Eyebrow Tips

When I found out I had to go through chemotherapy, one of the things I dreaded was losing my eyebrows. My chemo treatment plan included 12 weekly rounds of Taxol followed by 4 bi-weekly rounds of Adriamycin and Cytoxan (AC).  My eyebrows thinned out a little during my Taxol treatments, but I did not lose them significantly until a few weeks into my AC treatments.

Although I lost my eyelashes completely, I still had a few stray hairs on my eyebrows by the end of my treatments.  I considered a few different options:  eyebrow wigs, microblading, and make-up.

I looked at the Cardani stick on eyebrow wigs sold by Headcovers Unlimited (https://www.headcovers.com/eyebrows/) in person, and they looked very realistic. I decided not to use them because they are non-returnable and I was worried they would look too different from my natural eyebrows.

I have a friend that had her eyebrows microbladed afterlosing her eyebrows from chemo, and they looked completely natural.  Microblading is a semi-permanent tattoo procedure.  If you are interested in getting microblading, you would need to discuss it first with your oncologist.  Because a needle is involved, there is a risk of infection. You would not want to have the procedure done while your immune system is compromised.  I did not take the microblading route because of the risk of infection and because my eyebrows began to grow back fairly quickly after I finished chemo.  I am still considering microblading in the future to give my eyebrows a thicker appearance.

I chose to fill in/draw on my eyebrows with makeup.  At first I used an eyeliner pencil to fill in gaps.  The thinner my brows became, the less natural the eyeliner looked.  My mom recommended to me the Revlon ColorStay Brow Kit.  I tried it and really liked it.  It comes with a conditioning wax to help set the color and keep your brows in place. I did not use the wax.  When you have few or no eyebrows, the wax is not helpful. 

The picture below shows my eyebrows 3 weeks after my last chemo treatment, at their thinnest point.

The pictures below show my eyebrows with make-up (RevlonColorStay Brow Kit).  These pictures were taken the day of my last chemo treatment through one week after.

The pictures below show the growth of my eyebrows during the months following my last chemo treatment (no make-up).

The pictures below show my eyebrows during the same time period with makeup.

I recently discovered a website that provides a tutorial video for how to create natural looking brows using a combination of powder and eyebrow pencil. You can find it at the following link.

https://www.eyelineher.org/collections/beginner-recreating-brows-with-makeup

To help my eyebrows and eyelashes grow, I applied a small drop of castor oil to my brows and lashes at bedtime. Castor oil is a natural product that has been shown to promote hair growth, though there is currently no scientific evidence to support its effectiveness.

I would love to hear what worked for other women.  Comment below with any tips you would like to share.