Don’t know about you guys but i,m only 9 days into my first chemo session and already look horrendous ( my OH says i look great,but he would.)
Can’t wash my hair because of the cold cap - hair plastered to my head after 1 day
Getting spots, never even had them as a teenager
More wrinkles, from worry and losing weight
clothes don’t look right with my knew and inproved rubber boob (doesn’t droop like the other)
heck the list can go on!!
what i,m really needing to know - is how you manage to keep your self looking and feeling good.
Can we use false tan while on chemo? Can we have massages, facial treatments, false eyelashes? Has any one had any pampering treatments while on chemo?
i know at christies in manchester they run classes on how to apply make up etc, but it is over subscribed. Worried about the eyebrows! Don,t wanna be going round looking like coco the clown. lol
Hi, I’ve finally got a place on one of these days, took a lot of phoning and some tears, they are so oversubscribed! (Mazbaz, this is NOT Shallow!)
Today on Page 80, W&H mag Feb 2011 there’s a full page ad, starts “lips by clarins, Eyes by L’Oreal, Chemotherapy by Royal Surrey…!”
Says you can get a Look Good Feel Better Kit with DVD and booklet on skincare, make-up ,nail and hand care, wig selection and styling and scarves and other head coverings…
Quote " to order visit the new LGFB website: lgfb.co.uk
Phone 01372 747500
(it doesn’t give a price, it may be free - don’t quote me!!! Best of luck P xxxxxx
I’ve just checked out the website. They ask for £2.50 postage & handling, but would like donations above that, which seems reasonable. You could always pay the £2.50 and then send a donation if you find it helpful, I suppose.
I see they do monthly sessions at the centre I attend–so why hasn’t anyone there told me about it, or given me a notice? Do they think I’m too old to care, or do they wait until you say something or show visible signs of hair loss? Or perhaps they are just hopelessly overbooked.
Thanks for posting the link, Peachez, I’m definitely going to inquire, and if the local sessions are overbooked I’ll order the kit and review it.
***I’ve just had a look at the website, and some advice is there, probably from the booklet, so check out the site. I don’t normally wear much makeup, but I have found in the past that things like tinted moisturiser and blusher are really useful if you don’t want to go around looking ill.
Cheryl
You may find the BCC booklet ‘Complementary therapies’ useful to read as it it provides useful information about some of the complementary therapies available and looks at some of the things you may need to consider before trying a therapy.
Hi Maria,
Not shallow at all, I asked all the questions you have…
I used fake tan, Xen Tan and St Tropez, eyebrows - brow zings (sp) from benefit. Fake eyelashes… trial and error for me. My finger nails and toe nails were always painted dark - I only lost one as I kept them quite short.
I was terrified that I was going to look like a drag queen, not great with make-up etc… but as things progress you get better and better. For example it took months for my eyebrows to disappear, by the time they did I had had ages at ‘filling in’ rather than putting on, and they looked natural.
Best wishes
Marguerite
thanks for responding , will def be ordering look good better kit.
got up this morning and realised i,m very anemic, have been suffering with it for a few days and not took any notice. i don’t think this has helped the way i look. The grey look really doesn’t suit anyone lol.
i had forgotten about the complementary therapies booklet. i had been told about it, but that was a while ago, so am going to try that to.
Hello there,
firstly - I don;t think it is shallow at all , its good to feel as good as we can about how we look, and there is so much to adjust to so soon with the massive changes that take place in how we look.
Some tips from my experience - the LGFB sessions were busy so I just went to my local John Lewis and had a free session in a quiet corner with a woman who transformed my life - bronzer and eyebrow pencil and lessons on how to use it …fantastic. People spent the whole time telling me how well I look and I just kept saying - well thats good cos I feel shocking but its the make up!
Also I got a couple of trendy hats from Suburban Turban that made me feel better…although if you are using the cold cap you may not need those…
the new clothes thing has taken me a while…trial and error I’m afraid and don’t give yourself a hard time please…just imagine the rest of us struggling each day …if I use any more lingerie tape I shall look like a parcel…
all the best Nicola
thanks for your advice, i,m so glad it ok to wear fake tan. Can not stand this deathly pallor i,m sporting any longer. first stop boots today i think. going to try that brow Zing as well, i love benefit make-up
Whoopee feel much better already, at the thought of shopping.
Hi Maria
I can’t help in the fake tan dept but Look good feel better was brilliant and it helped a lot. Great products too. I got squeezed in as a cancelation at short notice.
I’m having cold cap too and the hair gets used to not being washed. Now I go 4 days between washes. It was a really pain to begin with, I do sympathise. It will get better.By FEC 3 twice weekly wash is fine.
What has helped me is putting make up on each morning and my best clothes for hospital appointments.
Yiu might try wearing a scarf when cooking, cleaning etc as I found smells lingered and made hair feel worse. I had some chemo scarves from headstrong so I use these all the time when cooking. Come to think of it, my nan who had a weekly shampoo and set back in the eighties used to use a scarf often when cooking.
Hope you find something that works for you.
Sue
This is a great thread, I too will be off to Benefit, had a look on youtube on how to apply brow zing and it looks very easy and natural looking too! I too was not told about LGFB at my local hospital (my BC nurse isn’t very forthcoming with her help and advice) and only found out about it on here … I’ve managed to book a place but they do get booked up quickly. I’ve got no hair but my eyebrows are clinging on so far!
Hope you enjoy your shopping trip. I was recommended Benefits for brows as well, and they were really helpful, one of the staff (Manchester) was involved in the LGFB workshops. They showed me how to pencil eyebrows, I was lucky as kept a few stragglers, which made it much easier.
It is worth booking a place on a LGFB workshop, as although there is a long wait, lovely bag of make-up, and will give you a bit of a boost a couple of months down the line!
Having never in my life used make up I went to a LGFB session…and WOW!!! I know now how to make me look like someone else…a healthy someone else and it was brilliant fun too so get booked on it asap
I’m not around here too often these days. (I finished my treatment just over two years ago.) But I saw this thread and it really took me back.
I can really recommend the Benefits Browzing product, though I used combination of powder and pencils that I made up myself. Beneifit also make a brush on fixative called SheLac which is fantastic at keeping your handiwork in place! A bit pricey, but the bottle lasts for ages, and you’re good for the whole day!
False eyelashes: I LOVED using some which were actually ‘filler’ lashes made by Eyelure. Naturalites I think they are called. I trimmed a little of the inner edge and used a dark brown eyeshadow to line my upper lid first. That gave the eyelash glue something to grip on to. They took a while to get the hang of, but I had lots of comments about how good they looked!
Kate - didn,t manage shopping but it’s on the agenda for next week defo. Who did you book the LGFB course with? Would really like to go. In the mean time i,m going to order the dvd.
I too attended a LGFB workshop and they are wonderful. My daughter volunteered to work in the sessions after my diagnosis and has done about 7 now.She was able to get lots of advice from her clients for me, so it was a two way thing. It really is worth ringing up a couple of days, or even the day before a workshop as they do get many cancellation (my appt. was booked Fri for the following Monday)as sometimes ladies are too poorly to attend. Good luck Marli
Sorry just getting back to you, last chemo yesterday- yippee!! Feeling bit lousy, but such a relief to have got through it.
I went to the LGFB workshop at the Christie (booking 0161 446 3056). They run one every week, so when I phoned to book hadn’t anticipated having to wait about 6 weeks. Marli’s idea of trying to get a cancellation seems a good idea. I see that they also run a course at Salford Royal Hospital (booking 0161 206 1455), but only monthly
hi kate i,m so glad you have got you last chemo out of the way, you must be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel now. I found the no for LGFB and gave them a ring. I have got a workshop for 15th March - which is not too bad, i will just be approaching fec 4 then. i will try every Mon night as well to see if i can get a cancellation and get in earlier. Thanks for taking the time to find me the numbers anyway, that was very kind of you.
Furball is asking for people to do a walk in cheshire in June. Are you up for it?