I’ve had the most amazing pamper afternoon on Sunday. After lush weekend at my sister’s celebrating my niece’s 3rd birthday, I seriously needed some time to myself to regroup and charge my batteries. After thinking that losing my hair was the pits, I now need to regularly shave my legs which is not something that I really wanted to add back into my routine. Beggars can’t be choosers I guess so the chore resumes every other day. I can’t shave my armpits since my lymph node removal, but I still haven’t got any hair in my armpit on the side of my surgery which is saving me having to wax them for now.
My lashes and brows are coming back so much that this weekend I ditched the false lashes and wore mascara for the first time since in 6 months. They are defo not what they used to be but it’s so much easier getting ready without the stress of fake ones. I’ve been using RevitaLash products on my lashes and brows once a day since the start of December. They give you a minimum of 3 months as that’s how long it takes for all your lashes to do a growth cycle. It was developed by a doctor whose wife had breast cancer and they now have a range of products to encourage hair growth so there is lots to choose from depending on what stage you're at with hair growth. Dying my lashes and brows also helps give my face more definition when they are growing back through.
My nails are still getting gelled every 3 weeks, using builder gel to keep them thick and strong. I’ve lost all my real nails underneath the gel as they continue splitting and falling off. My big and little toes nails have gone too. I’m using PolyBalm on my hands and feet 3 times a day to keep cuticles soft and help to promote strong nail growth, had to file them square look like 1998 but need to stop them in growing where they’ve broken below the wick. I’m also using Dr PawPaw hand cream on my hands and feet throughout the day to make sure they don’t dry and crack. The balms are amazing too for dry skin, lips and nails.
I always feel better with a bit of colour, so the fake tan is on. I use the Rose Hyaluronic Self Tanning Water by Minx cosmetics Gradual tan. You can layer it up over a few days to get the colour you want so no orange hands and it and doesn’t get on clothes and bedding. You don’t need to wash it off either, just use it as a moisturiser and let it dry for 5 minutes. It’s so easy.
Cutting my hair was easy compared to growing it back in. When it started to grow back after my IV chemo in October, I kept shaving it on a number 1 weekly for two months to get rid of the chemo fluff. It grows back so thin and wispy there’s no way I could have let that grow long, it’s so much thicker now and has come back straight as it was and the colour it was. Thank the lord for small mercies. It’s just getting to the length on top now where it is starting to lie flat and isn’t sticking up on end. Since it started to grow back in, I’ve been using Olaplex no.7 bonding oil in the morning and then The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density treatment and both have helped my scalp and hair. On Friday, I actually had to have my hair cut! it was only to shave the back of my neck and hairline to tidy it up but its steps to having it in a style.
After all of the palaver with having to get my seroma drained every week, using the corset the hospital gave me when I thought I was getting radiotherapy really helps keep it at bay. I went to M&S and got some tight sports bras and have been using the fake foam boob I was given after my mastectomy and wearing them day and night. It’s now been 6 weeks since I had to go to get drained. I really wish I had been told this sooner and any compression is brilliant on it. I only found out when looking for bras that you can get 20% off compression bras after a mastectomy! however, they wack the prices up on them no end. The ones I saw on the breast cancer UK page were £50 each. In M&S they had the post op bras with the sports bras at 25 quid then VATfree are at check out, same price (and I think the same bra really from what I could see) as the sports bras.
Not forgetting the most important and brilliant Eyebright Soothing Eye Cleanser when you’ve had a good old cry to calm the sore puffy eyes!
I’ve linked all the product I use that I think help. Please let me know if there’s anything I’ve missed that’s a must have!
