September 7, 2010

I think it's going to be soon!  This morning while I was washing my hair in the shower, I came away with LOTS of hairs in my hands.  I know there's still a lot there, but I think the process has started.

Good timing.  This morning I went to a free class at Southdale Medical Center, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, called "Look Good ... Feel Better."  There were at least 10 of us (most with some female support person with them) in the class, each at various stages in the chemo process.  First, they gave us a large makeup bag filled with beauty products - cleanser, lotions, brushes, concealer, foundation, powder, blush, eye pencils, lip pencils, shadows, lipstick, gloss and mascara.

They stressed that, while no one NEEDS to wear make-up, studies have found that women feel better about themselves when they apply some makeup, and when they feel better, they heal better.  This, apparently, is particularly true when you lose your hair -- including your eyebrows and eyelashes.

So, to me, the most interesting part of the class was learning how to pencil in tasteful eyebrows when you have nothing left to guide you as to where they should go!  And also how to make it look (from a distance) like you have eyelashes, even though you don't.  (I did buy some low-key false eyelashes, but maybe I don't need to go that far.  We'll see.)

They also spent some time talking about wigs, scarves, hats and other improvised head covers.  Many women don't like to wear wigs, especially in the summer; my hair loss will go through the fall and winter months, and it's amazing what an insulator real hair is.   I'll probably need to sleep with a sleep cap on, because my head won't be used to being bare on winter nights.

Anyway, it was a fun class.  I learned some things about makeup application, but mostly I learned about what other women are going through and what they're doing about it.  It was a nice diversion.