Aug 29, 2014
A while back Kelly and I signed up for a class at Tom Baker called "Look Good Feel Better". We had both heard lots of good stuff about it. It took a while to find a date that worked. I would've loved to have taken the one at Wellspring (they have different sessions of it) but it always seemed to fall on chemo day or a day when I had some appointment. Instead we settled on Aug 28 - the day before me and my family were heading out camping for the long weekend. Not the best timing either but if it wasn't that one, it would have been late into Sept...or never. For alot of the classes offered to canser patients timing isn't really a big deal but this class is different.
It's for women going through canser treatment. Mostly chemo related. They show you tricks on how to apply make up once you experience the side effects of chemo. Like hair loss. Eyebrow & eyelash hair loss. That pale complexion you can get. Dry skin etc. There is also a section on wigs to help you navigate that whole world - real hair vs synthetic and all the different kinds there are (hand tied vs not etc).
Kelly and I were the youngest in the class, probably by about 10 years at least. Which didn't really matter, except it made some parts funny cause some of the things said made the age difference quiet apparent.
The first lady who spoke went through all the make up which was donated by various cosmetic companies. There was ALOT! Neither of us wear alot of make up so there were quite a number of products we weren't sure about lol. This enlisted the first bunch of giggles. As they walked us through how to apply each of the products, Kelly and I would tentatively apply them, then look at each other and laugh. Part of the laughter was cause we weren't familiar with how much to put on or the technique. Part of it was the colours - ha ha. Each person there had a "Look Good Feel Better" box based solely on skin tone. But for some of the products, like eyeshadows and lipsticks, it was just luck of the draw. And maybe aimed at older ladies...there was lots of bright pink lol. We giggled lots at the colours.
Once the "make up" lady was done walking around showing us all how to apply all the products another lady got up and was talking about the wig/hair portion.
She made lots of reference to "times" or "items" before Kelly and I's time that made us giggle. Like "pull out your old slips you put away in a drawer for special nights and put it on your pillow case to help your head when your hair starts to fall out and once its gone/shaved". Great idea...if you ever owned a slip ha ha ha.
She also made reference to "the wigs you remember your mothers wearing in the 50's & 60's.." Kelly and I were born late 70's, early 80's so this too made us laugh.
She did have lots of good info, so don't get discouraged if you were thinking of taking this class. But maybe think about taking it at Wellspring if you're under 50...
Overall it was a good night out. Kelly and I got to chat and catch up (we were cutting each other off in our excitement lol) which was awesome. Cause although we text pretty much daily, that is actually only the 2nd time we have physically met in person since this journey! Which is kinda funny when she has become one of the most important people in my life. We talked about going to the Wig bank (yup, its what it sounds like - you can borrow one free of charge and donate it back once you are done with it) to get a secondary wig that's different than what we already have...We tried on a few that night and had lots more laughs (somehow us youngins were the only ones who tried on the wigs! Guess we were entertainment lol)
But short and blond was kinda fun and I might be persuaded to try a red wig too...I definitely think a visit to the Wig Bank is in our near future...If not for anything else but the laughs that will surely follow...
A while back Kelly and I signed up for a class at Tom Baker called "Look Good Feel Better". We had both heard lots of good stuff about it. It took a while to find a date that worked. I would've loved to have taken the one at Wellspring (they have different sessions of it) but it always seemed to fall on chemo day or a day when I had some appointment. Instead we settled on Aug 28 - the day before me and my family were heading out camping for the long weekend. Not the best timing either but if it wasn't that one, it would have been late into Sept...or never. For alot of the classes offered to canser patients timing isn't really a big deal but this class is different.
It's for women going through canser treatment. Mostly chemo related. They show you tricks on how to apply make up once you experience the side effects of chemo. Like hair loss. Eyebrow & eyelash hair loss. That pale complexion you can get. Dry skin etc. There is also a section on wigs to help you navigate that whole world - real hair vs synthetic and all the different kinds there are (hand tied vs not etc).
Kelly and I were the youngest in the class, probably by about 10 years at least. Which didn't really matter, except it made some parts funny cause some of the things said made the age difference quiet apparent.
The first lady who spoke went through all the make up which was donated by various cosmetic companies. There was ALOT! Neither of us wear alot of make up so there were quite a number of products we weren't sure about lol. This enlisted the first bunch of giggles. As they walked us through how to apply each of the products, Kelly and I would tentatively apply them, then look at each other and laugh. Part of the laughter was cause we weren't familiar with how much to put on or the technique. Part of it was the colours - ha ha. Each person there had a "Look Good Feel Better" box based solely on skin tone. But for some of the products, like eyeshadows and lipsticks, it was just luck of the draw. And maybe aimed at older ladies...there was lots of bright pink lol. We giggled lots at the colours.
Once the "make up" lady was done walking around showing us all how to apply all the products another lady got up and was talking about the wig/hair portion.
She made lots of reference to "times" or "items" before Kelly and I's time that made us giggle. Like "pull out your old slips you put away in a drawer for special nights and put it on your pillow case to help your head when your hair starts to fall out and once its gone/shaved". Great idea...if you ever owned a slip ha ha ha.
She also made reference to "the wigs you remember your mothers wearing in the 50's & 60's.." Kelly and I were born late 70's, early 80's so this too made us laugh.
She did have lots of good info, so don't get discouraged if you were thinking of taking this class. But maybe think about taking it at Wellspring if you're under 50...
Overall it was a good night out. Kelly and I got to chat and catch up (we were cutting each other off in our excitement lol) which was awesome. Cause although we text pretty much daily, that is actually only the 2nd time we have physically met in person since this journey! Which is kinda funny when she has become one of the most important people in my life. We talked about going to the Wig bank (yup, its what it sounds like - you can borrow one free of charge and donate it back once you are done with it) to get a secondary wig that's different than what we already have...We tried on a few that night and had lots more laughs (somehow us youngins were the only ones who tried on the wigs! Guess we were entertainment lol)
But short and blond was kinda fun and I might be persuaded to try a red wig too...I definitely think a visit to the Wig Bank is in our near future...If not for anything else but the laughs that will surely follow...
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