I occasionally hear from readers who are either struggling with their own cancer diagnosis or that of a loved one. Most of the time they’re concerned about the changes to their appearance that can occur as a result of various cancer treatments, particularly chemotherapy, or they’re simply looking for ideas to be as supportive as possible during this trying, scary time. The letters typically state something like this:

I have a dear friend who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I want to be supportive and I know how important feeling beautiful is for her. Any suggestions from you would be truly appreciated.

My response is as follows:

I’ve spoken with many women who have lived through the ordeal of radiation and chemotherapy, and they all agreed that paying attention to how they looked helped their emotional well-being a lot during the trauma of diagnosis and treatment. Having gone through this life-threatening event with my older sister, I had a reason to look further into these issues, and now I have the opportunity to share some solutions and possibilities with you and your friend. Given the number of women who have breast cancer or other cancers, surely most of us know someone who can benefit from this information. One thing my sister found immensely helpful was talking openly about her cancer experience without embarrassment or reservation. Perhaps your friend or someone else in your life would appreciate that kind of support and openness.

Skin care: All of my recommendations for gentle skin care are doubly true during radiation and chemotherapy. And it is even more imperative than usual to avoid the sun because the skin can become photosensitive. Sunscreen is essential, and the less the body and face are exposed to the sun, the better. That means wearing hats, light, tightly woven cotton pants, and light, long-sleeved blouses whenever possible. Because the skin can become dry, it is important to follow my recommendations for dry-skin care, which include using a gentle cleanser, a skin-softening toner, an emollient moisturizer, and plant oils such as evening primrose, jojoba, olive, or sunflower oil over dry patches.

Eyebrows and eyelashes: Accompanying the loss of hair on your head is the probable loss of eyebrows and eyelashes. Avoid the natural tendency to pencil in new brows, which look fake and dated. Instead, try powder shadows to draw on a soft arch of a brow. If you have any eyebrow hair left, consider using the colored brow gels from Bobbi Brown, Origins, or Paula’s Choice; these can add definition and shape to the eye area. Another option is to use waterproof mascara or a waterproof eye pencil that matches your brow color. Although waterproof mascara and waterproof eye pencils can look slightly more artificial, they are worth trying because chemotherapy or other drugs can bring on menopause or menopausal symptoms, and the accompanying hot flashes, followed by profuse sweating, will wash the others away. This one takes some experimenting, so be patient until you find what works for you.

If you do lose your eyelashes, it’s best to not use any mascara, even if you have a few lashes left, because gaps in your application will be quite noticeable and mascara can shorten the life of the lashes you still have. Instead, consider lining the eyes with a dark brown shade of powder that you draw on more as shading than as a line. Lining with a pencil or liquid liner and no mascara can look odd, but shading the eye with a dark powder can look smoky and defining without making the lack of lashes more obvious.

Remember that brows and lashes grow back quickly, so that part is the most temporary!

Makeup: When it comes to concealer, foundation, blush, lipstick, and the rest, do whatever you are used to doing. Not only will it make you feel good, it will also normalize much of the process.

One woman wrote me a wonderful e-mail about this issue: “I cannot stress enough the concept that look good and feel better really works. I thought I was doing OK and I was, until I found out what it felt like to go out in public with hair and makeup (eyebrows) that looked real. I never lost my sense of humor or my positive outlook; but when I got a great wig and wore makeup (and eyebrows), I felt fantastic.”

One of the most powerful things you can do for yourself is to pay attention to your physical appearance and experiment to find what works. Don’t try to pretend that feeling and looking beautiful doesn’t matter during this time or that it is a waste of your energy. It may provide some of your most pleasant and uplifting moments until you are on the other side of your treatment.

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Dear Jennifer,

You’re not a lost cause! Blackheads can sometimes be very stubborn, and some people have a natural tendency to constantly struggle with them based on the shape of their pore lining and how much oil their skin produces. Remember, blackheads have nothing to do with skin being dirty, so be sure you’re not cleansing skin excessively (avoid bar soaps and bar cleansers; most make blackheads much worse) and avoid irritating skin with alcohol-laden products. Alcohol applied to skin stimulates nerve endings that are attached to oil glands, resulting in increased oil production. This excess oil gets deposited into the pore lining, where it can gunk things up, resulting in, you guessed it, more blackheads.

You may want to visit an esthetician who is trained (and has plenty of experience with) extracting blackheads. From there, at-home care with a well-formulated BHA product should keep things under control. If it doesn't and/or if the extractions don't work, your only other winning resource is to talk to your doctor about taking a course of Accutane. The effect this drug has on our oil glands pretty much eliminates blackheads and in many cases keeps them from returning because after treatment the oil glands rarely enlarge to the size they were before you took the drug. As you may have read, Accutane has plenty of precautions and risks which should be discussed at length with your doctor. It is contraindicated if you are or plan to become pregnant or if you’re currently or plan to breastfeed.

argan oil. Non-fragrant plant oil expressed from the kernels of rarified argan trees. Argan trees are extremely capable of adapting to severe environmental conditions, including draughts. Argan oil contains several beneficial lipids and fatty acids for skin, including oleic acid, palmitic acid, and especially linoleic acid. It is also a good source of vitamin E (Tocopherol) and, like several other plant oils, is a source of antioxidant compounds. Argan oil is a natural source of the antioxidant ferulic acid. The cosmetics industry is hailing argan oil as a restorative wonder owing to it use by Moroccan women for years to tend to their hair, skin, and nails. Despite the folklore stories (which is irrelevant because not all Moroccan women have great skin, hair, and nails, or use argan oil, not to mention different cultures in the middle east use different oils with mixed results); and limited availability of the trees (plus the difficult extraction process to obtain the oil) argan oil isn’t a miraculous ingredient by any stretch of the imagination.

The research on argan oil has shown that, like sunflower and olive oils, its fatty acid and antioxidant content has health benefits (such as lowering cholesterol) when consumed. As for topical use, there is limited information about argan oil’s unique benefits. One study examined a cream containing argan oil, saw palmetto, and sesame seeds to 20 subjects with combination to oily skin. Subjective and qualitative analysis showed that the oil was reduced by 20-42% depending on the inherent oiliness of various parts of the face. The study did not demonstrate that argan oil played a specific role in the results—all we know is that the random formula itself showed the benefit and it wasn’t compared to any other product so the results are irrelevant. Moreover, the cream was only used for four weeks, so we don’t know if ongoing use may have caused breakouts (and given the fatty acids present in argan oil, there is a possibility it can cause breakouts). Argan oil is a good plant oil to consider if skin or hair is dry to very dry, but is not better than many other non-fragrant plant oils used in cosmetics. (Sources: Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, June 2007, pages 113-118; Clinical Nutrition, October 2004, pages 1,159-1,166; European Journal of Cancer Prevention, February 2003, pages 67-75; and Journal of Ethnopharmacology, October 1999, pages 7-14).

1. philosophy on a clear day products 
2. The Body Shop Nature’s Minerals Foundation SPF 25
3. Elizabeth Arden Prevage Day Ultra Protection Anti-aging Moisturizer SPF 30 PA ++
4. Physicians Formula Organic Wear eye makeup removers
5. RoC Complete Lift Daily Moisturizer SPF 30

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