Eyebrows

BRISTOL, ENGLAND - According to the American Cancer Society,
“If hair loss does occur, it most often begins within 2 weeks of the start of treatment and gets worse 1 to 2 months after starting therapy." This is what you read in the brochures, along with an extensive list of helpful tips. Truly helpful – did you know that you can get a prescription for a wig, as the cost is often covered by insurance? Wonderful!

Way down toward the bottom of most websites lists of tips is to be careful with eyebrows, perhaps eyelashes too. From my perspective, once you have plowed through all the top-of-head hair loss, you are spinning with overwhelming info. You might miss that bit of info, like I did. I had a dear friend who tried to walk me through an installation of false eyelashes, and that had disastrous results. Helpful tip from me to you: if you are diagnosed in October, don’t just run out and buy the first set of eyelashes you find. Be sure to check to see if it has ‘Halloween special fright night length’ on the lash box. Ok, on to the story.

So I am a novice (at best) when it comes to makeup. I didn’t know I would lose my eyebrows, and that makes a huge difference. People can handle gals with really short or no hair (perky! cute! pixie! are words that spring to mind). But lose the eyebrows, and people have a hard time with that one. They blink, frown, and then it hits them. OOOOOOOHHHH she’s in treatment. And that must be a wig. Ooooooohhhhhhh.

So I am on twitter with my friend, Nick, from Bristol. Nick is a make-up whiz and was guiding a lady through how to pencil in some eyebrows when chemo had so helpfully removed them. I wanted to share his tips with you. Nick, thank you. For helping that patient, for reaching out and chatting with me, and for being so willing to share your expertise with others. I know that your Mum’s chemo starts in a few days; you will both be in my prayers.

NICKS TIPS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE THE PERFECT BROW:


* To get perfect brows, you can use a brow pencil or brow powder. You do not need to spend major money on this, Rimmel Londondoes a fantastic pencil with a few shades, and Body Shopsells fantastic powders. Use ashy brown colours, even if your hair is naturally black because black is very ageing. If you use a powder, then you need a good angled liner brush.

* Use a pencil or shadow brush as a guide. Lay it against your nose and point it up towards your forehead. Where your brows should begin is where the pencil hits your brow bone. Turn your guide so it meets the outer corner of your eye. Your brow should end at this point (on the bone).

* The highpoint of the arch in your brow should be just past the outer edge of your iris.

* If you create 3 'points' with your pencil, then you can create a basic shape for your brow.

* Use small 'feathery' strokes with the brush or pencil. Upwards until you hit the arch, then downwards from the arch to the outer point. This way, the strokes looks like hairs. If you draw a line, it looks unnatural.

* Soften it using an eyebrow brush along where you have put the colour.

911

COLUMBIA CITY, INDIANA - Early for work, what an incredible turn of events this is! I’m driving along on my way into the office and see a police officer getting off of his motorcycle to give a speeding car a ticket. We all merge left, to give him some room. Then, about 5 minutes later, whoosh! They both go flying by - the crazy driver and the officer! The car takes a tight turn off the highway, and the motorcycle tries to follow. In my rearview mirror, I see him wipe completely out on the street!!!

I pull over to the side of the highway, dial 911 and start running to the accident. The car that caused this is now long gone, and another driver has gotten out of his car to help as well. I am running and talking to the 911 guy. I resist the urge to say 'send a bus' like they do on Law and Order:SVU but man, do I want to. Running in heels on the highway, what a way to start a Monday. I reach him as he is standing up, kind of wobbly but on his feet. Looks like he has injured his ankle, but wants to try to get back on the bike.

The 911 operator seems insistent that an ambulance come, but the officer says it's not necessary and the call is stopped. The other driver goes off to work, so I start to walk back to my own car. The officer drives off, but then pulls over immediately behind my car, about 1/2 a mile away. As I am walking, a red mustang pulls over and asks if I want a ride–it’s another police officer in stealth mode. HA! So I jump in (I’m tall, it’s a little car, but who would pass this up?) and we get to the injured officer. He’s now off the bike again and resting on the side of the road.

This is the best part, to me. The mustang cop says, "Let's take a look at the leg," and the first guy pulls up his trouser. And there it is. One of the prettiest boots I’ve ever seen-black patent leather with little ties, full to knee boot. "Oooooohhhhhhh, so pretty!" I say. They all look at me and stop for a moment, blinking. In the middle of all of this, is she really commenting on the footwear? (Clearly, never met me before) Then they all crack up. Much needed tension breaker, they say. "Um, yea, ok." But I was totally serious, where do you get them? Heh. They thank me for pulling over and staying with him, to which I reply – “Well, who wouldn’t?" Then the red mustang guy says “NO one. There have been 60 cars at least that have passed us. You and one other fella stopped. That’s it. Two out of at least 60.”

The good news is that our hero the police officer is ok. His buddies came and took great care of him. So here’s what I took away from my Monday morning. I don’t have to be sitting in an office to help someone. I don’t have to only help people in the world of breast cancer. All of us can do something pretty small every day to try to help someone, even if there isn’t anything you can really do, you can at least try! I still made it to work on time and got to see some great kicks. Just fyi – they are upwards of 400 bucks. :)

Pink Elephants

ATHENS, ALABAMA - Last month, Athens Limestone Hospital hosted their third annual “Pink Elephant” breast cancer awareness fundraiser – and as always, it was a sold-out event. This year, I met a jewelry store that participated because they lost the family matriarch to breast cancer, and wanted to do something in her memory. I met a woman who had just been diagnosed and was just starting her treatment. She was amazing - she had attended this event before, and had always helped but of course never suspected that she herself would join this club.

They gave a portion of the proceeds right to the Vera Bradley Foundation; wonderfully generous. Then, a change of pace. They had seen the ‘pink glove video’ circulating out there and wanted to do something to match that theme. So we were all given pink gloves and they took our photo. Then we all went outside where a man was precariously perched on top of a ladder and we formed a ribbon for a picture. Let me tell you, 100 ladies telling a man on a ladder ‘now be careful’ is a lot of fun. Nothing like that many moms checking up on your safety!

This photo is of Kelli. She is one of the many people who attended the event. I love the image that shows her face- full of happiness but surrounded by the sea of pink hands. All ready to pitch in and do what it takes to find a cure.

Photo courtesy Athens Limestone Hospital