondering about make up - neither of us usually wear it, but know that we may need it, if we want to avoid scaring the neighbours and worrying the family! Why do we worry so much more about protecting others rather than ourselves????
We are going to sign up to the look good / feel good 2 hour class that our local centre provides, but the links and suggestions above are very welcome.
Thanks everyone.
V x
Hello Val,
I was the same I could count on both hands how many times I had worn make up before I was diagnosed, weddings mostly! I too started looking at it for the sake of others as I was afraid I would frighten people during the treatment. To be fair you do get very gray and peeky looking when you are having Chemo so the make up does work to make you feel better as well as helping others! I am going to the Look Good Feel Better course in Galway next Tuesday so looking forward to that!
There is a girl called Sarah Carty who has a blog called Survival With Style survival-with-style.com/ she is a 24 year old from Co Wicklow who was diagnosed with OC last year and has gone through the mill with Chemo. She was determined to " survive with style" and has loads of information on her blog about beauty products that she recommends from make up to cleansers and moisturizers! She an inspirational young woman and I have used some of her tips. Its worth a look I think!
All the best starting the Chemo next week I have my 5th cycle next week and looking forward to ticking another one off the list!
Onwards and Upwards!!
Dxx
Hi
I've still got a few eyebrow hairs left (not many) and the product called
Wunderbrow is fab. It gives texture and colour and is semi-permanent lasting up to 3 days. I got mine on Boots online, but bigger Boots sell it direct. Not cheap but will last you many months.
There is also a local beauty salon that does semi perm eyebrows which are safe for chemo patients. If I lose mine completely I'll try these and post how they look.
I went to see the Macmillan trained beautician at my local Boots. She was great giving me loads of make up tips and showed me how to apply false eyelashes. I was there an hour and was truly spoilt and encouraged. I felt a million dollars after it.
Have fun at the Look Good Feel Better too. I am going in March for the freebies and to meet others. X
Hi D, Yes the body hair is (in my view) a good thing to be rid of BUT the eyebrows going is not good with me it was my eyelashes! It's the growing back of it all that's annoying, very uncomfortable IMO. Does your hospital offer make-up 'classes'? I didn't take advantage of the ones at mine but know someone who did and it was a great help to her.
Very jealous re the Look Good, Feel Better day; I'm told you get a great goodie bag! When I was a baldie, I didn't bother about my lashes as I wear specs (well, that was my excuse), but did use a brow pen for my eyebrows, as I found it really difficult to keep a point on a pencil. I used GOSH from Superdrug: it cost about £6 when not on sale, gave my tiny realistic "hair strokes", and stayed on all day but came off with water. Maybe people were being kind, but everyone said they didn't realise I was penning my brows in.
The bald chemo time is not a great time of life, but I do hope you have fun experimenting with new looks. (If you go for a wig, maybe try a new colour. I am naturally a medium brown, and had great fun with a platinum grey and a red wig, bought online on sale.)
Hi D
I had my eyebrows tattooed. It was rather expensive but it was the best thing I ever did and lasts for ages. You need to go to someone who specialises in the proceedure. I was lucky and had them done at the local beauty parlour.
Good luck
Lynne
I find a powder is softer than a pencil and looks more nat. Marks and Spencer do an Eyebrow powder kit it includes a wax that you brush on first .You then apply the powder .There are three shades of brown in the kit. Its very easy once you get the hang of it.
I also found applying a brown khol line on the inside rims of my eyes made up for the lack of eyelashes.
Best of luck Georgie
The course will most definitely help you 'find' your eyebrow shape. Have a little practice now with an eyebrow pencil. Look straight in the mirror and find your brow bone, thats where you will be 'filling in'. I use powder and wax by NYX which I find to be the best. But have a look at this, although she uses a 'sealer' - good old fashioned Lipcote works just as well : youtube.com/watch?v=U4lajZW...
I hated losing my eyelashes more than brows. Hard to get any makeup right when you no longer have lash line to guide. I have had fun with it. Wont let it get me down. I have been round every large department store & beauty counter in my area. I tell them I need their professional advice (& that I have no budget for new makeup) and then I get tips, ideas, often a full makeover and sometimes free samples. We all get stuck in a rut with our makeup so use it as a positive excuse to rethink & you'll be surprised at the results. Good luck.
I forgot to mention, I find it really helpful to try and focus on features that don't change.
My cheekbones, my lips, my nose.. I find that it helps to ease off the "I don't recognize me in the mirror" thing.
Normally we look at eyes, which is why the lash/brow loss is so alarming. But I've found redirecting my focus really helps 
Hi, i got the most fabulous product called Cresty Eyebrow powder. It comes with an applicator and 3 masks, one thin, one natural and one thick. It works a treat and you have perfectly formed eyebrows every time and so natural looking. Much nicer than a thin eyebrow pencil line that I have seen some women without cancer sport! In fact I advised a friend whose daughter developed alopecia about 2 months prior to her wedding to get it, she did and her consultant was so impressed he took down the details of it to pass on to other young women. You can get it on line. Ann xo
I found the worse part after losing my eyebrows was figuring out where they should go when trying to pencil them in. They just never looked natural. After getting them back, I am thinking of getting them tatooed in lightly so if I ever lose them again, I will have a line to follow. I would recommend to have them tatooed in lightly to all those going into chemo. It's very had when they are all missing to find the right line to follow.
Years ago I had my eyebrows tattooed as I went grey (including eyebrows and eyelashes) very early in lie. However, I would not recommend it until the chemo is well and truly over, by which time they'll hopefully will have grown back again! I had horrible scabs which really look unsightly and pain for two or so days, which one can cope with if one's well but I don't think I'd like it right now. Ideally, you need two passes with it as well, although I didn't go back for the second one. Also, there's a danger of infection right now, which might not be a risk worth taking. In retrospect, I thought it had been a mistake to have it done, but given my circumstances now, it's turned out rather fortuitous.
Where I bought my wig, they had some eyebrows on sale. I only glanced at them and assume you glue them on, but when I go back to collect my replacement wig (courtesy of my cocker spaniel running away and chewing bits off the current one), I'll have a thorough look and enquire. Think there's a two-week wait for the wig though, but I'm guessing other shops sell them.
I know what you mean about it being handy not having the other body hair. I have about eight very stiff white hairs on my chin and I've not had to pluck them out since the chemo!
Helen
I Did not like having no eyebrows, my daughter bought me safaris brow pencil and stencel, ladies at jcpenneys taught me how to put on.Goodluck!
For me shaving my head was the most tramatic. It's easier to draw eyebrows on than getting use to a wig. I found that using an eyebrow pencil to 'draw' the line. I found a Maybelline brow power in a pencil that goes on really good. The trick is to not buy a color that is too dark, you don't need much to look good.
A pal bought me Fab Brows, you can buy in different shades and it comes with a variety of eyebrow stencils too, lots of different shapes to choose. There are similar products on the market too. x
I used Maybelline eyebrow powder pencil in blonde(not too over the top) still do as my eyebrows are not the same, even though the hair is better.
I think the look good feel better will do you the power of good, wish I'd gone,I've heard they are brilliant.
Good luck,
Carole xx
Try 'Benefit' eyebrow brush, it's brilliant! I have no eyebrows after third line chemo and have been using this for weeks. Very realistic X good luck X
Still feeling sick 😖
Hair is back, but too much!
Scan result-no shrinkage but surgery going ahead!
Hair today gone tomorrow !!!!!
