Cancer and eyebrows: everything you need to know

Cancer treatments, especially chemotherapy , are known to be a real challenge for the body. In some cases, these techniques cause hair loss ... What are the solutions for preserving your eyebrows?

For several years, the month of October has hosted the “Pink October” campaign, aiming to raise awareness of breast cancer screening and raise funds for research. And, although we often talk about breast cancer - the most common among women - there are a multitude of other cancers. Therefore, to treat them, different options exist, the best known being chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy and hair loss

Treatments such as chemotherapy can cause hair loss . In fact, they are supposed to eliminate cancer cells but can sometimes affect healthy cells, which participate in the regeneration of hair.

It is therefore not uncommon to start losing hair after the first chemo session or within 2-3 weeks following the start of treatment. Hair can fall out all at once or gradually, over several days or even weeks.

 

Eyelashes and eyebrows during chemo

Although it is not systematic, hair loss is generally accompanied by loss of eyelashes and eyebrows . Some women lose them completely, while others will simply see their eyebrows thinning. Rest assured, however, hair loss is only temporary ! As soon as the treatment(s) are finished, they will gradually grow back. In some cases, it is possible that the eyelashes or eyebrows remain a little thinner and sparser than before the cancer.

 

How to maintain your eyelashes and eyebrows during chemotherapy?

If hair loss can be hidden by a wig or scarf, the absence of eyebrows can be more complicated to manage. And for good reason, they are an important element of the morphology of our face and allow us to express our emotions! It is therefore completely normal to feel a little destabilized when faced with the loss of eyelashes and eyebrows, whether they are simply sparse or completely fallen out.

Fortunately, solutions exist to feel beautiful and good about yourself, and there are many of them!

 

Draw your eyebrows

It is entirely possible to make up this area in order to camouflage the loss of eyebrows. Certain products and accessories allow you to (re)draw your eyebrows naturally !

Thanks to its “micro-fork” applicator, the Browline® eyebrow pen is ideal for redrawing eyebrow hairs with precision, without smudging, for a result that is always natural and discreet!

It is ideal for completely redoing the eyebrow or to complete a sparse eyebrow.
To help you, stencils exist that allow you to create perfect eyebrows.

 

Microblading or microshading

You don't have the desire or the time to wear makeup every day? Drawing and hiding your sparse or fallen eyebrows can indeed be tedious and difficult when you are going through such an ordeal. Permanent makeup can then be the perfect solution!

Although microblading and microshading are not recommended during chemotherapy, it is nevertheless essential to seek the advice of doctors beforehand. It is a possible preventative alternative, before starting chemotherapy, during or after treatment, while waiting for the eyebrows to grow back.

Thus, in order to support people suffering from cancer, Atelier du Sourcil offers a reduced rate on permanent eyebrow makeup to all women undergoing chemotherapy .

 

Eyelash makeup

Eyelashes can also fall out during chemotherapy and other heavy treatments. Among the solutions and alternatives that exist, we can especially mention the application of false eyelashes . Their installation requires a certain skill but, once you get used to it, it will be very easy to install them. However, as the skin is weakened by chemotherapy, we advise you to consult a beautician and gradually get used to these new eyelashes in order to avoid any irritation or allergic reaction!

Using eye shadow or a pencil can also help you enhance your eyes and camouflage loss of eyelashes. However, we avoid mascara which could tear off the remaining eyelashes and do more harm than good!

Our advice: use a dark eye shadow on the edge of the eyes to hide the loss of eyelashes and give the impression of volume when they grow back.

Finally, once the treatment is complete, you can encourage hair regrowth with our range of Revitalash® eyelash products and our RevitaBrow® eyebrow conditioning treatment. Thanks to their specially designed formulas, they repair, nourish and promote hair regrowth!