Eyelashes make-up & ideas

Eyelashes make-up & ideas

Mascara

Naturally, it is a personal choice if you choose to wear mascara or not but in our vast experience, women who carried on using their mascara felt better about their appearance than those who didn’t. Additionally, there are some great mascara’s that can help to enhance thin lashes during hair loss and help to fill out and elongate new lash growth.

Many women ask us if it is okay to wear mascara during chemotherapy treatment, as they are worried that pulling the mascara wand through the lashes will make the lash fall out. It can be helpful to understand that if the lash is going to fall out as a side effect to chemotherapy it will come out at one time or another.

If it is loose then a mascara wand may ease it out but remember this lash will fall out and it is not because you are using mascara. It is due to the side effect of treatment.

However, many women really worry that using mascara will pull out any existing lashes that may have stayed intact and at Cancer Hair Care we used to suggest that people may want to avoid wearing mascara for this very reason.

However, over the last few years we have talked with thousands of women about wearing mascara prior to, during and after eyelashes fall out and concluded that it is not the applying of mascara that makes the lash fall out, it is the treatment.

With this in mind, we have recently changed our advice from avoiding mascara once lashes start to fall to now recommending that people be aware that lashes may come out during mascara application.

If you choose to wear mascara and hairs do fall out you will know that the treatment is the cause. Wearing mascara can help to enhance the lashes that you have, especially if you have lost some lashes and so your lashes are sparser then normal.

There are many types of mascara to choose from very natural looking shine and gloss only products right through to ‘fibre’ based products. If you have some hair, even if sparse you may like to try products that ‘plump’ your lashes.

Plumping products use a variation of fibre-enriched gels (in a mascara form) that latch onto your lash or brow hairs and create the illusion of being thicker and fuller. Some people find that their eyes become ‘watery’ during treatment; if this is the case you may like to use waterproof mascara so that your make-up stays put.

Tinting eyelashes

Tinting your lashes can help to make your lashes look fuller and add definition. As with colouring your scalp hair, using eyelash tint requires you to carry out a sensitivity test normally 24 to 48 hours prior to tint application.

Because of the possibility of an allergic reaction to tint it is advisable to consider waiting until you have finished chemotherapy treatment to tint your lashes or brows. However, a number of women have told us that they did tint their lashes/brows during treatment as they felt it enhanced their reduced amount of hair and gave them a better look.

Tinting eyelashes and brows after chemotherapy treatment is complete can really help to add depth to new hair growth. As long as a sensitivity test is carried out first, it is up to you when you want to tint your lashes or brows. Additionally, many salons and beauty spas offer this service.

You must have a Sensitivity test 24 to 48 hours prior to application

Semi-permanent make-up – eyelashes

Semi-permanent make-up is a method of creating long-term effects that simulate make-up looks such as eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, lip liner and lipstick. In the case of hair loss the method is often used to re-create a brow, lashes and enhance features. Depending on your individual requirements a natural or bold look can be created.

Enhancing eyes and creating eyebrows are two of the most popular treatments. The key factor for cancer patients is the timing of the application as in most cases semi-permanent make-up must be carried out prior to starting cancer treatment. This is quite an in-depth subject that has it’s own section – Read more about Semi-permanent make-up

Other ideas to help disguise loss of eyelashes

Glasses and hats – if wearing false lashes or make-up isn’t your cup of tea but you would like to distract people from your hair loss, why not try wearing sunglasses or glasses with fake lenses? The frame will help to give your face shape a defined look and deflect away from the areas where lashes and brows would normally be.

Additionally, glasses help to protect the delicate eye from dust – a job that the brows and lashes normally do.

Beautifully bare

You may choose to be bare and not wear any lashes or enhance your brows. Having read some guidance on what is available you can make a more informed choice to how you wish to manage your unique image.