Beauty tip #5: recreating eyebrows
Some people don’t realise that chemo not only makes the hair in your head to fall off, but also ANY hair in your body. This includes your eyelashes, eyebrows, any facial hair and even pubic hair. I always liked thick and full eyebrows, and after removing a few too many hairs when I was younger I became very careful with my eyebrows. While hair gives the whole face a frame, brows give you expression. I think I was more worried about losing my eyebrows than my hair or anything else, in case they wouldn’t grow back. In the end, I was lucky and I didn’t lose all eyebrow hair, so it was easier just fill in the gaps, but I had prepared myself with a range of tools in case that wasn’t the case.
If you lost some but not all brows, there are four types of makeup that can help you draw them back:
Semi-permanent henna (for me this lasts for about 3 days, it is a good option if you have a weekend away so don’t need to worry about it)
Brow shadow
Brow pencils (tip: put them in the fridge if you find they are too soft)
Brow liquid and brush
You can find all these products in your local pharmacy or beauty shop. If unsure about the best colour and type for you, I suggest you go to your local department store and play around with a few types and brands, and ask the beauty sale assistants for help with the colour. I like my eyebrows dark and full, but usually lighter colours will look well in most women. I also suggest getting something that is water proof and long lasting so your eyebrows still look good towards the end of the day or if you have energy to go to the gym.
If you lost all brow hair, the options are:
Brow wigs
Brow stencils (you can buy them for $1 on eBay)
DIY: use brow shadow to create a background and shape, and then a very sharp pencil to draw hair by hair – it looks very natural! If you want to give it a try you can watch this video from Carly, who has allopecia.
Also remember that this is temporary. After chemo your eyebrows should grow back. Between cycles 4 and 5, I had 7 weeks of break due to low white blood counts. My brows started to grow like crazy during this time! The hair was very thin compared to the few old ones, but as more and more hair grew the brows became fuller again. We still might need a bit of patience. The hair doesn’t necessarily grow where we want it to, neither everybody experiences fast growth.
Eyebrow growth after chemo
If it is taking too long and you want to speed up the process, you can use a medication called Latisse (Lumigan 0.03%), initially used for glaucoma that was later found to increase growth of eyebrows and lashes. In Australia, you need a prescription for it.
Updated on 13 Dec 15: this week I had my first eyebrow threading since before chemo and then tried eyebrow extensions! I am loving my eyebrows so much! It is a bit pricey ($120, I paid $39 with a voucher) and unfortunately it doesn't last that long (about 2 weeks), but if you have a big event to attend and there are still some gaps in your eyebrows it is totally worth it! Importantly it is not painful and does not involve any bleeding or skin damage, as they only glue hair by hair to give a natural look. The result is fantastic, my eyebrows didn't look this good even before chemo!
Remember to always discuss with your doctor any medication or natural supplements you want to take or apply before doing so. I would rather have no eyebrows than to go through chemo again, so don’t do anything to jeopardise your treatment.
Once your blood counts are back to normal, another option is feather touch eyebrow tattoo. This is a semi-permanent (but long lasting) type of tattoo that copies hair by hair, so it gives a very natural look. It can also be used once your eyebrows are back but there are still some gaps (like in my case... I can’t wait to do it!).
Have a great week!
Fran xo
